Indianapolis, IN (My Sportsbook) - The
Indiana Pacers try to maintain position in the Central Division when they welcome the Seattle SuperSonics to Conseco Fieldhouse on Friday night.
Seattle has lost seven of its last nine games, most recently a 96-91 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Gary Payton scored 20 points, dished out 13 assists and grabbed six rebounds in the losing effort. Desmond Mason finished with 14 points, while Kenny Anderson and Brent Barry added 11 points apiece.
"I shot the ball well today and got everybody involved," Payton said. "They didn't want me to do what I had to do to beat them. They doubled and switched to make it tough for me to see and pass."
The Sonics have dropped three straight road games and are 10-12 away from KeyArena this season. The Eastern Conference has also been tough on Seattle, which has an 8-9 mark against such foes.
Indiana has been a dominant home team this season. The Pacers have won 12 in a row at Conseco Fieldhouse and have a dominant 19-1 mark in their own edifice this season.
Most recently, the Toronto Raptors fell to the Pacers 101-98. It was Indiana's seventh win in its last nine games. Erick Strickland finished with 19 points, while Jermaine O'Neal added 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots to the victory. Reggie Miller added 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field. Brad Miller finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Indy coach Isiah Thomas was in awe of O'Neal's rare triple-double.
"That was Bill Russell-like; that was David Robinson-like," Thomas said. "He was everything we needed tonight. He saved us. A triple-double in points, rebounds and blocks; that's rare air.
"To block a shot is the most difficult thing to do in basketball. That's something you can't practice. To be able to get 10 of them in a game, that's like getting 50 points. It's probably easier to get 50 points than it is to get 10 blocks."
The Pacers are 8-5 against teams from the Western Conference.
Indiana captured the first meeting of the season 114-111 at KeyArena on December 4. The Sonics lead the all-time series 34-23.
