NBA Game Summary - Indiana at Detroit

Auburn Hills, MI (Basketball News) - Jermaine O’Neal finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks and Reggie Miller scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, as the Indiana Pacers downed the Detroit Pistons, 92-83, to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.

The Pacers earned a split in the games at The Palace and will now head home for Game 3 on Friday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Jeff Foster posted 14 points and a career-high 20 rebounds for the Pacers, who are making their seventh appearance in the conference semifinals. They have never lost in this round.

Jamaal Tinsley added 12 points and 12 assists in the victory.

Tayshaun Prince had 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the defending NBA champion Pistons, who had led by as many as 15 points in the first half. Detroit lost for just the third time in its last 19 games dating back to the regular season.

Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace each had 14 points in the loss, while Chauncey Billups chipped in 13 points and 10 assists.

Prince’s dunk drew the Pistons even at 77-77 with 5:52 left. However, that’s when Indiana went on an 11-0 run to take control of the game. Foster had six points in the run, including the last two buckets, which made it 88-77 with 2:38 left. The huge burst, which also featured a Miller three-pointer, sealed the win for the Pacers and Detroit was never able to get closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Detroit held a 50-40 lead at halftime, but the Pacers charged back in the third quarter, outscoring the Pistons, 28-19. Indiana went on a 10-4 run to start the second half and cut its deficit to 54-50. Billups pushed Detroit’s lead back to five with a free throw, but the Pacers used a 12-5 stretch to take their first lead of the game. Miller scored five points in the run and his three-pointer made it 62-60 with 4:09 left.

The Pacers would push the spread to 68-63 late in the third, but Detroit scored the final six points of the period to take a one-point lead into the final quarter.

The lead would change hands on a few occasion in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter before the Pacers went on their big run.

The Pistons opened the first quarter on a 9-2 run. Wallace had five points in the run, including a three-pointer to start the game.

Indiana cut the deficit to 15-11 around the midway point of the first, but the Pistons responded with nine straight points to grab a 13-point cushion. Prince opened and closed the spurt with treys to give Detroit the 24-11 edge with 4:22 remaining. Prince ended with 11 points in the first quarter.

The Pacers opened the second quarter on a 13-5 run to slice the deficit to 38-31. Tinsley scored six points in the stretch and Dale Davis’ tip-in made it a seven-point game. Detroit answered with a next six points to build its cushion back to 13 points and would hold a 50-40 advantage at the end of the half.

The Pistons shot 50-percent from the floor in the first half