INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller may not be all he once was, but he was more than enough to beat the Washington Wizards last night.

Miller single-handedly shot the Pacers back in the game, with 17 of his 25 points in the third quarter, as Indiana erased a 10-point Washington lead to prevail, 100-84.

Of course, the Wizards (6-9), who dropped their fifth straight game, did more than their share to help, scoring a season-low 29 points in the second half, scoring only one field goal in the fourth quarter, as they let the Pacers seize control of the game, both emotionally and physically.

"It's the same old story," said Washington coach Doug Collins. "The minute a team starts pressing up against us, we break down and we stop running our plays. The minute Indiana started playing pressure on us, then we reverted to one-on-one and got away from what was so great for us in the first half, good solid defense, making the extra pass.

"We live on the perimeter. We can't get anything on the inside, so we put so much pressure on our perimeter guys. And then Reggie went nuts. He was typical Reggie Miller."

Ah, yes, Reggie Miller, who missed the first 12 games of the season with a bone bruise on his right ankle, but proceeded to put on a shooting clinic in the third quarter, hitting four three-pointers, three in succession, scoring 14 of Indiana's 16 points at one stretch, one night after the Pacers (13-2) handed the Dallas Mavericks their first loss.

"We had every reason to go south after the emotional win against Dallas," Miller said. "Someone had to do something."

And Miller did. The first of his threes was the killer, as he got Larry Hughes, back from missing Tuesday's loss to the Pacers with a sore wrist, up in the air on a head fake with 7:13 to go in the third, as he has done countless times to other defenders during his 16-year career. Miller then leaned into Hughes, drawing contact, and calmly drilled a three-pointer, getting fouled in the process.

"I've seen it a million times," Hughes said. "Whether you foul him or not, any little thing is going to get him going. That's his play. You have to respect that. He does that every time, time and time again. And he gets results out of it. That was a four-point play. That was a big play for them."

Miller hit the foul shot, and even though Washington still led 64-59, the Wizards' downfall had begun. Miller would hit two more threes and a pair of free throws in the next three minutes to give Indiana a 67-66 lead with 4:17 left in the third quarter.

The Wizards, who led by 14 in the first half, would grab a brief lead when Michael Jordan hit a 17-footer with 4:02 left in the third quarter, but Ron Artest sank two of his 13 free throws - all without a miss - then Miller hit another three, and the game was effectively over.

"When Reggie started making those shots and the crowd started getting in the game, that was it for us," said Jordan, who had 14 points. "We never really rebounded or executed offensively. That's a learning process. On paper, we have a pretty good team. It's just taking that paper and turning it into action."

The Wizards, who watched Jermaine O'Neal score 26 points and pull down 21 rebounds in Tuesday's 88-84 loss in Washington, effectively eliminated him last night, as he shot just 3-for-12 from the field, but 9-for-9 from the free-throw line for 15 points.

But the Wizards, who played a fine blend of offense and defense in the first half, settled for jump shots that didn't fall in the second, as they went away from either driving to the basket or feeding their big men.

"I watched the same thing you did," said Collins sarcastically. "It wasn't pretty. We dribble well. That ball does bounce. We lead the league in dribbling in the fourth quarter."

Guard Jerry Stackhouse had 24 points for the game, but no field goals in the second half.

"When you're in a four- or five-game slide, everything stands out. If we were on a four- or five-game winning streak, we'd be a great team," Stackhouse said. "We're in a little rut, and we have to get out of it. Winning is a cure-all. If we get a win, and get a little streak going, everybody will feel a little better about the whole situation."

NOTES: Before the game, Jordan reiterated that he will retire after the season, a declaration he made Thursday.

"I've said all along that I would fulfill my contract. This is the end of my contract," Jordan said at the morning shootaround. "I'm not looking to extend my contract. If that was the case, I would have extended it myself before I even came back."

The Pacers hit 35 of 36 free throws, the best performance by a team in the NBA this season and won their 10th straight game here against Washington.

FGFTReb

WASHINGTONMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS

Jeffries50-10-00-0020

Brown273-111-22-5137

Haywood212-50-24-10034

Stackhouse387-1510-111-36424

Hughes263-61-20-1448

Lue303-72-40-2438

Laettner102-53-32-4017

Jordan306-152-20-41214

Russell313-61-11-4237

Dixon30-00-00-0020

EThomas192-41-44-11045

Totals24031-7521-3114-44183184

Percentages: FG .413, FT .677. 3-point goals: 1-9, .111 (Hughes 1-1, Laettner 0-1, Jordan 0-1, Russell 0-1, Lue 0-2, Stackhouse 0-3). Team rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: 21 (26 PTS). Blocked shots: 9 (Haywood 4, Hughes 3, Brown 2). Turnovers: 19 (Stackhouse 6, E.Thomas 3, Dixon 3, Lue 2, Hughes 2, Laettner, Jordan, Russell). Steals: 6 (Hughes 2, Brown, Jordan, Russell, Stackhouse). Technical fouls: None. FGFTReb

INDIANAMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS

Artest374-913-131-41521

O'Neal333-129-91-71315

BMiller304-85-53-84413

RMiller297-137-71-42125

Tinsley30-10-00-1000

Mercer405-121-20-35411

Harrington323-120-02-6426

Jones122-30-00-1114

Bender111-20-00-1052

Foster40-10-00-2010

Croshere81-10-03-4013

Brezec10-10-00-0000

Totals24030-7535-3611-411827100

Percentages: FG .400, FT .972. 3-point goals: 5-11, .455 (R.Miller 4-7, Croshere 1-1, Bender 0-1, Artest 0-1, O'Neal 0-1). Team rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 13 (15 PTS). Blocked shots: 4 (Artest 2, Bender, O'Neal). Turnovers: 10 (B.Miller 3, Croshere 2, Bender 2, Harrington, Foster, Artest). Steals: 9 (Artest 4, R.Miller, Foster, B.Miller, O'Neal, Jones). Technical fouls: None. Washington27281811-84

Indiana26213122-100

A-18,345 (18,345). T-2:21. Officials-Tom Washington, Blane Reichelt, Gary Benson.