The mercurial coach with the mercurial team nearly didn't make the NBA playoffs this season despite great expectations. Karl and the Milwaukee Bucks fell into a horrible mess during a six-week span of February and March when they were 4-13 and nearly collapsed. But Karl being Karl, that wacky basketball scientist and pop psychologist rallied the troops late. They won six of their last seven games, including two victories over Orlando ... knocking out the overachieving Magic and slipping into the eighth seed.

The second win over the Magic -- at Orlando -- clinched the playoff spot.

"The Orlando win was large," Karl said.

But not much larger than what the Bucks did Thursday night, humiliating the top-seeded Indiana Pacers 104-91 in Conseco Fieldhouse in a game in which the Bucks held leads of more than 30 points. The Pacers barely won Game 1 -- 88-85 -- and now the best-of-5 series heads to Milwaukee.

"They couldn't have played any better," Karl said. "The difference was our players' pride. I'm so proud of them."

They are an odd group, with exceptionally talented Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson as the leading scorers, with the highly talented but equally erratic Sam Cassell their point guard. And the wild card is young Tim Thomas, the 23-year-old forward who is 6-1, 230, and exuding talent.

They represent all the Pacers are not. Allen has the superstar ability and is the Olympian, although even that selection was controversial because he preempted Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant and has frequently be referred to as a soft player. Robinson has been lauded and criticized his entire career for being an exceptional shooter but one-dimensional and selfish. And Cassell ... well, the Bucks are his fifth team since 1996.

Last season was their first trip to the playoffs since 1991, so expectations haven't been particularly high. But had they not made the playoffs, it could have been a nightmare.

Now we're looking at a young team that is staring down the Pacers, a team trying to make one last run with their old guys while attempting to develop youth with Jalen Rose, Austin Croshere and a couple of teen-agers who aren't ready: Al Harrington and Jonathon Bender.

Bucks coach George Karl says he is proud of his players, including Tim Thomas (left).(AP)

"We understand that we're a young team but I think we're a good, young ballclub," Cassell said. "We just have to keep coming out and playing hard."

On flip side, the Pacers -- despite compiling the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference -- don't seem to know who they are anymore. Larry Bird, who has said he will retire as Pacers coach after the season, still doesn't know what to make of these guys. He was shocked Thursday at how soft they played, with the exception of Rik Smits -- who was suspended for Game 3 and fined $10,000 for throwing an elbow at the throat of Bucks center Ervin Johnson and getting ejected.

"I've said it before: When we don't practice well, we don't play well," Bird said. "I saw things in practice that made me worry Then, before the game I saw it in their eyes like 'We'll show them.' Well, we didn't. They've beat us -- they've beat us bad. They've embarrassed us."

Karl, who won an average of 59.5 games as coach at Seattle from 1992-98, now has given Milwaukee its first playoff game victory since 1990. They haven't won a playoff series since 1989, but with Games 3 and 4 in the friendly confines of the Bucks' Bradley Center, anything can happen.

"We believed we could get a win here and get the homecourt advantage," Karl said. "I hope our fans go crazy in our building. It should be a crazy, fun game in our building. It's going to be a war."

And we all know Karl loves a good war.

Throwing lob passes now?

As if Shaquille O'Neal as an inside force on both offense and defense hasn't been dominant enough, the 7-1, 330-pound center added another wrinkle to his repertoire as his Los Angeles Lakers pounded the Sacramento Kings by 24 points.

Pushing the ball across midcourt off the dribble, O'Neal found Kobe Bryant with a lob pass for a dunk. Bryant has assisted countless O'Neal dunks with lob passes, but the other way around?

Now up 2-0 in the series, the Lakers continue to leave people scratching their heads.

"You have to compete, you have to do things better," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "We have to have guys step up."

It probably won't matter.

Sonics paranoia continues

The Seattle SuperSonics continue to be in a state of paranoia when it comes to the local media these days. When The News Tribune of Tacoma erroneously reported that Chuck Person checked himself into their Game 2 blowout without the knowledge of coach Paul Westphal, Person blew out of control at practice Thursday.

"You want to know why we are losing?" Person said, shouting at reporters. "It's all of your fault. This team is working its (rear ends) off, and you guys are making us lose. If you don't like it here, go work someplace else."

The commentary made Westphal and others cringe. Although he said it wasn't the media's fault, he did say, "To have that reported that he put himself in the game, and discipline is breaking down, is such an incredible, vicious stretch, and to have to answer questions about that is an insult, and it's something that can only serve to attempt to divide this team, and I don't appreciate it at all."

To make matters worse, the Seattle Times took the entire organization to task Friday morning, wondering why owner Barry Ackerley has vanished and team president Wally apparently is accountable to no one. Walker responded with calls to the Times, saying Ackerley had been hospitalized. In response to Walker's calls, SportsLine.com called the parent company, Ackerley Communications, to verify his condition. He is currently undergoing an "in-patient cardiology procedure that is not life-threatening," according to a statement from his son, Chris.

You think things have gotten out of hand?

Shots from the perimeter

• Funny how there are varying views, depending on which team you follow. Bucks coach George Karl thought Pacers center Rik Smits should be suspended for two games after throwing an elbow at the throat of Bucks center Ervin Johnson. Pacers coach Larry Bird said, "I thought it was a bad call. I've been told it wasn't a punch. It looked like they just got tangled up." NBA vice president of operations Rod Thorn compromised by suspending Smits from Game 3 and fining him $10,000. "They could have called three different things," Thorn told SportsLine.com "They could have called Smits for landing an elbow above the shoulders, a flagrant foul II or punching. They ended up ejecting him for punching, but he was fined and suspended for throwing an elbow that connected above the shoulders."
• The walking wounded series of San Antonio and Phoenix heads to the Valley of the Sun Saturday with another casualty. Spurs forward Jerome Kersey is finished for the year after dislocating and fracturing his right foot in the Game 2 victory. Last season's NBA Finals MVP Tim Duncan, who has not played since tearing a cartilage in his left knee April 11, practiced with the Spurs Thursday and remains questionable for Game 3 Saturday. The Suns are without Jason Kidd, Tom Gugliotta and Rex Chapman. But Kidd, who broke his ankle March 22, began workouts Wednesday and is desperately trying to get back in time to contribute in the playoffs. Game 4 is Tuesday in Phoenix.
• Sixers guard Eric Snow remains a problem with a chip fracture in his right ankle, and his availability will be erratic for the rest of the playoffs.