It wasn't baseball and it wasn't for a world championship, but the Celtics most certainly let a slow roller up the first base line get through their legs last night.

The C's were well within sight of wrapping up this first-round series against the Pacers, but they managed to go an NBA record 0-for-overtime to hand a 93-88 win and a largely undeserved playoff life to Indiana. Instead of advancement to the second round, the Celtics will now have a Game 6 tomorrow night at the FleetCenter.

USA Basketball added three more players to its roster for the national team to represent the country at this summer's Olympic qualifier and, if successful there, at the 2004 Games in Athens.

Neither Paul Pierce nor Antoine Walker was among those named and, according to sources involved in the process, neither Celtics co-captain is under consideration for any of the final three slots yet to be anointed.

The Boston Celtics held scoreless for seven minutes? Impossible. Unthinkable. Unbelievable.

Yet there they were Tuesday night, with a chance to finish off the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of their best-of-seven series at Conseco Fieldhouse.

In one 27-minute appearance Tuesday, Tim Hardaway made the Indiana Pacers' late-season gamble pay off.

The 36-year-old point guard made a vital rescue effort in a do-or-die game, contributing 13 points and six assists in their 93-88 overtime victory over Boston at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Analysis of the Indiana Pacers' 93-88 overtime victory over Boston on Tuesday got simpler as the game progressed.

Ron Artest.

At both ends of the court.

Artest scored a game-high 26 points, including the Pacers' final field goal of regulation and three of their five overtime points, as the Pacers pulled within 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

Ron Artest finished his post-practice workout and walked to face the cameras with his jaw set and hands clasped behind his back like a soldier.

The Pacers forward, his words clearly rehearsed, was anxious to broadcast the message that he was wrong to question coach Isiah Thomas' game plan following Sunday's Game 4 loss to the Celtics.

``We had just lost a game, and I was bad,'' Artest said, sounding for all the world like a grade-schooler facing the principal. ``That's what that was. Everybody knows that we have to execute better, and that's the problem.''

There's an old saying that you should be careful about what you wish for because you may get it and regret it. The Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers can relate.

The Pistons wanted to finish the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference so they could enjoy home-court advantage throughout the conference playoffs. They got it and opened the best-of-seven-game first round against the Orlando Magic, whom they had beaten twice in three games during the season.

For the first 3? quarters, Paul Pierce was off-target and the Boston Celtics appeared overmatched.

By the end, Pierce had changed everything.

Pierce scored 21 of his 40 points in the final quarter, leading Boston back from a 13-point deficit in the final 7? minutes as the Celtics rallied past the Indiana Pacers 103-100 in Game 1 of their first-round series.

"I thought we did a good job of putting me in position to drive,'' said Pierce. "I was able to get to the basket every time. I knew I could beat my man.''

Pierce's primary defender was Ron Artest before he fouled out with 40 seconds left. That the Pacers scrambling to contain Pierce, whose 3-pointer with 27.5 seconds left put the Celtics ahead 99-97.

Pierce also went 21-for-21 from the free throw line, setting an NBA playoff record for most free throws made without a miss.

Pierce blamed his slow start on illness. Bothered by a sore throat and fatigue, he missed 15 of 19 shots in the first three quarters.

"My legs were weak. I didn't have any spring in my shots,'' Pierce said. "I just stuck with it. I said 'At least I can make some free throws and rebound.'''

Pierce did finish with 11 rebounds, but it was his free-throw shooting that made up most for his off-night from the floor. His 11 free throws in the fourth were two shy of the most ever made in one playoff quarter. They were Boston's only free throws in the quarter.

"He was just putting his head down, going to the basket and going to the foul line,'' Pacers coach Isiah Thomas said. "It seemed every time he went into the air, he went to the foul line.''

Indiana, just as it did over the course of the regular season, faded after a fast start. The Pacers made only four field goals in the fourth, giving the Celtics plenty of chances to rally.

Antoine Walker, who scored 22 points, hit a couple of 3-pointers early in the quarter to pull Boston within seven. The Pacers pushed the lead back to 13, 88-75, after five straight points by Ron Artest.

That's when Pierce took over.

He sank four straight free throws to make it 93-89, then added a 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:31 remaining to make it 95-94.

Jermaine O'Neal's jumper clanged off the front of the rim and Pierce grabbed the rebound. He was quickly fouled by Artest with 40.8 seconds left, with Artest arguing that a jump ball should have been called. Pierce had 11 rebounds.

It was Artest's sixth personal foul and Pierce hit the free throws, giving the Celtics a 96-95 lead. Brad Miller would quickly regain the lead for Indiana with two free throws.

That set up Pierce's final heroics. He drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the arc over the outstretched arm of a charging Miller for a 99-97 lead.

Al Harrington's baseline 3-pointer rimmed out, and Pierce added two more free throws.

"I was very shocked it came out,'' Harrington said.

Jamaal Tinsley hit a 3-pointer for the Pacers to make it 101-100, but Pierce made his last two free throws. Jonathan Bender wasn't close with a heave from beyond midcourt at the final buzzer.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Monday night.

"When the game is on the line, we want the ball in each other's hands,'' Walker said of his relationship with Pierce.

Eric Williams scored 18 points for Celtics and Tony Delk added 12.

Artest led the Pacers with 26 points, O'Neal had 24 and Tinsley 14.

The Pacers can take solace in one fact. They have won Game 1s each of the past two years but didn't advance.

"As you know, Game 1 doesn't tell the story,'' O'Neal said.

O'Neal said anything less than an NBA Finals appearance would be a disappointment for Indiana. Instead, the Pacers continued to play like they did most of the second half when they lost 15 of 20 in one stretch.

"I think sometimes you get a little too comfortable,'' said Reggie Miller. "In playoff basketball, that's when you've got to turn up the intensity. They were never out of it because of their longball. I don't think we recognized that as well as we should.''

Perhaps it was because Boston gave Indiana little reason to fear its league-best 3-point shooting early.

The Pacers led by as many as 12 in the first half as Pierce and Walker could never get untracked. The two went 8-for-24 in the half and Boston, which led the league in 3-pointers made and attempts, missed seven of 10.

Boston rediscovered its stroke in the second half, making six of 13.

"We've got to put teams away. That's it. Just put them away,'' Artest said.

The Celtics played the second half without center Tony Battie, who was ejected early in the second quarter after committing a flagrant-2 foul on Artest.

Artest was going up for a layup on a three-on-two fast break when Battie knocked him to the floor. Artest, who led the league in flagrant fouls, immediately popped back up and was quickly separated by teammates and an official. Artest pushed a television camera close to his face.

Artest kicked Battie on the side of his head on the previous possession while going for a rebound.

Game notes
The season series was split, with each team winning twice at home. ... The Pacers and Celtics have met twice before in the playoffs, both in the first round. The Celtics eliminated Indiana both times, 3-2 in 1991 and 3-0 in 1992. ... Utah's Karl Malone went 18-for-18 from the line against the Lakers in 1997. ... The Pacers lost the first game of a first-round series for the first time since 1996 against Atlanta. ... The Pacers are 1-4 in their last five home playoff games.

With a trying six weeks firmly in the past, the Indiana Pacers are looking to the future, including the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Five regular-season games remain and the Pacers still have a chance at finishing atop the Central Division and Eastern Conference.

If the playoffs began today, the third-seeded Pacers would be matched against No. 6 Boston. The Celtics haven't soared like some might have expected after their run to the Eastern Conference finals last season. They're still dangerous, though, particularly when All-Star forwards Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker are playing their best. If Indiana finishes fourth in the conference, a first-round matchup against New Orleans is probable.

"Honestly, it doesn't matter who we play. We feel confident that no matter what team it is, we can handle our business because we'll have the home court," said Pacers forward Al Harrington, who had to watch the playoffs from the bench last season as he recovered from knee surgery.

"We know we have a chance to win any series because we're at home. And if we take care of getting the top spot in the East, we'd have home court all the way through to the Finals.

"Personally, I'm really comfortable with our situation because we've beaten everybody in the East, except for New Jersey (the Pacers' are 0-2 against the team they'll face in the regular-season finale April 16 at Conseco Fieldhouse). We've gone to other people's places and beaten them, so we know what we're capable of. And I think we're back in our groove now."

Five wins in six games creates that kind of confidence. But the Celtics have shown that they're capable of sustaining a high level of play during the postseason.

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Call Star reporter Sekou Smith at 1-317-444-6053.

Center

A healthy Brad Miller gets the nod over Tony Battie, an adequate but rather pedestrian big man by NBA standards. Miller's ability to stretch a defense with his 17-foot jumper makes his play critical for the Pacers in the postseason.

Shooting guard

Like teammate Antoine Walker, Paul Pierce has the kind of numbers (26.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists) that any coach would cherish. Pierce shoots nearly 42 percent from the floor and 31 percent from 3-point range and has much younger legs than Reggie Miller. But if the game comes down to a last-second shot, who would you want on your side?

Power forward

Jermaine O'Neal is the only true franchise player on either team's roster. The Celtics, like most teams, have had no answer for him the entire season. Eric Williams is a quality NBA player but unable to match up with O'Neal in any category.

Point guard

Jamaal Tinsley appears to have regained his form after a tumultuous two months that culminated with his mother's death after a long bout with cancer. Boston point guard J.R. Bremer is the best -- and lowest paid -- rookie starter you've never heard of. But Tinsley triggers the Pacers' attack while Bremer mostly stays out of the way of Pierce and Walker.

Small forward

Antoine Walker's numbers (20.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game) are attractive, but Ron Artest is one of the NBA's best and most complete defenders. He can also score points in bunches when presented with a physical mismatch.

Bench

This is where things get a little tricky. Al Harrington leads a deep Pacers bench and has few peers around the league as a sixth man, with his ability to score and defend against players two and three inches taller. Boston counters with veteran shooters Walter McCarty and Tony Delk, both of whom have spent time in the starting lineup the past two seasons.

Analysis

With the first-round extending to seven games this season, the team with the homecourt advantage gets the nod. The Pacers win it in six.

Shira Springer of the Boston Globe reports: With a win today at home against the Washington Wizards, the Boston Celtics can clinch a playoff spot.

It is fitting that head coach Jim O'Brien plans to start using his playoff rotation today. That will include moving Tony Battie back into the starting lineup.

Paul Pierce knows the Celtics have to finish strong.

''We've just got to be consistent with what we're doing,'' said Pierce. ''Right now, in these last six games, we've got to play at a high level in every quarter, with every possession. We need to play with that type of consistency that we did a year ago with our defense.''