Pacers, minus O’Neal and Tinsley, rout Sonics

Stephen Jackson added 22 points and Sarunas Jasikevicius netted a career-high 20 for the Pacers, who snapped a four-game losing streak and were playing without Jermaine O’Neal (pneumonia) and Jamaal Tinsley (partially torn bicep).

"I knew I had to put a lot more on my shoulders," Jones said. "I’ve gotten a lot more confident in my game and I’ve been trying to take advantage of it."

Ray Allen led the Sonics with 24 points and Ronald Murray added 18 points in the loss, Seattle’s second in a row.

"In the first quarter, we gave up too many easy points," Allen said. "It seems like its a fairly even game through the other three quarters. But these first quarters have been a problem."

Indiana opened the game hitting its first seven shots and quickly jumped out to 16-8 lead in the first quarter. After Jackson misfired on a three-pointer, the Pacers then reeled off an 11-0 run, highlighted by five points from Jones and a Jackson trey.

Jackson netted 13 in the opening frame and Indiana hit 7-of-10 from beyond the arc for a 38-23 edge.

The Sonics were able to chip into the lead with a 12-5 spurt, capped by Allen’s three-point play to make the score 54-45 with 3:36 left in the half.

However, the Pacers built upon their 63-47 halftime lead with a 16-2 streak, bridging the second and third quarters, finished with Anthony Johnson’s long- distance shot to make the score 70-47.

The third period ended with Indiana up, 89-71, as Jones hit a three-pointer with less than a second left. Allen connected on 4-of-5 shots and scored 13 points in the quarter.

Jasikevicius scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth to keep the rout going, as Seattle could not muster a run to get back in the game.

Game Notes

Seattle’s Danny Fortson scored two points in his return from a two-game suspension...Indiana plays 10 of its next 15 games on the road...The Pacers scored a season-high in points...Allen is averaging 27.8 points and 4.8 three-pointers in his last four games...Jones has scored 20 plus points in back-to-back games...Indiana shot 52.1 percent from the floor compared to Seattle’s 44.9 percent...Johnson hit 3-of-4 three pointers.