It was fitting that Jermaine O'Neal wore a Bob Pettit St. Louis Hawks retro jersey to the Indiana Pacers' game Friday.

Putting up numbers that would have made the Hall of Fame forward proud, O'Neal led the Pacers through a stunning comeback from a 19-point third-quarter deficit to a 101-92 victory over Memphis that squeezed the Eastern Conference playoff race.

O'Neal tied his career high with 38 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, blocked three shots, had three steals and made hustle plays in what most of the Pacers considered the best performance of his seven-year NBA career.

"It's getting to the point he's getting scary," coach Isiah Thomas said of O'Neal. "He put us on his back and we rode him for as long as he could go. He was fantastic.

"It was the most dominant game he's had."

One of the most timely, too. The Pacers, playing without starters Ron Artest (suspended) and Brad Miller (injured), improved to 41-28. Thanks to losses by Detroit and Philadelphia, they're in third place in the Eastern Conference, 21/2 games behind the Pistons and a half-game behind New Jersey.

Momentum, of course, could be cut short when the Pacers play tonight in Atlanta, where a victory would match last season's win total. But that game will be followed by three more at home, starting with one against the 76ers Wednesday, by which time Miller and Artest will be in the lineup.

Midway through the third quarter on Friday, however, the Pacers weren't thinking optimistically about their future. Memphis was putting on a clinic, displaying the best of 69-year-old coach Hubie Brown's aggressive, fundamental approach.

Memphis, which had won seven of its previous eight games, shot 54 percent in the first half, outscored the Pacers 28-4 on fastbreak points and confused them with shifting defenses.

The Grizzlies' 12-point halftime lead reached 19 as the Pacers hit one of their first nine shots in the third period, and boos were ringing down from the 15,505 fans at Conseco Fieldhouse.

But it all changed suddenly. With the Pacers trailing 70-51, Reggie Miller hit a 3-pointer that started a 14-0 run. Miller scored the first seven points and the final three of that surge for 10 of his 14 points.

O'Neal took over from there.

"Pride kicked in," he said. "It's an important part of the year for us. To play the way we played in the first half is extremely unacceptable."

The game had begun improbably for him, as he was called for a technical foul 33 seconds after tip-off and missed all four shots in the first quarter. But he scored 14 in the second quarter to keep the Pacers from being blown out, then scored the first six of the fourth.

His short turnaround jumper on the first possession of the final period gave the Pacers a 77-76 lead and they never trailed again.

As good as O'Neal was, he was largely the primary beneficiary of a penetrating attack in which guards Jamaal Tinsley and Erick Strickland combined for 18 assists. Of O'Neal's 16 field goals, nine were dunks or layups.

"He did everything," Reggie Miller said. "There's not one thing he didn't do. He blocked shots, he scored, he rebounded, he assisted a few plays, and he dove on the floor."

The Pacers led 85-83 midway through the fourth when O'Neal caught the ball in the post and fed Tinsley for a layup. After Reggie Miller's steal, O'Neal drew a foul by Shane Battier on a dunk attempt and hit two fouls shots. He followed by beating Stromile Swift on the left baseline for a dunk that opened an eight-point lead.

"You do what you have to do to win the game," O'Neal said. "Guys dug down real deep."