Heat Lose to Pacers; Shaq Sprains Ankle

Heat Lose to Pacers; Shaq Sprains Ankle


MIAMI - The Miami Heat entered this season believing they have the NBA's best frontcourt depth. That theory is about to be tested.


Shaquille O'Neal sprained his right ankle in the Heat's 105-102 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night, and the team doesn't expect to have the services of their 12-time All-Star center for at least a few days. It's unknown if he'll even travel with the Heat to Milwaukee for their game on Saturday.

"We don't want him to be hurt," Heat forward Antoine Walker said. "The season just started ... and he's a big guy. Something like that can be very hard on him."

It was a bad night all around for the Heat, who missed 15 free throws and committed 17 turnovers while losing to Indiana for the 13th time in 14 regular-season meetings. Jermaine O'Neal had 27 points and Ron Artest scored 22 for Indiana, which won on the road for the second straight night.

Dwyane Wade had 31 points and 10 assists for Miami, but had his potential tying 3-pointer rattle out as time expired.

"There were a lot of times we could have broken down," Artest said. "But we didn't. We stayed together throughout this whole game."

In the only other NBA game Thursday, Phoenix beat the Los Angeles Lakers 122-112.

Walker's 3-point attempt midway through the fourth quarter could have drawn the Heat into a tie. But it bounced off the rim, sending a few groans throughout the sold-out arena.

The groans quickly turned to gasps.

While jostling for the rebound, Shaquille O'Neal stepped on Artest's foot. The 7-foot-1, 340-pound Heat center rolled his ankle and fell to the court, staying there several seconds before limping away.

X-rays were negative, but teammates said the sprain looked fairly severe.

"Hopefully it's not going to be long for him to be out," Heat guard Gary Payton said. "He's a big guy. He came down and twisted his ankle pretty bad. I saw it."

O'Neal didn't speak with reporters after the game. Shaq's longtime bodyguard, Jerome Crawford, closed the locker room door when his boss was leaving, an effort to shield O'Neal from the throngs of nearby media as he hobbled out on crutches.

"We don't want injuries, especially to our best player," Wade said. "We just hope he can come back real soon. He's a big guy and anytime he gets injured it's a lot of weight that goes down on his knee, ankle or whatever he hurt."

If O'Neal is out, the Heat — who have another center, Michael Doleac, also sidelined with a calf injury — will probably start Alonzo Mourning. He had 12 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes on Thursday, when the Heat rallied from a 14-point deficit but still lost their third home opener in four years.

"Did you see me play last year? OK, enough said," Mourning said when asked if he was ready to take over in O'Neal's absence. "I'm not sick. There's nothing wrong with me. If I couldn't play this game at a high level, I wouldn't be here. So don't question my abilities. Please don't do that."

Artest's basket with 6:34 left in the third quarter gave Indiana a 73-59 lead, and Shaq picked up his fourth foul seconds later — but the Heat rallied.

Miami forced Indiana into 10 straight missed shots during the next nine minutes, and a 14-6 run in the fourth quarter drew the Heat into a 93-all tie. Gary Payton made a layup and was fouled by Jamaal Tinsley to get Miami within 93-92. Tinsley was whistled for a technical, and Wade made that free throw to tie it — but Payton missed the one that would've put Miami ahead.

Indiana scored the next six points, and hung on.

"We knew they were going to make runs," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. "We knew Wade was going to play big down the stretch. When that happens, we had to keep our poise and composure. We did that and made the plays we had to make to win."

O'Neal simply has bad luck health-wise against Indiana. He was kneed by Jermaine O'Neal in a game late last regular season, and that injury hampered him throughout the Heat's playoff run.

He missed nine regular-season and two postseason games last season; Miami was 8-3 in those contests.

"This builds character for a team," Wade said. "I'm just happy it happened earlier in the season. Hopefully, this will make us better."

Suns 122, Lakers 112

At Los Angeles, Shawn Marion had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and Steve Nash had 17 assists and 12 points as Phoenix spoiled Phil Jackson's homecoming as coach of the Lakers.

The Suns, who blew a 17-point lead in the final quarter before losing 111-108 to Dallas in double overtime Tuesday night to start the season, led by 17 with 8 1/2 minutes left. But the Lakers got as close as three before the Suns scored the game's final seven points.

James Jones added 17 points, and Raja Bell and Kurt Thomas each scored 14 for the Suns.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 39 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Lamar Odom had 23 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, and Smush Parker matched his career high with 21 points.