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INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana: Indiana forward Jermaine O’Neal came off
the bench to score nine points Monday in a 105-85 victory over
Miami, making a National Basketball Association return after missing
33 games.
A sore left knee had kept the six-time NBA
All-Star sidelined but he came back to practice March 19 and in his
return to the playing lineup saw 17 minutes of action, hitting
3-of-4 shots and grabbing two rebounds.
O’Neal underwent surgery on the knee last
April but has not been able to match his statistics of past years
this season, averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in 33 games this
season.
At 31-43, the Pacers have won six of their past
eight games to pull within three games of Atlanta for the eighth and
last Eastern Conference playoff spot with eight games remaining.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Chris Bosh scored
32 points and pulled down eight rebounds to spark the Toronto
Raptors past Charlotte 104-100.
The Raptors snapped a seven-game road losing
streak and improved to 38-36, moving a game ahead of Philadelphia
for sixth place in the Eastern Conference despite being mired in a
6-12 slump.
The Bobcats, whose three-game win streak was
halted, still have a slim hope at reaching the NBA playoffs despite
a 28-46 record.
Toronto’s Rasho Nesterovic scored six of his
14 points during a 14-2 run to open the second half on their way to
a 79-73 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Charlotte trimmed the deficit as close as 84-83
on a Jared Dudley reverse lay up with 8:56 to play, but the Raptors
sank 19-of-23 free throws in the fourth quarter for the triumph,
Bosh hitting 8-of-8 from the line down the stretch.
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