NBA

O'Neal leads Pacers, goes for hearing

By wire services
Published December 30, 2004

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - His immediate future in limbo, Jermaine O'Neal gave Indiana everything he had Wednesday night with 24 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Pacers to a 74-71 victory over the Bobcats.

O'Neal didn't have a great shooting night, going just 9-for-24, but it was enough to give the Pacers back-to-back wins for the first time in December.

In the three games he's played since an arbitrator reduced his 25-game suspension to 15, O'Neal has given Indiana a much needed low-post presence while contributing 61 points and 35 rebounds.

He will go before a federal judge today in New York, where it will be determined if he can continue to play or must sit out the final 10 games of his suspension for fighting with fans in last month.

"It will be hard. I'll be disappointed, but I'll put it in God's hands," O'Neal said. "I've got a lot of faith."

An arbitrator reduced the ban to 15 games, but the NBA challenged the arbitrator's authority to hear O'Neal's grievance. The judge can uphold the ruling, or return O'Neal to the suspended list.

If it was his final game for a while, O'Neal made the most of it.

He gave Indiana a 69-67 lead on a putback, and with the Pacers clinging to a 72-71 lead, O'Neal stole a pass from Jason Hart that led to Jeff Foster's basket, which pushed their lead to 74-71 with 1:22 to play.

"We're trying to take a step forward, trying to put some things together with this team," said O'Neal.

PISTONS 107, WIZARDS 105: Chauncey Billups hit a 14-foot jumper with 0.7 seconds remaining as visiting Detroit overcame a 19-point first-half deficit. Billups scored 10 points in the final five minutes. The Wizards tied the game at 105 on Antawn Jamison's layup off a feed from Larry Hughes with 21 seconds remaining. Billups then dribbled down the clock and made the winning shot.

KNICKS 100, T'WOLVES 87: Stephon Marbury scored 15 of his 32 in the final quarter, including a personal 9-2 run that gave New York a 94-85 lead with 1:46 remaining. Nazr Mohammed added 19. Latrell Sprewell scored 22 and Sam Cassell 20 for the Timberwolves, who lost their fifth straight road game.

SUNS 107, HORNETS 96: Quentin Richardson set a Suns record for 3-pointers in a game with nine and finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds.

ROCKETS 98, CAVALIERS 87: On the night before he turned 20, LeBron James was in no condition to celebrate. Cleveland's star forward got flattened by an elbow from Houston's Dikembe Mutombo. Tracy McGrady scored 34 and Yao Ming added 20 for the Rockets, who didn't have to contend with James after halftime and snapped a five-game losing streak on the road. James bruised a bone near his left eye.

GRIZZLIES 117, CELTICS 109: Pau Gasol scored 24 and grabbed 11 rebounds as Memphis rallied in the final period. The Grizzlies had an 18-3 run to begin the quarter and take a 101-97 lead. The Celtics, ending a three-game road trip with no wins, were led by Raef LaFrentz with 28 points.

[Last modified December 30, 2004, 00:39:11]