May 5, 2000 By Mark Alesia SportsLine.com Senior Writer

INDIANAPOLIS -- It wasn't going to end here, at home, in the first round of the playoffs, with questions about Larry Bird's coaching and everyone knowing the Indiana Pacers would soon clear out their aging veterans.

But Reggie Miller

	Related Links: GameCenter Miller, Best help Pacers avoid elimination Best struggles, hits game-winner with 16 seconds left Bucks take pride in extending Pacers Audio: Larry Bird says Pacers were fortunate to get the win Real | Windows Media Audio: Bird says Reggie Miller played a phenomenal game Real | Windows Media Audio: Travis Best on his huge 3-pointer at the end Real | Windows Media Audio: George Karl says Reggie Miller showed why he's one of the best Real | Windows Media Forum: What was the key to this series?
	T O P   N E W S

said he was looking out for No. 1 on Thursday night, not thinking about Bird's vow to leave the bench for good after this season.

"I'm doing this for myself," Miller said. "It might have been my last game."

A free agent after this season, Miller will play somewhere, probably here, the place he's played for all 13 seasons of his career. But it won't ever be the same. Sooner or later, the Pacers have to rebuild, and Miller wasn't ready for the process to begin yet.

He wore his Superman T-shirt again, inviting ridicule if he failed, and poured in 41 points to lead the Pacers to a 96-95 victory over Milwaukee in the decisive Game 5 of their playoff series. If anyone on the floor cared more about the numbers on his paycheck than the numbers on the scoreboard, it didn't show. Did somebody say the NBA is declining? Well, it has at least one thing going for it: the best sport out there.

Afterward, some of the Bucks invoked the name of Michael Jordan to describe Miller's performance. Pacers guard Travis Best, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 16.5 seconds left, understood why.

"You saw that fire in his eyes," Best said. "I was giving him the ball and getting out of his way. There were times when they doubled him and he took the shot anyway."

Naturally, Bird played the role of stoic, not letting on if he felt any emotion at the possibility of Thursday being his final game after three years as a coach.

"I never thought about it," he said. "The game was too good -- a great NBA playoff game."

Before the game, NBA commissioner David Stern, who was at Conseco Fieldhouse, was asked what he thought about Bird leaving.

"I've seen people who've said they're stepping down and they go one more time around the track," Stern said. "So let's see what happens."

Stern also was asked about the "threat" of two No. 1 seeds -- the Pacers and Los Angeles Lakers -- losing in the first round. The Lakers play Game 5 of their series against Sacramento on Friday.

"I wouldn't use the word 'threat,'" Stern said. "That's why they play the game. I don't worry about it at all. What it means is we could get an increase in ratings next year."

Translation: Stern will be watching the Lakers game with fingers, toes, legs and arms crossed, praying there isn't an upset.

The commissioner's presence in Indianapolis inspired jokes about the local conspiracy theorists who think the league office has kept the small-market Pacers out of the NBA Finals. There was no need for them to worry. The Pacers are 20-0 this season when playing a team that defeated them in their previous meeting. Indiana's players had more motivation than that.

Reggie Miller had the game of his life to avoid any talk of final games with the Pacers.(AP)

"Especially yesterday at practice, you guys (media) were talking about free agency and the last run and we were old ... all that factored into it," Miller said.

But Miller's performance might have gone to waste were it not for Best finding his shooting touch at a critical moment. With the Pacers trailing by two and inbounding with 29.4 seconds left, Best received an inbounds pass and missed. But the rebound went to the Pacers, and the ball eventually found its way back to Best. He drilled the 3-pointer with 16.5 seconds left.

Before that shot, Best was 2-of-14 from the floor. The fans knew it.

"I heard people yelling, 'Don't shoot,'" Best said.

Best, who played the entire fourth quarter because of his defense, did shoot. And the Pacers are still alive.

"Everybody was just relieved," Best said. "It was a tough series. You don't say anything. You just have a sigh of relief."

For his trouble, Best now has the task of defending Philadelphia's Allen Iverson in the second-round series. The series starts Saturday afternoon, meaning the Pacers have less than two days of rest. But at least they can keep dreaming of a championship.

"There's not enough money in the world to buy that kind of joy and elation," Miller said. "I'd give all the money in the world to jump up on a table and uncork some champagne with my teammates."