The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 13

The Indianapolis Star Monday, May 24, 1999- Sabres take opener Buffalo grabs a 1-0 lead against Toronto in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals. Page 9 AUTO RACING 2-5 NBA 6-7 GOLF 10 BASEBALL 12 SCOREBOARD 13 InfoUne: 624-4636 Online: www.starnews.com (6 racers finish i Shaq's Lakers Sixers, return! to East finals again go quietly By Mark Montleth STAFF WRITER 1) PHILADELPHIA Having squandered a 17-point lead and trailing Philadelphia by four points with 3:47, left Sunday, the Indiana Pacers' starters were reunited: during a timeout. "We looked at each other and said it was like wres-i tllng, where you put them to sleep and pick the arm up! and watch it drop, Mark Jackson recalled, ve ail laughed and went out and did it. "You have to have 89! C3 86 fun." With veteran poise, resolve and even humor, the Pacers put the young and restless 76ers to sleep with an 89-86 victory at First Union Center to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the fourth time in six years. Indiana, sweeping its second consecutive opponent from the playoffs, will play either New York or Atlanta next.

The next round could begin as early as Friday at Market Square Arena, but no date has been set. For the Pacers, the The series: Pacers win 4-0. Next game: vs. New York-Atlanta series winner, TBA. Tickets on sale today at 10 am Details on Page 6.

Inside: Pacers center Rik Smits scores 15 points in his second-longest appearance of the playoffs. Page 6 By Marc Stein THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS INGLEWOOD, Calif. Piling up MVP trophies and championship rings is allegedly Shaquille O'Neal's destiny. Yet all he has SPURS 118 scooped up so far LAKERS 107 is a legacy of suf-; ferlng playoff sweeps. For the fifth time in a six-year career, O'Neal's season has ended with a series in which his team failed to win a single game.

Maybe that's why no one seemed surprised Sunday when O'Neal's Los Angeles Lakers were broomed out of the Western Conference semifinals with a humbling 118-107 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The most tangible sensation, more than shock, was the melancholy that enveloped the Lakers' final game at "the hallowed Great Western Forum. The mood of the afternoon was typified by numerous scoreboard shots of an anguished Magic Johnson, head In hands and helpless at courtside, mere feet from the platform for the Lakers' five NBA titles during the 1980s. Jl'lt's very embarrassing," O'Neal said after his 36 points and 14 rebounds didn't come close to derailing San Antonio's increasingly credible pursuit of the crown. Every time I get sent home, I get ejnbarrassed.

I hate saying, 'Well, we played I don't like feeling like this." I That sick feeling is a misery O'Neal knows far too well. In each of his three seasons with the Orlando Magic, and two of his three seasons in Los Angeles, the 7-1, 330-pound center has been swept into the off-season. I This, though, might have been the ugliest blanking yet. Looking beaten from the opening tip, in the wake of three consecutive defeats sealed by mental breakdowns, the Lakers played virtually no defense and again refused to share the ball. The Spurs, by contrast, were unselfish and took advantage of Los Angeles' disinterest, making a stunning 60 percent of their shots.

"While O'Neal was missing 11-of-23 free throws, Tim Duncan was almost flawless with 33 points and 14, rebounds. And unheralded guards Jaren Jackson and Avery Johnson continued their steely play See LAKERS Page 7 Sunday's other scores New York 90, Atlanta 78 Portland 81, Utah 75 Today's game: Atlanta at New York, 7 p.m., TBS greatest worry is that the long break will dull their momentum. They have won a club-record seven consecutive playoff games, and 11 In a row overall. Their last defeat, a homecourt loss to Orlando on April 27, seems to have come from a different team in a different era. They aren't exactly breezing through the postseason, however.

Sunday's victory before a sellout crowd was a typical roller-coaster ride, one from which the Pacers emerged a little woozy, but smiling. "We made the plays, the plays we had to make," coach Larry Bird said. Unlike most games this season, when reserves have See PACERS Page 6 Pacers see the Knicks as lesser of two evils Hr i j'' 1 "VHV 1 vo l( v-- I I (: i I U''N 'r ll fA si im 1 v- -Lv wSPi 1 nr. 1. 1 ijljjxir-J-lIiJlxliJLiii urnf By Conrad runner STAFF WRITER PHILADELPHIA The Indiana Pacers stopped just short of saying they wanted to face the New York Knicks in.

the Eastern Conference finals, but their preference was clear. And it had little to do with the fact that they lost three of four games to Atlanta during the regular season. After polishing off the Philadelphia 76ers 89-86 on Sunday to produce their second consecutive sweep; the Pacers quickly turned their attention to their fourth trip to the conference finals in six years, and the possibility of yet another reunion with their old ri-i vals. The Knicks can follow the Pacers' lead and complete a sweep tonight against Atlanta. New York took a 3-D lead on Sunday with a 90-78 victory.

"I believe In fate," the Pacers' Antonio Davis said. "I believe that all the prior teams that won champion-See KNICKS Page 6 Inside: Knicks poised to sweep Hawks after 12-point victory in Game 3. Page 7 Staff Photo Steve Healey MOVIN' ON: Mark Jackson and Rik Smits celebrate the Pacers' series-clinching victory over the 76ers. Jackson (14 points, 13 assists), Smits (15 points, seven rebounds) and the other starters had big games. Ahead this week Buhl makes final cut at Speedway Stories set to1 appear this week in the Star sports section.

Driver bumps Groff minutes before rain ends qualifying; 3 others are in. "3r j1 -y ii mm 1. 1 fiiTrr 1 11,11 11 MsffiHinil Open wrapup Coverage of final-day action in the Indiana PGA's Indianapolis Open at the Trophy Club in Thomtown. only 3.695 seconds separated pole sitter Arte Luyendyk (225.179-mph average) and slowest qualifier Wim Eyckmans (220.092 mph). Johnny Unser, Jack Miller and Raul Boesel joined Buhl in the starting lineup, while Lyn St.

James, Jaques Lazier, Ste-phan Gregoire, Scott Harrington and Groff who minutes earlier had bumped his way in were knocked out. The rain, which began shortly before 2 p.m., left Marco Greco, Gregoire, Harrington, Andy Michner, Brian Tyler and Nick Firestone sitting in the qualifying line and Eyckmans sitting on the bubble. But they never got a chance to turn a wheel and the track was officially closed at 4:30 p.m. Actually, the skies started to open up on Buhl's last lap and that only added to his wild weekend. Prep spotlight Inside Regrets: Satur-'' day crash still bothers Robbie Buhl.

Page 2 rJ The field: The complete Indy 500 lineup. Page 4 Short stint For 12 minutes, Mike Groff was in the race. Page 5 The high school pages will feature the athlete of the week, area statistical leaders and the North Central girls tennis regional. By Robin Miller STAFF WRITER Qualifying for the 1999 Indianapolis 500 was pretty much summed up by the final run Sunday: It was as close as the impending bad weather. Robbie Buhl beat the rain, humidity, odds and Mike Groff by .036 of a second to bring time trials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to its usual dramatic ending.

In a scheduled six-hour session that ended four hours prematurely because of Mother Nature, five drivers were bumped and four were added to the May 30 classic in the closest competition ever. It all camg down to the blink of an eye as 'TfftM Indy 500 preview We'll profile the drivers and go behind the scenes with our special section ahead of Sunday's running of the Indianapolis 500. Staff Photo Mike Fender SAVED BY THE RAIN: Driver Wim Eyckmans (left) and his crew chief, Dane Harte, are all smiles as rain brings an early end to qualifying with Eyckmans on the bubble. V' See BUHL Page 2 9.