It Goes From Bad to Worse for Pacers

Larry Bird thinks the law of averages finally caught up with his Indiana Pacers.

After winning seven of eight games, the Pacers suffered their worst loss of the season, 102-83, Friday night at Indianapolis to the Golden State Warriors.

“We’ve been getting by, especially at home,” Bird said. “We didn’t play at all. It’s disappointing because we had an opportunity at home to get a cushion.”

John Starks, who led the Warriors with 17 points, renewed his rivalry with Reggie Miller, limiting Indiana’s leading scorer to 13 points--10 of which came in the second half after the Warriors were in control.

The Warriors scored 14 more points than their season average, and shot 52.9% from the field. They were averaging 40.6%.

Milwaukee 88, New York 87--Latrell Sprewell’s comeback was overshadowed by Terrell Brandon’s.

Brandon, returning from a two-game absence with bruised ribs and a bruised thigh, made two foul shots with eight seconds left as the Bucks sent the Knicks to their fourth consecutive road loss.

Patrick Ewing, who scored 24 points, missed a potential game-winner from the baseline just before the buzzer.

Sprewell, out for three weeks with an injured heel, scored 18 points, including 14 in 14 first-half minutes.

Washington 86, Charlotte 85--Rod Strickland scored 15 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including four free throws in the final 1:10, to help the Wizards break a five-game home losing streak.

Strickland, who also had 15 assists, went 15 for 16 from the line, including 11 for 12 down the stretch. Juwan Howard had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards.

Utah 106, Dallas 95--With Coach Jerry Sloan absent for just the second time in 1,153 games, Karl Malone scored 30 points at Salt Lake City to help the Jazz beat the Mavericks for the 24th time in a row, including three this season.

Phil Johnson, Sloan’s longtime assistant, coached the game while Sloan recovered from surgery on his right knee.

Boston 102, Denver 94--Ron Mercer scored a career-high 35 points and Antoine Walker had 21 points and 15 rebounds as the Celtics kept the Nuggets winless on the road.

The Celtics, winners of four of their last six games, extended Denver’s losing streak to three games. The Nuggets are 0-9 on the road.

Miami 89, Philadelphia 78--The Heat held an opponent to below 85 points for the ninth time this season as the Heat won at Philadelphia.

Tim Hardaway scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and added 10 assists as Miami won its fourth in a row.

Orlando 89, Toronto 84--The Magic withstood a late 14-0 run by the Raptors to win at Toronto.

Toronto trailed by 14 points early in the fourth quarter. Vince Carter tied the score with 6:40 left and gave the Raptors a 80-78 lead with with 2:30 left. Isaac Austin gave the Magic the lead with less than 30 seconds left.

Portland 97, Minnesota 85--Jim Jackson led a fourth-quarter rally that carried the Trail Blazers to their 10th victory in 11 games and their 12th in a row over the Timberwolves at Portland.

After Minnesota cut Portland’s lead to one early in the quarter, the Trail Blazers, led by Jackson’s five straight points, went on a 16-6 run for an 85-74 lead with 6:12 left.