Stephen Jackson scored 33 points on his 27th birthday, and the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks 97-79 Tuesday despite poor shooting from Reggie Miller in his final appearance at Madison Square Garden.
"Stephen Jackson was a guy who got a hot hand and we rode him," said Indiana coach Rick Carlisle. "His 3-point shooting really was an answer anytime the Knicks made a run."
Miller, who plans to retire, has long tormented the Knicks and their fans -- most notably film director Spike Lee -- with his clutch play in crucial games at the Garden. This time, however, he was 3-for-15 and finished with 13 points.
PHOTO: AP
As the clock wound down in the final two minutes, the crowd chanted "Reg-gie, Reg-gie." When the game ended, Miller walked across the court and embraced Lee, who had watched the game from his usual courtside seat.
"It's always been a love-hate relationship" Miller said. "I didn't know what kind of reception I was going to get here tonight. I appreciate all the kind words and all the signs. It means a lot."
Stephon Marbury had 19 points to lead the Knicks, who have lost seven in a row. Jackson was 12-for-22 as the Pacers got their fourth win in a row.
Heat 104, Bulls 86
In Miami, Dwyane Wade matched his career-high with 39 points and Miami easily overcame Shaquille O'Neal's absence because of a stomach ailment with a win over Chicago that assured it the No. 1 seed and homecourt advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Udonis Haslem added 16 points and 15 rebounds before being ejected late for Miami, which has won 18 straight games at home -- the league's longest run since Sacramento won that many three seasons ago.
Damon Jones added 17 points and Eddie Jones scored 15 for Miami. Chicago, seeking its first 10-game winning streak since Michael Jordan's final championship season seven years ago, got 14 points from Andres Nocioni and Ben Gordon.
Clippers 104, Bobcats 102
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Shaun Livingston made a layup with 1 second to play, and the Los Angeles Clippers handed Charlotte its fifth final-shot loss of the season.
Corey Maggette had 34 points to lead the Clippers, and Elton Brand had 27 points and 10 rebounds. Livingston finished with 17 points.
Brevin Knight -- who angrily knocked over several chairs on Charlotte's bench as he stormed off -- had 21 points and 13 assists to lead the Bobcats, who lost their fifth straight. Rookie Emeka Okafor had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his 41st double-double.
Celtics 116, Wizards 108
In Washington, Boston blew a 16-point lead, but made all 17 of their free throws in the final quarter and beat Washington behind 25 points from Paul Pierce and 21 from Raef LaFrentz.
Gilbert Arenas made 21 free throws on 25 attempts -- both career highs -- and tied his career-high with 43 points for Washington. Antawn Jamison, activated from the injured list earlier in the day, scored 30 -- including 16 straight Wizards' points in the third quarter.
Hornets 96, Hawks 86
In Atlanta, Lee Nailon scored 19 points, and New Orleans extended Atlanta's losing streak to 13 games.
The Hornets snapped a five-game road losing streak despite not having a starter score in double figures.
Tom Gugliotta and Tony Delk had 18 points apiece for Atlanta, which also lost 13 straight from Feb. 10-March 9. The Hawks have lost 26 of their last 27 games.
Nets 111, Cavaliers 80
In Cleveland, Vince Carter scored 27 points, and New Jersey beat Cleveland to continue its push for a playoff berth.
Nenad Krstic scored 18 points and Jason Kidd had 13 points and 12 assists for the Nets, who won for the ninth time in 12 games.
LeBron James had 24 points for Cleveland.
Mavericks 114, Magic 105
In Dallas, Erick Dampier scored 16 points in his first start since returning from a long stay on the injured list, helping Dallas defeat Orlando for its fifth straight 50-win season.
Dampier was playing his third game after missing 21 while dealing with a stress fracture in his right foot.
Dirk Nowitzki had 21 points and nine rebounds for Dallas, but left the court with 3:39 left, went into the tunnel and doubled over in pain shortly after being undercut by Orlando guard Andre Barrett while going for a rebound.
DeShawn Stevenson scored a career-high 29 points, but Orlando fell 1 1/2 games behind Philadelphia for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Nuggets 94, Grizzlies 91
In Memphis, Tennessee, Carmelo Anthony had 24 points and Kenyon Martin 20 as Denver overcame Memphis to take over seventh place in the Western Conference playoff race.
The victory put the Nuggets at 42-31 on the season. Eighth-place Memphis is 41-32. Denver also got 18 points from Andre Miller and 14 from Marcus Camby.
Memphis was led by Pau Gasol with 18 points and Mike Miller with 16.
Jazz 90, Trail Blazers 79
In Salt Lake City, Matt Harpring had 17 points and seven rebounds, and Utah ended a three-game losing streak by beating struggling Portland.
Reserves Ben Handlogten and Kris Humphries added 11 points each, and the Jazz held off the short-handed Blazers, who had just nine players because of injuries.
Joel Przybilla had 13 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks for Portland, which lost its fifth in a row and 10th straight on the road.
Suns 125, Lakers 99
In Phoenix, Quentin Richardson led Phoenix's record-setting 3-point barrage with seven to knock defending Western Conference champions the Los Angeles Lakers out of the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.
The Lakers, with Kobe Bryant resting his injured right leg, lost for the 12th time in 13 games.
Richardson had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Suns won their sixth straight. Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points and Shawn Marion had 22 and 12 rebounds. Marion and Leandro Barbosa, who scored 14 points, made four 3-pointers each as Phoenix set a franchise record with 17 from beyond the arc.
Caron Butler had 30 points for the Lakers.
Kings 122, SuperSonics 101
In Sacramento, California, Peja Stojakovic scored 24 points and Cuttino Mobley had 21 as Sacramento downed Seattle.
Kenny Thomas scored 20 points, and Mike Bibby had 15 points and 10 assists as the Kings made a season-high 58.8 percent of their shots. They also prevented the Sonics from clinching the Northwest Division title.
Ray Allen scored 23 points and Damien Wilkins had 20 for the Sonics.
Warriors 122, Rockets 117
In Oakland, California, Baron Davis scored 17 of his career-high 40 points in the third quarter, and finished with 13 assists as Golden State beat Houston for its season-high sixth straight victory.
Jason Richardson added 20 points, including seven straight during one third-quarter spurt.
Tracy McGrady had 44 points and seven assists for the Rockets.
Yao Ming added 23 points and 11 rebounds for Houston.
Sophia Young's 26 points, Emily Niemann's precise 3-point shooting and the brilliant, energetic play of Baylor's backcourt carried Baylor to an 84-62 victory over Michigan State on Tuesday night for the school's first NCAA title by a women's team.
And what a title run it was. Five years after coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson took over a team that went 7-20 and was at the bottom of the Big 12, the Lady Bears now sit at the top of their sport after winning a game between two teams playing in the finals for the first time.
"What a team I get to coach!" Mulkey-Robertson said. "It wasn't the coaching, it's these guys taking me for a tremendous ride."
It was the second-largest margin of victory in a championship game, falling one point short of the record set in 1987 when Tennessee beat Louisiana Tech 67-44.
When the horn sounded Tuesday night, the Lady Bears flopped on the floor in delirious celebration as a rainbow of neon-colored confetti sprayed all around the RCA Dome. They jumped in unison, donned championship caps and fans chanted "Mul-key! Mul-key!"
They won with unforgiving defense that disrupted almost everything Michigan State tried, zooming to a 19-point lead in the first half. Niemann keyed the early surge and finished the first half with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from behind the 3-point line; she finished with 19.
The victory completed an unprecedented double for Mulkey-Robertson, who became the first in the women's game to play for a national championship team and then coach one. She was the starting point guard when Louisiana Tech won the first NCAA title in 1982, and later became an assistant coach at Tech, spending 15 years there before taking the Baylor job in 2000.
Michigan State (33-4) had reached the title game with unselfish play that epitomized team basketball. But guards Kristin Haynie and Lindsay Bowen had to do it almost by themselves in this one -- and that was asking too much. Bowen scored 20 points and Haynie 17.
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