INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Amid chants of "Reg-gie! Reg-gie!" and a

plea for "one more year," Reggie Miller played his final

regular-season game after 18 years as one of the NBA's great clutch

shooters.

Thanks to Jermaine O'Neal and Anthony Johnson, his farewell

party Wednesday night was a success.

"There was so much surrounding this game, trying to stay

focused," Miller said after an 85-83 victory over the Chicago

Bulls. "You look around the arena, you have your family in, it's

tough. I was emotional the whole time."

Miller is retiring with 25,279 points, 12th in NBA career

scoring, and the victory guaranteed the Pacers the sixth playoff

spot in the Eastern Conference and a first-round series against

Boston.

O'Neal had 21 points and Johnson added 20, scoring the go-ahead

basket and a clinching 3-pointer in the final minute. Had the

Pacers lost, they would have opened at Detroit, the site of their

infamous brawl with fans early in the season.

After leading the league with 61 victories last year, the Pacers

were hurt by injuries and by suspensions following the brawl and

finished 44-38.

"We've got a chance. Obviously, we won't be at full strength,

but who cares?" Miller said of Indiana's playoff hopes. "We have

to find ways to win ball games."

Ron Artest, who was suspended the rest of the season after the

brawl, watched the game Wednesday night from the Indiana bench.

Afterward, during a postgame ceremony on the darkened court,

Miller spoke to the Indiana fans.

"We have laughed, we have cried, we have celebrated all

together, I was a young and, I will admit, very immature young man

coming in at 21," he said. "But the people of Indianapolis have

really matured me into a more settled 39-year-old as I go.

"I want to thank you guys for opening your hearts to me each

and every night that we played."

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for Indiana.

"It's great to go in on a win. I can't honestly say we're

playing well right now, but we're going to piece it together,"

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "There were a lot of reasons to

win tonight. The biggest reason was for Reggie, for what he's done

for this franchise."

Miller had 12 points and shot just 3-of-13, each miss drawing

groans from the 18,345 fans who turned out for a farewell that

included taped messages from former President Clinton and a host of

celebrities and former and current NBA stars.

"This is a great night, without question," Carlisle said.

"This had to be an unbelievable thing for him to get through. A

lot of this stuff, I don't think he knew was going on, a message

from Clinton. To absorb all that and try to play a basketball game,

it's just ... Wow, I couldn't imagine doing it."

Chicago led by 14 points early in the game, but the Bulls missed

their first eight shots in both the third and fourth quarters, and

the Pacers slowly fought their way back.

Miller scored a basket and then two free throws at the start of

the final period, tying the game at 64. Johnson then stole the

ball, and O'Neal hit two baskets and a free throw to put Indiana up

69-64. The Pacers stretched the lead to 76-67 before the Bulls made

their final comeback.

"There are certain players in the league, it's pretty special

any time you get to go against them," said Chicago coach Scott

Skiles, a former Pacers player and teammate of Miller's. "I've

played pickup basketball with Reggie many times. I'm sure it's

special for everyone in the building to have been here.

"I tend to look at it like he had such a great career and he's

made a life decision. We should be happy for him. He probably has

about 20,000 more points than me."

Two baskets by Jannero Pargo, who finished with a season-high 17

points, helped put Chicago up 79-78 with under 2 minutes to go.

Johnson then gave Indiana the lead again and hit his big 3-pointer

for an 83-79 lead. Stephen Jackson, who finished with 17 points,

gave Indiana its final points with two free throws with 4 seconds

to go before the final basket by Chicago's Jared Reiner.

Andres Nocioni added 13 points and Othella Harrington had 11

points for Chicago, which will play Washington in the first round

of the playoffs.Game notes
Chicago placed F-C Tyson Chandler on the injured list and

activated G Frank Williams before the game. Williams did not play.

... Miller was 0-for-2 on 3-pointers, ending his NBA record streak

at 15 straight years with at least 100 3-pointers. He had 96. ...

Indiana used its 30th different starting lineup of the season. ...

The Pacers and Bulls split their season series 2-2. ... Chicago is

0-14 in Conseco Fieldhouse. The Bulls' last victory in Indianapolis

was in 1998 at Market Square Arena. ... The Pacers have held 11 of

their past 15 opponents to 90 points or less. ... Miller, who hit

all six of his free throws, was 250-of-268 (93.3 percent) for the

season, becoming just the third NBA player to lead the league in FT

percentage five times. ... Skiles came to Indiana in a trade with

Milwaukee in 1987 and played two years with Miller; F-C Antonio

Davis was drafted by the Pacers in 1990 and played six years with

Miller.