MINNEAPOLIS – Jermaine O’Neal had 22 points and eight rebounds to help the Indiana Pacers hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves 102-101 on Tuesday night.

Minnesota missed two late chances to win. Kevin Garnett’s turnaround jumper fell short with 5 seconds left, but the Timberwolves retained possession after the ball went out of bounds. Latrell Sprewell couldn’t convert his 23-footer from the wing as the buzzer sounded.

Stephen Jackson had 21 points and six rebounds for Indiana, which owned a 47-30 rebounding advantage and went 21-for-23 at the free-throw line. Minnesota, which got 22 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists from Garnett, made 20 of 28 foul shots. All the misses were by Garnett, who went 6-for-14.

Ron Artest didn’t play for the Pacers – they called it a “coach’s decision.” The volatile forward, often in trouble throughout his six-year career, sat along the baseline most of the night in his warmups. Artest was bothered by a sore knee during the preseason, but this was the first regular-season game he missed.

Fred Jones filled in capably with 14 points and seven rebounds. O’Neal, brought along slowly with a sore left foot, made his first start of the season. Jamaal Tinsley had 18 points and six assists. Scot Pollard, returning from a back injury, led the Pacers with 11 rebounds.

Sprewell (21 points) and Wally Szczerbiak (20 points) led a Timberwolves rally in the fourth quarter. They accounted for all the scoring in a 12-4 spurt during a span of just more than three minutes. Szczerbiak’s 3-pointer sliced the lead to 96-92 with 3:02 left.

Maneuvering around Garnett in the post, O’Neal took a bounce pass from Tinsley and dunked – hanging hard on the rim and pumping his fist – to give Indiana a 102-97 lead. Garnett fouled him, but O’Neal missed the free throw and then fouled out on the other end.

Szczerbiak made a pair of free throws, Tinsley threw the ball away with Sprewell hounding Jackson, and Troy Hudson converted a reverse layup to cut it to 102-101 with 33.3 seconds to go.

Tinsley’s layup was short, and so was his tip attempt. Trenton Hassell grabbed the rebound with 10.5 seconds left, setting up the last possession.

Eddie Griffin, who served a three-game suspension for pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault for a fight last year in Texas, made his first regular-season NBA appearance since April 16, 2003. Griffin, who didn’t play at all last season because of suspensions, legal troubles and time spent getting treatment for alcohol abuse, had two points and one rebound in 12 minutes for Minnesota.

Notes: Sprewell, whose complaints last week about his lack of a contract extension brought him heavy criticism, whirled around during a first-quarter timeout when a fan behind the bench taunted him. Sprewell yelled some obscenities before returning to the court. Security gave the man a brief lecture on etiquette. … Pacers forward Jonathan Bender, who played in the opener but has been nursing a sore right knee since training camp, could return Wednesday against the Clippers. … Timberwolves guard Fred Hoiberg sat out with back spasms.

AP-ES-11-09-04 2300EST