To pass Jerry West, after all, Miller would have to score more than he's averaged in the past three years in the Pacers' remaining games.

Then Jermaine O'Neal got hurt, and Miller's game suddenly lost a few years.

Now, the man whose outline adorns the NBA logo is very much in his sights. Miller is just 26 points away from 25,000 for his career, and needs to average a modest 12.9 points in the final 17 games of the regular season to pass West (25,192). Miller has averaged 21.8 in his last eight and is at 13.7 for the season, putting The Logo well within reach.

Of course, the inevitable byproduct of Miller's scoring surge is a renewed hue and cry from the fan base (not to mention the locker room) for him to change his mind about retiring after this season.

Hamblen

"If I were Reggie’s agent, I’d try to sign him to a multi-year contract," said Lakers Coach Frank Hamblen with a smile after Miller scored 39 in the Pacers' 103-07 victory Friday night in Conseco Fieldhouse. "When you can score your age in this league, it’s not time to quit."

Teammate Stephen Jackson has likewise tried to talk Miller out of leaving.

"We obviously don’t want him to retire," he said. "I think he’s got at least three years left in him. We all want him back but we respect his wishes."

Miller, however, remains insistent about retirement.

Miller

"Everybody can think what they want to, but it’s not going to change my mind, it’s still going to happen," he said. "Right now we’re shorthanded and Stephen and I have taken a more active role in scoring. We are doing whatever we can to find ways to win."

Since Jermaine O'Neal was lost for the remainder of the regular season with a shoulder injury, Miller and Jackson have carried the bulk of the scoring load, combining for 45.1 points per game. The Pacers have gone 5-3 since O'Neal's injury to remain in the thick of the race for playoff positioning in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference bracket.

"I guess a lot of people are interested in knowing why leave if you can still play at this level?" said Coach Rick Carlisle. "Having been fortunate to have been around a lot of great players, there are times when you must simply respect someone's desire to leave the game as still one of the most feared players in the game. There's something very, very special about that.

Carlisle

"To still have that status at age 39 as a starting two-guard in the NBA, really in my mind is unprecedented because when Michael Jordan left the third time he was playing small forward. We're seeing some very unusual performances when you factor in everything from age to position to situation."

The only area in which Miller has showed some signs of his age has been recovery time.

When he's had two or more days of rest between games, he's averaged 16.9 points and shot 49.7 percent overall and 36.1 percent from the 3-point line. When he's had one or no days in between games, his numbers drop to 12.1 points, 41.3 percent shooting and 29.4 percent from the arc.

The schedule offers few upcoming chances for rest. The Pacers play five games in the next seven nights, beginning Tuesday in New Jersey, with four of those on the road. Of the final 17 games, 10 will be played in back-to-back sets.

While acknowledging the benefit of rest, Carlisle also believes Miller, seeing the end of his 18-year career looming, is making sure he makes the most of these final opportunities.

"We've been fortunate that we've had pretty good spacing between games recently, and that helps," said Carlisle, "but we're talking about a guy that in Portland two weeks ago was on a back-to-back coming out of Denver and he had 24 points and hit huge shots all night.

"He's just unique. He's got his body tuned up like no one ever has at this age. His game is tuned up the way it's never been for anybody that's played the position at his age. I've got to believe that he sees the last 18 or 19 games as, 'This is it.' So he's going to come out wired-up and juiced every night."

In other words, he's leaving nothing on the court. Except, of course, a few more memories.