Popeye Jones

Rik Smits scored 20 points and Derrick McKey added 18 as the Indiana Pacers survived a fourth-quarter rally by the Dallas Mavericks and posted a 91-84 victory. Indiana took the lead for good midway through the first period and led, 70-62, heading into the fourth quarter. Ricky Pierce extended the advantage to 10 points, 15 seconds into the period, but George McCloud hit a three-pointer and Jason Kidd sunk a layup and two free throws to cut the deficit to 72-69 with 8:31 remaining. After Mark Jackson was called for an offensive foul, Dallas had a chance to take the lead, but missed on three inside attempts. Smits then converted two free throws, Dale Davis hit one and Jackson sunk two to seal the win. Dallas' Popeye Jones scored 11 points and pulled down a club record 28 rebounds. The total broke James Donaldson's mark of 27 set in a triple-overtime game against Portland on December 29th, 1989. The regulation game record was 25 by Roy Tarpley against Milwaukee on April 1st, 1990. "He was great," said Pacers coach Larry Brown about Jones. "He maximizes what he can do every single game. He is a marvelous player who knows his role and goes out and does it every single night." Dallas lost despite outrebounding Indiana, 66-39, and shooting 41 per cent from three-point range (9-of-22). However, their overall shooting percentage was 33 per cent (32-for-97). Jim Jackson had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Kidd recorded 16 points, nine boards and seven assists. Trailing 13-5 with 6:53 left in the opening period, the Mavs closed out the quarter on a 24-4 run to take a 29-17 lead.