NBA ROUNDUP : Miller Squeezes Knicks in Overtime Victory

A long night of banging and bumping, falling and pushing ended with the Indiana Pacers putting a chokehold on the New York Knicks at Indianapolis.

Reggie Miller had 26 points, and the Pacers held New York to two points in the first 4 1/2 minutes of overtime for a 97-95 victory Thursday, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series and dealing the Knicks their first loss in Market Square Arena this season.

“We could not make the plays,” said Coach Pat Riley, whose Knicks blew an 11-point lead. “They took it from us.”

The Knicks’ cold shooting got worse, and Indiana scored six consecutive points, capped by Reggie Miller’s soaring slam dunk from the middle of the lane with 41.8 seconds to play.

Derek Harper, who scored all seven of his team’s points in overtime, missed an 18-foot jump shot with less than three seconds remaining.

“I felt if we kept our poise we could win the game,” Harper said.

The Pacers did their part to throw it away while leading, 96-90, with less than a minute to go in overtime. They bungled two inbounds plays and failed to control a rebound.

But, despite it all, Riley said, “We feel like we should be ahead three-zip. But we’re not. You have to finish games.”

Phoenix 118, Houston 94--Lightning hit the Rockets twice as the Suns, who blew out the defending champions by 22 points in Game 1, got 30 points from Charles Barkley and 29 from Kevin Johnson and won again at Phoenix to take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

Johnson, who had 10 of his 12 assists by halftime, softened up the Rockets with cat-like drives.