(My Sportsbook) - The Indiana Pacers have traditionally been a team that kills opponents with tremendous guard play -- especially with the three-point basket. Things are definitely changing.

Indiana is coming off an 83-79 win over the Miami Heat -- its first road win of the season. The Pacers only loss of the young season came at the hands of the defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets last Friday night.

Brad Miller was huge in Indiana's win over the Heat. Miller scored 28 points and made key plays on both ends of the floor in the final minute of the contest.

With the game tied 77-77, Miller tossed up a picture-perfect, alley-oop pass above the rim for Jermaine O'Neal. O'Neal slammed it down to give the Pacers the lead with 50 seconds remaining. On the other end of the floor, Miller then blocked a shot by Eddie Jones to help preserve the win. He went on to hit a pair of free throws to put the icing on the cake.

O'Neal added 22 points and 13 rebounds to the victory. The Pacers are still playing without Reggie Miller, who is sidelined with an ankle injury.

Brad Miller has been quite a surprise this season. He doesn't possess blazing speed, yet he still manages to be quite an effective player.

"I'm slower and smarter," Miller said. "I'm not going to jump over everybody, so I just have to outwork them and outthink them."

His chemistry with Jermaine O'Neal is paying dividends.

"We know each other this year," O'Neal told the Indianapolis Star. "We can be extremely effective with two post players. I don't think they grow 'em like that anymore. Everybody has one good post player but they don't have two.

"We can throw the ball on either block and make it happen. Hopefully, knock on wood, we can continue to do the same thing."

HICKS VS. KNICKS

The Pacers' next game is against the hated New York Knicks on Friday night.

Indiana has won three of the last four and nine of the last 15 meetings between the teams. The Knicks have lost three straight and nine of their last 10 at Indiana. New York leads the all-time series 69-47.

Of course, this rivalry always has some extra juice due to the extensive playoff history between the teams. New York knocked off the Pacers on their run to the Finals in 1999-2000, while the Pacers returned the favor the following season. Both rosters have an entirely new look, but the contempt remains.