MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- The Indiana Pacers hope to carry over the momentum from their furious second half on Saturday when they try and put away the Milwaukee Bucks tonight in Game 4 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

After squandering the home-court advantage with a humiliating 104-91 loss at Conseco Fieldhouse on Thursday, the Pacers found themselves down by 12 points midway through the third quarter of Game 3 at the Bradley Center.

But Reggie Miller scored 16 of his 34 points in a seven-minute stretch and the Pacers rallied to overtake the Bucks 109-96 putting Milwaukee on the brink of a second straight first-round elimination at the hands of Indiana.

"I wanted to be more aggressive," Miller said after the game. "I had so many open 3s, I should have had 50 points. We needed a Superman-type effort for a victory, and I did just that."

	SEASON SERIES
	Jan. 19 Feb. 17 Mar. 23	at Indiana 106, Milwaukee 84 Indiana 92, at Milwaukee 90 Milwaukee 105, at Indiana 84

The game also marked the second straight scuffle between the squads. Indiana center Rik Smits, who was ejected and suspended one game for an elbow thrown at Milwaukee pivotman Ervin Johnson on Thursday, will be back in action tonight.

In Game 3, Pacers forward Dale Davis and Bucks guard Sam Cassell had a brief exchange under the basket in the fourth quarter. Both players were assessed their second technical fouls and ejected. That left the Pacers without their top two frontcourt players but also left the Bucks without their floor general, and Milwaukee never recovered.

"That's what playoff basketball is all about," Davis said. "We're a team that's not going to back down from anyone and if it gets ugly, it gets ugly. We had a little stare-off and that was about it. I didn't agree with the call."

"It took our hope away," Bucks coach George Karl said. "It's incredible to take two All-Star (caliber) players off the court when it's not necessary. There was nothing there. ... Incredible, unnecessary, incredible."

Jalen Rose scored 27 points and capped a 15-2 burst with a pair of 3-pointers that gave Indiana a 102-87 lead with 2:45 remaining. The Pacers cruised from there and can advance beyond the first round for the third straight season.

Coming off their first playoff win in 10 years, the Bucks blew a golden opportunity to put the pressure on the Pacers, losing to them for the 14th time in the last 17 meetings.

Indiana swept Milwaukee in last season's opening-round matchup. The Bucks have not made it to the conference semifinals since 1989.

If the Bucks win tonight, Game 5 will be Thursday in Indiana.

INDIANA 10-game log	MILWAUKEE 10-game log
Apr. 2 Apr. 5 Apr. 7 Apr. 9 Apr. 10 Apr. 12 Apr. 14 Apr. 16 Apr. 17 Apr. 19 @ Toronto New Jersey Cleveland @ Charlotte @ New York Toronto @ Miami @ Detroit @ Philadelphia Atlanta W 104-83 W 105-101 W 95-94 L 80-96 L 81-83 W 77-73 W 105-101 W 112-101 W 92-90 W 111-92	Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 6 Apr. 8 Apr. 10 Apr. 12 Apr. 14 Apr. 15 Apr. 17 Apr. 19 @ Golden State Chicago @ Chicago New Jersey Orlando @ Cleveland Charlotte @ Washington @ Orlando Washington W 117-113 W 92-73 L 88-90 W 109-101 W 104-87 W 101-100 L 106-109 W 120-116 W 85-83 W 110-105