INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Carlos Boozer scored 18 points and Mehmet Okur added 17, and the Utah Jazz started a five-game road trip with a 104-94 victory over Indiana on Sunday.

The Pacers, who had beaten Utah seven straight times over the course of the last four years, rallied from 21 points down in the third quarter and pulled to 100-94 on a basket by Jamaal Tinsley with 24 seconds remaining. Rookie Dee Brown then hit four of six free throws in the closing seconds to finish the scoring for the Jazz.

Jermaine O’Neal, who led Indiana with 31 points, had 14 in the third quarter, but no one else scored for the Pacers until a fast-break layup by Sarunas Jasikevicius with just more than 3 minutes left in the period. A 13-2 run by the Jazz, meanwhile, ended with a rebound basket by Boozer and the third 3-point basket by Okur for a 78-57 lead.

Indiana cut the lead to 85-75 early in the fourth quarter, but Boozer hit a rebound basket, Paul Millsap scored on a fast-break dunk and Matt Harpring added a layup, and the Jazz never led by fewer than nine until the final rally by the Pacers.

Boozer finished with 11 rebounds for his 18th double-double in 24 games this season. Deron Williams added 17 points and Derek Fisher had 15 points for the Jazz. Stephen Jackson had 16 for Indiana, which never led.

O’Neal scored Indiana’s first seven points, but he and Tinsley were the only Pacers to attempt a shot for most of the first quarter. Two 3-pointers by Okur and one by Williams, meanwhile, helped the Jazz to an 18-9 lead.

Jackson and Danny Granger each hit a 3-pointer and Tinsley added a basket to help the Pacers within two, but Utah expanded its lead to 29-23 at the end of the period and baskets by Gordan Giricek and Harpring gave the Jazz their first 10-point lead in the first minute of the second quarter.

Utah stretched the lead to 45-31 midway through the quarter, but the Pacers rallied again. Jackson hit four free throws and a 3-pointer, then fed O’Neal for a dunk after a Utah turnover to pull Indiana within 53-47 at halftime. Okur and Boozer got the first two baskets of the third quarter, and the Pacers never recovered.

Notes: Utah’s Andrei Kirilenko, who had 7 points and six blocked shots, has had at least one block in 25 straight games, the longest active streak in the NBA. O’Neal, with three blocks, has had at least one in 22 straight. … Indiana’s Al Harrington, in foul trouble early, did not score in 23 minutes. Utah is 16-2 when Boozer has a double-double. … Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who had several players with lengthy suspensions after a brawl with Pistons fans two years ago, called Saturday’s Nuggets-Knicks fight disappointing. “I can tell you the power of emotions can be an underrated thing in our game. … But unless you’re there and a part of it and know all the dynamics of it, it’s really hard to comment on it,” Carlisle said.

AP-ES-12-17-06 1735EST

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