Miller scored half of his season-high 26 points in the final seven minutes and Jermaine O'Neal added 20 and 11 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers rallied from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter for a 103-100 victory over the Hawks.
Miller has built a solid career on clutch performances late in games. One of the best 3-point shooters ever, Miller's heroics are becoming more rare as his career winds down, but he still has the ability to put the team on his narrow shoulders.
"He seems to always do that," Atlanta guard Jason Terry said. "You have to be aware of him in the clutch. I don't call him Reggie Miller, I call him Clutch Miller.
 Seven-up: Jermaine O'Neal rises above the rest. Scott Cunningham NBAE/Getty Images |
The Hawks led by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter and had a 96-85 edge with 6:33 left when Miller began his assault with a 3-pointer.
"They seemed to have us on the ropes," he said. "We just came up with the shots when we had to and when we had to make plays we made the big play."
Miller sank a pair of free throws with 5:51 left to slice the deficit to six and halved the deficit with another 3-pointer with 3:12 to go.
Miller nailed a long jumper 52 seconds later and was fouled, tying the game, 98-98, on the ensuing free throw.
"Reggie's made a lot of big plays in his career and he made a couple tonight," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger said. "He got the game back to even and it was back-and-forth down the stretch."
"I felt I could get some shots, especially if I could get on Jermaine's side, because he was getting a pretty solid pick for me defensively," Miller said. "I just got some easy looks."
O'Neal sank 1-of-2 free throws to give Indiana the lead, but Shareef Abdur-Rahim reclaimed the lead for the Hawks with a hook shot, their only basket of the final 4:17.
"In the last four minutes, defensively (we) were able to close down the middle and make them take tough shots," Indiana coach Isiah Thomas said. "In the second half, in particular the fourth quarter, we stood up and played defense the way I know we can."
O'Neal nailed a pair of free throws to give the Pacers the lead for good and Nazr Mohammed's potential go-ahead bucket was blocked by Jeff Foster with six seconds to go. Miller sank a pair of free throws with five seconds left to complete the comeback.
"I don't think (Mohammed) realized how much time was left on the clock," Foster said. "I think he went up too quickly up there and I was able to get it."
Jalen Rose scored 14 points and Al Harrington added 11 off the bench for the Pacers, who were swept at Philips Arena last season.
Indiana shot 51 percent (38-of-75) overall and held the Hawks to 6-of-21 shooting in the fourth quarter.
"Everyone is playing great defense," Miller said. "We can play much better, for the most part. "If we can collectively stay together and get our defense up to par, we have a chance to be a very good team."
Abdur-Rahim had 28 points and 10 rebounds and Terry added 27 points for Atlanta, which failed in a bid for its first four-game winning streak of the season.
Atlanta held a 55-50 halftime lead and Abdur-Rahim scored 13 points in the third quarter as the Hawks never surrendered the lead until Miller took over.