Sports

NBA

Pacers retire Miller's No. 31, then lose to Suns

Associated Press
Published March 31, 2006

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INDIANAPOLIS - The capacity crowd that showed up at Conseco Fieldhouse to watch Reggie Miller's No. 31 jersey retirement ceremony had nearly vanished by the fourth quarter.

That's because the Pacers didn't resemble the team Miller turned into a contender with his countless clutch shots.

Shawn Marion scored 29, Steve Nash nearly had a triple double, and the Phoenix Suns beat Indiana 114-104 Thursday night to snap a two-game losing streak.

Nash finished with 15 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds.

"Miller Time" never came because the Pacers were out of the game so early. Phoenix led 58-44 at halftime and 92-78 at the end of the third quarter.

Phoenix entered the game averaging a league-best 108 points. The Suns' offense was too sharp for Indiana's fourth-ranked scoring defense.

Indiana, which was again without injured Jermaine O' Neal, got no closer than nine points in the second half.

LEAGUE PULLS OUT: The NBA pulled out of negotiations between the Trail Blazers and Rose Garden owners intended to help sell the team and its home arena. Last month, Blazers owner Paul Allen said the team was hemorrhaging money and appealed for a public partnership to keep it afloat. Allen suggested he may have to sell the team if a solution could not be found. Commissioner David Stern said the league has attempted for the past six weeks to broker a deal "to sell the team and the arena ... unfortunately, the arena owners have not offered any constructive response to these efforts and recently advised us that they are satisfied with the status quo."

[Last modified March 31, 2006, 01:12:03]

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