Artest paces Pacers in 20-point victory over Cleveland

INDIANAPOLIS - Ron Artest takes pride in shutting down the other team's top scorer. He never really got a chance against Cleveland.

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Artest scored 22 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 95-75 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who benched leading scorer Ricky Davis early in the game Tuesday night.

Davis, who averages 23.4 points, did not return for the start of the second half. He was benched 6 minutes into the game and took a seat on the baseline next to the team's bench.

The game went much more smoothly for the Pacers, off their best start in the team's NBA history at 6-1 overall and 5-0 at home. They've done it without Reggie Miller and Austin Croshere, both on the injured list.

"Seven-and-oh would be better, but we can't complain," said Brad Miller, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds. "We're playing well, especially on the defensive end and that's what's taking care of us."

Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Mercer each scored 15 points for the Pacers.

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Artest, who has started all seven games at the two spot in Reggie Miller's absence made 9-of-10 from the floor, went 2-for-2 from 3-point range and made both free-throw attempts.

Darius Miles led the Cavaliers with 19 points, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 17. Jumaine Jones grabbed 11 rebounds.

After coming out of the game, Davis put his warmup outfit, draped a towel over his back and even stretched out his 6-foot-7 frame, resting his head on a stack of towels.

He didn't join the Cavaliers in the huddle during timeouts, instead standing off to the side with his hands in his pockets and looking around the arena. Assistant coach Keith Smart gave a few disgusted glances toward Davis.

Smart came over during the final timeout of the first half and put his arm around Davis, and both smiled as they talked.

Davis failed to participate in the halftime shootaround and did not return for the second half. He scored two points on 1-for-2 shooting.

Coach John Lucas declined to say why he benched Davis and what happened to him in the second half.

"I decided not to play him. I wanted to go another way," he said.

When pressed further, Lucas said: "I just decided to go another way."

Miles said he expected Davis back for Wednesday's game against Dallas, but his teammates also decided not to talk about Davis.

That wasn't the only distraction on the bench.

Lucas also screamed and waved a finger in the face of rookie point guard Smush Parker early in the second quarter. The point guard combination of Parker, Milt Palacio and Bimbo Coles was criticized last week by forward Tyrone Hill. Hill guaranteed the Cavaliers, off to a 2-6 start, would be in the playoffs if they had a true point guard.

Lucas said that was no longer an issue. Now he might have another one.

"We're going to struggle," Lucas said. "I've got to make sure I do my job and get my team under control."

Raptors 115, Magic 109

At Orlando, Fla., Jerome Williams scored a career-high 30 points, and injury-riddled Toronto rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Orlando.

Williams' layup with 57.8 seconds remaining broke a tie at 109, and he hit a pair of free throws with 11 seconds to go after Orlando's Pat Garrity missed a wide-open 3-pointer.

Jazz 108, Knicks 87

At New York, Mark Jackson took over in the second quarter when Utah pulled ahead for good, and John Stockton finished the job in the third period.

Jackson had six points, three assists and three rebounds in the second quarter when matched against rookie Frank Williams, and Utah outscored New York 26-12 in the period to take a 48-30 halftime lead.

Clippers 101, Heat 92

At Miami, Elton Brand had 25 points and 20 rebounds, and Los Angeles relied almost entirely on its starters to rally past Miami.

The Clippers won despite getting only three points from their bench. Their starters, though, proved to be too strong for the Heat, who dropped their third straight game at home to fall to 1-5 overall for the season.

Pistons 93, Hornets 87

At Auburn Hills, Mich., Chucky Atkins returned to the starting lineup with 20 points, helping Detroit beat New Orleans.

Atkins, last year's starter at point guard, played in place of Chauncey Billups, suspended for throwing the ball at an official Saturday during a loss at Dallas.

Rockets 86, Trail Blazers 83

At Houston, Steve Francis overcame a painful third-quarter fall to score Houston's final 16 points and lead the Rockets over Portland,

Francis, who scored 18 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, made a layup with 20 seconds left to put the Rockets ahead to stay at 85-83.

Hawks 95, Lakers 83

Ar Los Angeles, Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Jason Terry scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as Atlanta extended the Lakers' losing streak to four games - their longest in 7 1/2 years.

The three-time defending champion Lakers (2-6), who have played without star center Shaquille O'Neal all season, are off to their worst start through eight games in 36 years.