Jermaine O'Neal

Jermaine O'Neal scores 34 points to help Pacers beat 76ers 101 93

Now that the Philadelphia 76ers are done trying to find Allen Iverson a new home, they can work on somehow ending their long losing streak.

Jermaine O'Neal scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Stephen Jackson had 25 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 101-93 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday night, the last-place 76ers' 12th straight loss.

``Philly is a desperate team,'' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. ``I know this game, they had it circled.''

O'Neal and Jackson took turns down the stretch making clutch baskets to hold off a spirited Sixers team playing their first game in more than 10 years without Iverson on the roster.

Andre Iguodala and Kyle Korver each scored 20 points for the Sixers, a night after they traded Iverson to Denver for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007 first-round picks. Iverson was inactive for his final six games in Philadelphia after a bitter split with the franchise that made him the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1996.

``I think we need some extra fresh legs coming off the bench,'' Iguodala said. ``We made a few mental mistakes near the end of the game and I think that's what it was from.''

Iverson will probably make his Denver debut Friday night at home against Sacramento. The Nuggets postponed their game Wednesday night against Phoenix because of a snowstorm.

No Iverson, and no Chris Webber again, either. Webber missed his third straight game because of a sprained right ankle.

The Sixers, who have lost 19 of 21 overall, are on their longest losing streak since they dropped 13 straight from Dec. 28, 1996, to Jan. 20, 1997. The Sixers also have dropped 10 in a row on the road. It's been a tough time to be a Wachovia Center tenant: The Flyers have lost a franchise-record seven straight games, making it 19 consecutive losses for Philly's NHL and NBA teams. Neither has won in December.

In an odd twist, former Sixers coach Larry Brown could return to the organization he led to the 2001 NBA finals. Brown, who had a contentious relationship with Iverson during his six seasons as Philadelphia's coach, moved back to the area after he was fired by the Knicks and was acting as an adviser to Sixers team president Billy King.

Brown also coached the Pacers, who improved to 14-13 thanks to O'Neal and Jackson. Korver hit a basket that tied the score 84-all late in the fourth and got a rise out of another sparse crowd. O'Neal and Jackson hit four free throws to give Indiana a one-point lead.

With 1:40 left, Jackson made a 22-foot jumper from the left side over the outstretched arms of two charging defenders to make it 90-87. He followed with another bucket the next time down. O'Neal put the game out of reach with another basket with 50 seconds left and the Pacers pulled away from there.

Danny Granger scored 15 points and Jeff Foster had 11 rebounds for the Pacers.

``Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson played great. They made huge plays,'' Carlisle said.

Samuel Dalembert had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Willie Green added 16 points for the Sixers.

``Our effort was good, not good enough to win the game,'' Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said.

While the Sixers are focused on getting out of last place, they know a reunion with Iverson is on the horizon. They play at Denver on Jan. 2.

``He's going to be coming at us that night,'' Korver said.

Notes: Pacers president Larry Bird said Indiana was never a serious contender in Iverson trade talks. ``We made one call, I think, and the price was too high,'' he said. ``Allen's been a great player over the years. When a player stands up and wants out, you've got to do something to try and help the franchise. Billy did a good job. It's tough under the circumstances.'' ... Sixers C Steven Hunter chuckled when asked his opinion on Sixers fans wanting the team to lose to increase its chances at winning the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery. ``In any other place, I might doubt that statement, but here, you could be right,'' he said. Hunter did not play because of knee tendinitis.

Jermaine O'Neal's 26 points, 14 boards propels Pacers over Pistons 101 90

The Indiana Pacers showed how they can perform with a full complement of players.

Two days after losing to Chicago with a number of key players out of the lineup, the suddenly healthy Pacers beat the Detroit Pistons 101-90 on Wednesday night.

Starters Jermaine O'Neal (sore hamstring), Al Harrington (stomach ailment) and Stephen Jackson (suspension) all missed Monday's game at Chicago, but returned against the Pistons, much to the delight of Indiana coach Rick Carlisle.

``It was certainly better than Monday night _ that wasn't any fun,'' Carlisle said. ``It helps having Jermaine and Al.''

O'Neal finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds in his first game back after missing three straight with the hamstring injury. Jamaal Tinsley had 21 points and Harrington scored 16 for the Pacers, who won their fifth straight game at Conseco Fieldhouse.

``Obviously, you want to take care of your home court and you want to play well in front of your hometown,'' O'Neal said. ``It's good winning games at home.''

Chauncey Billups had 22 points, Richard Hamilton scored 18 and Rasheed Wallace chipped in 14 for the Pistons, who lost to Indiana for just the fifth time since the brawl between the Pacers and Detroit fans on Nov. 19, 2004.

The Pistons shot 39 per cent from the field and trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half.

``It was like we were playing uphill the whole time,'' Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. ``It's a situation where we never grabbed the game and took control of it.''

Indiana took its biggest lead of the second half, 74-61, on Harrington's jumper with 2:30 left in the third quarter. But the Pistons closed out the period with consecutive three-pointers by Billups and Wallace to get within 76-71.

The Pacers began the fourth quarter by scoring the first seven points, but Detroit responded with nine straight to cut Indiana's lead to 83-80.

``We fell behind and we just couldn't quite get over the hump,'' Billups said. ``We kept closing the gap and they would come up with a big play or a big shot.''

Indiana finally pulled away with the help of O'Neal, who scored 12 consecutive points, including a three-point play with less than two minutes left to put the Pacers ahead 99-88.

``We went into a spurt where we couldn't make plays and they cut the lead, and I just felt like I needed to take over,'' O'Neal said. ``That comes from my team putting me in a position to be successful.''

Saunders said the Pistons didn't have an answer for O'Neal in the fourth quarter.

``When you extend your defence, you're going to open up the middle a little bit,'' Saunders said. ``We stopped trapping and our defence was still exposed, and he made plays.''

Notes: Jackson's one-game suspension was for conduct detrimental to the team. ... O'Neal missed three games with the sore left hamstring. ... The Pistons had their two-game road winning streak snapped. They had won at Dallas and Orlando. ... Tinsley picked up a technical foul for arguing a no-call late in the second quarter. ... Former Pacer Dale Davis received an ovation from the crowd when he entered the game in the first quarter. ... The Pacers improved to 7-2 at home this season.

Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal out Blazers game with hamstring injury

Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal missed the Pacers' game Friday night against the Portland Trail Blazers because of a sore left hamstring.

O'Neal leads the Pacers with 17.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game and ranks second in the NBA at 3.1 blocked shots.

``We're hopeful that by addressing this now it can preclude us from having to deal with something long term,'' Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said.

O'Neal missed 31 games last season with various injuries.

Carlisle said an MRI revealed that O'Neal's hamstring ``has the beginnings of a possible tear and significant swelling.''

One-time Toronto Raptor Maceo Baston made his first career start in O'Neal's place. He scored a career-high 10 points Monday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.

``He's been giving us great minutes off the bench,'' Carlisle said. ``The matchups tonight point to this being a great situation for him and I like the way Baston's been playing.''

Centre David Harrison, who has missed 13 games with a sore left shoulder, was active for Friday's game.