Passion unbottled

A fired-up Reggie Miller finds his groove in Game 3 - just in time for the Pacers.

By DARRELL FRY

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 14, 2000

INDIANAPOLIS -- It was only the second quarter, but Reggie Miller was so pumped -- screaming, thrusting a fist and encouraging the crowd -- that he could have taken on Superman. Actually, that's what he had just done, barreling full speed into Shaquille O'Neal, who was anchored in front of the basket.

Not only did Miller live to tell about it, he came away with two points, a foul and an emotional play that set the tone for the Pacers' 100-91 victory in Game3 of the NBA Finals on Sunday at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Clearly, as Miller goes, so go the Indiana Pacers. Sure, Jalen Rose has emerged as a star and a prolific scorer this season. But this is still Miller's team, and if it's going to get any further in the Finals, it's going to be because of him and no one else.

Miller said as much after Sunday's game, unflinchingly putting his team's hopes on his shoulders. "It always comes down to me," he said.

It's no coincidence that the Pacers won their first game in this series when Miller had his biggest night.

He was dreadful in Game1, decent in Game2. But he erupted for 33 points in a game the Pacers desperately needed. He scored from the outside, hitting a pair of three-pointers. He scored in transition, feasting on some of the Lakers' 17 turnovers. And, as he has been throughout the Finals, he was perfect from the free-throw line, going 9-for-9, including two in the final seconds that virtually sealed the win.

"He made big shots time after time," teammate Dale Davis said. "Especially when the Lakers made their run (in the third quarter), it seemed like Reggie was the one who always hit the clutch shot on them. I think he's back in his groove."

The proof is not just in the boxscore, but in Miller himself. He has an edge these days, his passion for the game on full display. He played Sunday as if he were on a sugar high, reacting to almost every play and strutting downcourt after hitting big baskets.

He repeatedly jawed with the officials on controversial calls and once barged into the Lakers' huddle to get teammate Mark Jackson, who needed no rescuing.

He was so animated that Pacers coach Larry Bird worried about his energy level, cautioning that playing with so much emotion could deplete his stamina. "You waste a lot of energy when you do that," Bird said.

Miller, though, couldn't care less.

"I've got to let it pour out. I can't play quiet. There's just no way," he said. "I play on emotion and excitement. It's always been that way."

An inspired Miller in Game4 tonight could be dangerous for the Lakers, who have not won at Conseco Fieldhouse in two visits this season.

Miller was inspired going into Game3 in the first round against Milwaukee, which had put the Pacers on their heels by beating them at the Fieldhouse the game before. He boldly sported a Superman T-shirt during warmups, then ripped the Bucks for 34 points.

He wore the shirt again when the Bucks forced a deciding Game5, then delivered a career playoff-high 41 points to fight off what would have been an embarrassing exit.

He needed little motivation in the Eastern Conference final against New York, with whom he has a long-running feud. Fueled by taunts from the Madison Square Garden crowd, he scored 34 points -- more than twice his total from the previous game -- to carry the Pacers into their first Finals.

"We have to keep an eye on him," said Lakers guard Brian Shaw, often assigned to defend Miller. "We didn't expect for him to stay bottled up the entire series."

Miller appears uncorked now, buoyed by his 33-point night and determined to stick it to those who wrote him off as a choke artist after his 1 for 16 shooting in Game1 at Los Angeles.

"Like I've said before, as long as I can continue to get good looks (at the basket), it's only a matter of time until it will all pay off," he said.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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