Perry A. Farrell reports, not a go-to guy anymore, but always a threat, Reggie Miller, the only player left on the Pacers roster when Larry Brown coached there in the 1990s, delivered the first blow in the series, nailing a three with 31.7 seconds left to break a 74-all tie and send the Pacers to a 78-74 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday before a sellout crowd of 18,345 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Miller scored the last four points for the Pacers to seal the game after being badly outplayed by Richard Hamilton, who scored 23 to lead all scorers. It was Miller's only field goal of the game.

The Pistons had just one field goal in the final 7 minutes, 45 seconds, that was a triple by Tayshaun Prince.