Miller, Pacers Get Even Guard Nets 36 In 123-96 Romp; Game 7 Sunday

No clutch comeback this time for the Indiana Pacers. None was needed.

Reggie Miller’s 28 first-half points overwhelmed the bewildered Orlando Magic early and they never recovered as the Pacers forced Game 7 in the NBA Eastern Conference finals with a 123-96 victory Friday night.

Miller finished with 36 points in 35 minutes and Rik Smits had 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Pacers led by 25 at halftime and by 35 late in the third period as the Magic’s losing streak at Market Square Arena stretched to nine games.

Miller augmented a 13-of-19 shooting night with seven rebounds. Smits was 9 of 14 as the Pacers shot 56 percent, their best of the playoffs.

“Things were kind of going my way, and the shot was dropping,” Miller said. “The guys understand that if I’m going like that, they set picks a little bit harder and the ball comes my way a little bit more.”

When the game ended, Magic guards Anfernee Hardaway and Dennis Scott called their teammates onto the middle of the court, where they looked at the lopsided numbers on the scoreboard.

“We just didn’t want to walk off the floor with our heads down low,” Scott said. “Penny and myself, we didn’t have the games we should have had, and we just got together to walk off.”

The blame for the latest loss in Indianapolis couldn’t be pinned on Shaquille O’Neal, whose foul trouble contributed to Orlando’s two previous defeats. He had 26 points and stayed in the game until his presence didn’t matter.

The Magic’s problem was cold outside shooting and a lack of rebounding. After shooting more than 50 percent in each of the first five games of the series, Orlando hit 46 percent of its field goals. Hardaway was 4 of 14 and Horace Grant 2 of 8.

Even more damaging was the Pacers’ 54-32 rebounding edge. Grant had nine.

“Indiana was just better than us in every phase of the game,” Magic coach Brian Hill said. “They were just a far superior basketball team. We didn’t come out flat. Indiana was just great tonight.”

Game 7 is Sunday night in Orlando, and the winner advances to the NBA Finals against Houston.

“The bigger game lies ahead,” Miller said. “This was a statement to the Magic that it’s going to be tough. There’s really nothing to do cartwheels over now.”

Playing the Magic’s up-tempo style, the Pacers sprinted to a 27-point lead in the first half. The closest Orlando got in the second half was 18 points following a flurry of 3-pointers. The Magic had 12 3s in the game.

After Orlando closed to 100-82 with 7:25 to play, the Pacers produced a 16-5 spurt. By then, though, the Magic had long since given up.

The Pacers have staged magnificent comebacks throughout the playoffs: Miller’s eight points in the last 16 seconds of the conference semifinals’ Game 1 against New York; Smits’ buzzer-beater in Game 4 of this series; and Game 5’s rally that fell just short.

This time, the Pacers didn’t wait until the final minute.

Miller time came early.

In the first quarter, Miller hit 7 of 8 shots, including three 3-pointers. Fouled on another 3-point try, he made all three fouls shots for a 31-18 lead and finished the period with 20 points, the same total the Magic managed as Indiana led 31-20.

“I thought the first quarter was about as perfect as we could play,” Brown said, “and that kind of set the tone.”

Pacers 123, Magic 96

ORLANDO (96)

Grant 2-8 1-1 5, Scott 6-11 0-0 15, O’Neal 10-15 6-12 26, Anderson 5-9 1-2 12, Hardaway 4-14 0-0 11, Rollins 0-0 0-0 0, Shaw 2-8 0-0 5, Royal 1-3 0-0 2, Turner 0-0 0-0 0, Bowie 5-8 0-0 14, Avent 2-3 0-1 4, Thompson 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 37-80 10-18 96.

INDIANA (123)

D.Davis 4-10 0-2 8, McKey 2-5 4-4 8, Smits 9-14 4-5 22, Jackson 4-10 2-3 11, Miller 13-19 4-4 36, Ferrell 3-7 2-2 9, A.Davis 3-3 2-4 8, Mitchell 2-5 2-2 6, Workman 2-2 0-0 4, Scott 4-7 0-0 9, Kite 0-0 0-0 0, Fleming 1-2 0-1 2.Totals 47-84 20-27 123.

Orlando 20 20 22 34 - 96 Indiana 31 34 29 29 - 123

3-Point goals-Orlando 12-27 (Bowie 4-4, Scott 3-7, Hardaway 3-10, Anderson 1-1, Shaw 1-4, Thompson 0-1), Indiana 9-18 (Miller 6-10, Ferrell 1-1, Scott 1-2, Jackson 1-3, McKey 0-1, Mitchell 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Orlando 34 (Grant 9), Indiana 61 (D.Davis, Smits 10). Assists-Orlando 22 (Anderson 5), Indiana 34 (Jackson 12). Total fouls-Orlando 22, Indiana 24. Technical- Anderson. A-16,477 (16,530).