Indianapolis ? Jamaal Tinsley watched as his improbable heave from just inside the halfcourt line banked in at the buzzer.
Too bad it didn’t count.
Tinsley’s apparent game-winner was waved off after officials reviewed the play, and the Orlando Magic escaped with an 85-84 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.
Indiana blew a chance to tie the score at 85-all with 3.3 seconds left when Reggie Miller was fouled by Doug Christie while shooting a 3-pointer. But Miller, who has made a career of hitting clutch shots, made only two of three foul shots to leave the Pacers a point short.
“He missed it,” said Jermaine O’Neal, who finished with 38 points and 15 rebounds. “Just like I missed six (free throws). I missed six big ones.”
The Pacers put Jameer Nelson on the free throw line with 2.6 seconds left. The rookie missed both attempts, setting up Tinsley’s desperation shot.
“I just caught it and shot it,” said Tinsley, who had 12 points and four assists. “I guess it wasn’t good.”
Hedo Turkoglu had 23 points and Grant Hill added 19 points and eight rebounds for Orlando, which almost blew an 18-point first-half lead.
Turkoglu, who was inserted into the starting lineup after Orlando traded Cuttino Mobley, had 19 points in the first half. The new role is suiting Turkoglu — he’s averaging 18.7 points and six rebounds in his three starts.
“The trade will allow him to flourish a little bit more,” Hill said. “I’ve seen him everyday since training camp and I think he’s an All-Star in the making.”
For Indiana, it was a disappointing loss following two impressive wins over Memphis and Phoenix. The Pacers shot 38 percent from the field and didn’t give O’Neal much help on offense. Tinsley was the only other Pacer to score in double figures.
“I don’t think that’s really an issue,” O’Neal said. “The issue is getting off to a better start.”
Despite the poor start, Indiana was able to get back into the game midway through the fourth quarter. The Pacers cut a 12-point deficit to 71-65 after a 6-0 run with 6:43 left.
Hill responded by scoring Orlando’s next nine points to keep the Pacers at bay.
O’Neal came back with a bucket to make the score 83-82 with 28 seconds to go, but Kelvin Cato hit two free throws to extend the lead to three with 7 seconds left.
“It was just one of those blue-collar games,” Orlando coach Johnny Davis said. “Each team was slugging it out in the fourth quarter.”
Notes: Miller became the Pacers career-leader in assists, finishing with three. Miller entered Saturday’s game tied with Vern Fleming with 4,038. … Christie finished with two points in his first game playing with the Magic. … Pacers coach Rick Carlisle got a technical foul for arguing a non-call late in the second quarter. … Orlando’s Dwight Howard got a technical for arguing a call in the third quarter. … Jonathan Bender scored eight points in his first game back from a knee injury. … Pacers forward Michael Curry missed the game with flulike symptoms.
