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O'Neal, Tinsley lead Pacers past Heat

Dec 16, 2007 - 6:12 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- Jermaine O'Neal scored 10 of his 24 points in the first six minutes of the fourth period and Jamaal Tinsley added 26 points as the Indiana Pacers posted a 106-103 victory over the Miami Heat on Saturday night.

Danny Granger added 16 points for the Pacers, who survived a last-second 3-pointer by Dwyane Wade to improve to 6-4 on the road.

"We've been a team that's been up a lot of points and lost," Jermaine O'Neal said. "The same thing last night (a 104-93 loss to Toronto). We haven't been a team that's been allowed to keep a whole lead. Tonight, it showed some character for our team to go what we went through and still get the win in a tough environment."

In a game that was tightly contested for much of the first three quarters, the Pacers took advantage once Shaquille O'Neal picked up his fifth foul just 50 seconds into the final period.

Jermaine O'Neal responded with a pair of jumpers and a driving layup to provide Indiana an 84-79 edge with 9:23 left in the game.

Over the next three minutes, Granger, Troy Murphy and Tinsley knocked down shots from the arc, and Jermaine O'Neal converted a turnaround jumper from the lane and two free throws for a 99-88 lead with six minutes remaining.

"Our guys don't like to lose," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "We lost a tough one in fourth quarter to Toronto and in timeouts we kept talking about what we had to do to win. ... And moving the ball around and we did a much better job of it in the second half."

Shaquille O'Neal, who finished with 12 points and three rebounds, then re-entered but fouled out with 2:14 left in the game. O'Neal finished with just seven shots, the 11th time this season he has recorded 10 or fewer.

Shaquille O' Neal's final foul came when he collided with Jermaine O'Neal on a charge under the basket.

The Pacers center was down on the court for a while before walking off under his own power. After going to the bench he returned and hit two free throws to push Indiana's lead up to six. He took a charge the next time down the court as well and then left the game.

"Jermaine O'Neal, that was a heroic effort at the end," O'Brien said. "They didn't know if he lost consciousness and then he comes back and makes the two foul (shots) and the next possession he puts his body in front of the driver another time to take the charge. I just think that's a phenomenal example of leadership - and what he means to our basketball team."

"I just wanted to gather myself. I knew my neck was hurting; I was a little fuzzy when I first got up. But once I sat down and put some water over my face and calmed down a little bit, I felt like I was capable of making the free throws," Jermaine O'Neal said.

After falling behind by 11 points, Miami got within three, had the final shot, but Wade's off-balance 3-pointer from the left corner hit off the back iron.

"I got a pretty good look," Wade said. "They took the first option away, I kept coming, two people went with someone else, so got a pretty good look at it."

Udonis Haslem had a season-high 24 points and Wade added 24 and nine assists but recorded eight turnovers for the second straight game as Miami dropped to 2-6 at home.

The Heat jumped to an early 18-8 lead but led just 27-25 after the first quarter, despite knocking down 12-of-17 shots. Miami committed seven turnovers in the opening 12 minutes and were beaten on the offensive boards, 9-0.

Tinsley took over for the Pacers in a back-and-forth second period, scoring 13 of his 17 first-half points, but the Heat closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a 55-52 lead at the half.

"That's probably our best matchup," O'Brien said. "We felt he could score on Jason Williams and Chris Quinn. We took advantage of it. (Tinsley's) shot selection was very good. He kept our team involved. ... He kept the tempo where we wanted to the whole evening."

"I was attacking in the first half and getting in the paint, and shooting over little guys," Tinsley said. "That's what they wanted me to do. Just being aggressive, trying to make something happen for the team. ... In the first half, all eyes were on me."

Rookie Daequan Cook hit a 3-pointer and a short jumper, and Wade capped the half with a pair of free throws to finish with 10 points and six assists in the half.

Miami, NBA champions just two seasons ago, lost its second game in a row after ending a five-game Western road swing with encouraging wins against the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns.

"There's a lot of pain," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "It's very painful. I'm not trying to get on a philosophical bent here but when you're given everything you've ever wanted in your profession, why give me all of this and make me feel pain? Welcome to the real world. It's not easy."