Lakers defeat Pacers 103-94
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-07 14:53

Kobe Bryant scored 37 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading the Lakers to a 103-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night.

Bryant made all of his 13 foul shots to help spoil Reggie Miller's final NBA game in Los Angeles. Miller finished with 11 points in 38 minutes on 5-of-16 shooting.

Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, center, is fouled by Indiana Pacers' Fred Jones, left, as Stephen Jackson helps defend in the second half Sunday, March 6, 2005, in Los Angeles. Bryant led all scorers with 37 points in the Lakers' 103-94 win. [AP]

Stephen Jackson had 29 points for the Pacers, who have lost their last nine road games against the Lakers — three of them coming in the 2000 finals.

Miller, who announced on Feb. 12 that he would retire at the end of the season, was born in nearby Riverside and played his college ball at UCLA, while his sister Cheryl was starring for Southern Cal and brother Darrell was catching for the California Angels.

The victory put the Lakers alone in eighth place for the race for the final Western Conference playoff berth, a half-game over Denver and 1 1/2 over Minnesota. Indiana slipped into an eighth-place tie with Philadelphia in the East, 1 1/2 games behind Chicago.

In their second game since placing leading scorer Jermaine O'Neal on the injured list with a sprained right shoulder and reacquiring Dale Davis on waivers from New Orleans, the Pacers shot 41.7 percent and never led after Bryant's two free throws gave the Lakers a 17-16 lead with 2:42 left in the first quarter.

Bryant scored 15 points in the third quarter, one more than Jackson. The Lakers took a 77-65 lead into the fourth and increased it to 89-72 on Jumaine Jones' 3-pointer with 6:55 to play.

The Pacers got as close as 95-90 with a 17-4 run capped by Miller's running 9-footer with 2:16 remaining, but Chucky Atkins clinched it with eight free throws in the final 1:27. Atkins finished with 16 points.

Bryant, coming off a 40-point effort in Friday's victory over Dallas, helped Los Angeles build a 50-37 halftime lead with 18 points. The Lakers ended the half with a 12-3 run that included a pair of layups and a 19-footer by the seven-time All-Star.

Miller missed his first shot, a 20-footer from the top of the key, and was 3-for-11 from the field before intermission while the Pacers shot 39 percent. The 39-year-old forward's final 3-pointer in L.A. trimmed the Lakers' lead to 55-47 with 7:46 left in the third quarter.

The Pistons, who entered with the league's second-worst rebounding average (39.4), had trouble matching up against a Lakers squad that came in averaging a league-leading 44.0 boards. The Lakers finished with a 47-34 advantage.

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