Another Comeback Annoys the Pacers

The Indiana Pacers keep coming back, and they’re not happy about it.

“Somehow we’ve got to get out of this rut,” Indiana Coach Larry Bird said after his team overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat Cleveland, 89-83, Friday night at Indianapolis.

It was the third time in eight days that Bird saw his team win after trailing by double digits in the second half.

“If we continue to do this, one of these games we’ll get beat by 30,” he said.

The Pacers, who overcame 15- and 17-point deficits to defeat Utah and Boston last week, trailed Cleveland, 55-39, with 10:26 left in the third quarter before rallying to win their fifth in a row.

“The last four or five ballgames have been kind of discouraging. We’ve worked ourselves a hole, and had to work our way back,” said Reggie Miller, who scored 24 points.

“To be a championship-caliber team, we’re going to have to come out with the same type of effort that we’re giving in the third quarter. If we can start games, maybe we can get teams in a hole and play consistently.”

Phoenix 74, Miami 71--In a game with terrible shooting, Rex Chapman’s turnaround 22-footer with 12 seconds remaining put the Suns ahead to stay at Miami.

Both teams shot 31%.

Phoenix’s Jason Kidd was 0 for 13 before finally making a shot with 1:46 left. Teammate Antonio McDyess went 0 for 7. Miami’s Tim Hardaway made seven of 23 shots.

Chicago 87, Golden State 80--The Bulls survived Michael Jordan’s off-target shooting and hung on for the victory at Oakland.

Jordan, the NBA’s leading scorer, made only two of 17 shots, finishing with 14 points. He didn’t reach double figures until making a pair of free throws with 8:54 remaining.

Scottie Pippen helped make up for the lost production, leading the Bulls with 22 points.

Utah 104, Dallas 94--Karl Malone scored 29 points and John Stockton added 17 points and 10 assists at Salt Lake City.

The Jazz used a 13-2 third-quarter run to beat the Mavericks at home for the 17th time in a row.

Dallas trailed by only two with 4:35 remaining in the third quarter before Utah started to pull away.

Sacramento 123, Toronto 97--Mitch Richmond had 27 points in 25 minutes of play, and the Kings shot 56.3% from the field for the easy win at Sacramento.

The Kings used an early 24-5 spurt to virtually put the Raptors away.

Charlotte 97, Boston 95--David Wesley scored 28 points against his former teammates, making a key three-point shot in the final minute as the Hornets overcame 38 points by Antoine Walker at Boston.

But Walker’s off-balance attempt as time expired missed everything.

Washington 102, Detroit 95--Rod Strickland had 25 points and nine assists for the Wizards at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Washington overcame 28 points and 10 rebounds from Grant Hill to end its three-game losing streak at the Palace.