Jermaine O'Neal had 26 points and 16 rebounds and nailed the go-ahead jumper in the final minute as the Pacers completed a two-game Texas trip with an 81-79 victory over the Houston Rockets.
Indiana escaped the Alamadome with a convincing win over San Antonio in what should have been the harder game of its back-to-back set in the Lone Star State.
But the Pacers, who are among the youngest teams in the league, showed poise while rallying at Houston behind two of their future stars.
 Reggie Miller scored a modest 11 points, but dished out seven of the Pacers' 26 assists. Bill Baptist /NBAE/Getty Images |
"I hope it means we're growing together," said Reggie Miller, a 13-year veteran and the oldest player on Indiana's roster. "We had some disappointing losses early this year. We wanted to regroup from those. Tonight we just hung in there, made some big stops down the stretch and O'Neal took over."
The Rockets had a 75-68 lead with 5:25 remaining before 23-year-old rookie Jamaal Tinsley nailed a 3-pointer to spark a 13-4 game-ending run.
O'Neal, who is just 23 despite five years of NBA experience, sank a 10-foot hook shot from the right baseline to put Indiana ahead for good, 80-79, with 40 seconds left. After Tinsley blocked Steve Francis' runner, O'Neal made 1-of-2 free throws with eight seconds to go.
Houston's Cuttino Mobley misfired on a runner over 20-year-old Al Harrington with four seconds left.
"He told me coming out of the timeout that he was going to shoot it," Harrington said. "I thought he might pull up for a three and I just tried to stay in front of him the best I could. He warned me and I appreciate it."
"I should've pivoted my feet and tried to drive the basket," Mobley said. "What can you say? You just have to go out next game and play."
Francis grabbed the rebound but O'Neal forced a jump ball with less than two seconds to play. The tip went to Francis, who shot an airball as time expired.
"That one hurt," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "It was a combination of missing good shots, not making plays late and losing our poise. Our concentration was broken at times. It looked like we had things under control but then the momentum switched."
Tinsley had 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds and Miller added 11 points and a season-high seven assists for Indiana, which has won four of its last five road games.
Francis finished with 13 points and nine rebounds and rookie Eddie Griffin collected 13 and eight for the Rockets, who lost for just the seventh time in their last 30 home meetings with Indiana.
Mobley and Moochie Norris added 12 points apiece as Houston shot just 39 percent (31-of-78) after a red-hot first half.
The Rockets shot 53 percent (21-of-40) in the opening 24 minutes and had a 50-41 cushion. They had a pair of 10-point leads in the third quarter but made just 10-of-38 shots after halftime, including 5-of-19 in the fourth quarter.
The Pacers made 7-of-14 shots in the fourth after shooting only just 39 percent (17-of-68) through the first three quarters.