Pacers Handle Knicks With Usual Ease, 107-94

Even the usually calm Jamaal Tinsley had to show some emotion, pounding his chest as the disappointment of a slow start faded with each jumper.

Ron Artest scored 27 points, Tinsley had 14 points and 12 assists and Brad Miller had 19 points as the Indiana Pacers defeated the New York Knicks, 107-94, Friday at Indianapolis.

What once was one of the fiercest rivalries in the NBA -- the teams met six times in the playoffs in the 1990s -- has become one-sided in Indiana’s favor. The Pacers have won at least two games against the Knicks in each of the last five seasons, including eight of the last nine at home.

The Pacers had a 17-point first-half lead sliced to three in the fourth mostly because of a career-high-tying 33 points by New York’s Kurt Thomas.

Indiana used a 23-7 run late in the fourth and held Thomas to only one field goal in the last eight minutes to improve to 3-0 at home. Tinsley made two crucial mid-range jumpers and a three-point basket in the closing minutes.

He was shooting only 18% from the field this season, but he thumped his chest with his right fist after making a 22-footer that pushed the lead back to nine.

“I was just so happy about hitting a big-time shot like that,� said Tinsley, who missed shoot-around because of an upper respiratory infection. “It wasn’t anything against the Knicks.�

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Dallas 114, Chicago 87 -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points, and Shawn Bradley had 11 rebounds and eight blocks as the Mavericks won at Chicago. Eduardo Najera had 15 points and Chicago native Michael Finley had 14 for the Mavericks, whose 5-0 start is the best in franchise history.

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Phoenix 86, Portland 75 -- Stephon Marbury overcame a poor-shooting first half and finished with 21 points and nine assists to rally the Suns at Phoenix. Marbury missed his first seven shots but scored 11 points to lead an up-tempo Phoenix offense to a 37-point third quarter, the Suns’ highest-scoring quarter this season.

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Utah 110, Atlanta 97 -- Karl Malone returned to the Jazz lineup after sitting out a game because of flu and scored a season-high 27 points at Salt Lake City. Malone also had season bests of 11 rebounds and seven assists.

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New Orleans 110, Golden State 104 -- Jamal Mashburn scored 32 points and P.J. Brown had 17 points and 16 rebounds at New Orleans as the Hornets handed the Warriors their fifth consecutive loss and improved to 4-0 at home.

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Philadelphia 108, Cleveland 84 -- Keith Van Horn made all four of his three-point attempts and finished with 28 points to lead the 76ers at Philadelphia. Allen Iverson scored 17 points and had seven assists despite a sprained right thumb.

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Orlando 105, Seattle 98 -- Grant Hill scored 27 points and had nine assists to lead the Magic at Orlando, Fla. Tracy McGrady, going for a third consecutive 40-point game, scored 23 -- 11 in the fourth quarter.

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Sacramento 99, Memphis 91 -- Chris Webber had 16 points and 17 rebounds, and Peja Stojakovic scored 22 points at Sacramento, as the Kings ended a three-game losing streak and kept the Grizzlies winless.

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Toronto Raptor star Vince Carter will sit out four weeks after re-injuring his left knee. Carter, hurt in a game against Houston last Saturday, does not need surgery but must sit out to let his strained quadriceps tendon heal.... Sacramento forward Scot Pollard will sit out four to six weeks because of a stress fracture in his lower back.... Injured Hornet forward Matt Bullard thinks his playing career is over because of a bad back, the team reported on its Web site.