By Jon Krawczynski
The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - Contrary to what some believe, the world is not crumbling underneath the Indiana Pacers' feet.

Sunday's embarrassing 79-61 loss to Detroit was just that - ONE loss. The Pacers take solace in the fact that they were competitive well into the fourth quarter despite playing one of their worst games of the season.

They shot a season-low 32.4 percent against the Pistons and their 61 points were the fewest the team has scored in more than six years. The Pacers scored 55 against San Antonio on March 29, 1998.

Critics say the game affirmed what some have suspected for more than a month - that the Pistons are the best team in the Eastern Conference since acquiring Rasheed Wallace on Feb. 19.

Not, so, says Jermaine O'Neal.

"It's over, they won, we lost," O'Neal said Monday. "We still have the best record in the NBA and we feel like we're still the best team in the NBA."

O'Neal is right, at least on paper. The Pacers bring an NBA-best 56-21 record into Tuesday night's game against the New York Knicks.

They're not worried about one loss, however ugly it might have been. Instead, the Pacers are focused on keeping the best record in the NBA - earning homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs in the process - while fine-tuning their performance for the postseason and mending several bumps and bruises on key players.

Indiana has plenty of reasons to be optimistic that Sunday's loss was a fluke. First and foremost, starting point guard Jamaal Tinsley figures to be back in the lineup after missing four games with a severe viral sinus infection.

"It's off," Tinsley said of the infection. "I'm not feeling weak, that was the main thing. Now I have the energy to run up and down."

Now that Tinsley is starting to feel better, the Pacers can focus on getting O'Neal back to 100 percent. The team's leading scorer and rebounder has been bothered by a bruised left knee.

The injury is preventing him from elevating on his jump shot and has taken him out of rhythm offensively in the last few games. He was just 4-for-15 from the field and 1-for-6 from the free throw line against Detroit, too often settling for jumpers rather than getting physical in the low post.

"If I'm going to be out there, I have to give what I can give," O'Neal said. "I can't settle for a jump shot. If I'm making them, it's great. If I'm missing them, I'm killing the team."

The Pacers limited his minutes in games against Milwaukee and Toronto last week, but the star forward says he can't afford to keep taking time off.

"I have to play. It's just such a crucial time for me to lose my rhythm," O'Neal said.

Balancing the health of his players with the pursuit of the NBA's best record is coach Rick Carlisle's primary concern over the final five games.

"We're trying to do both. We're trying to win games on one hand and trying to prepare for playoff basketball," Carlisle said. "That is a challenge. A lot of what we're doing now is trying to get everything ready as best we can."

It all starts Tuesday against the Knicks. Knicks GM Isiah Thomas will be making his first appearance at Conseco Fieldhouse since being fired as Pacers coach in the offseason.

Thomas has overhauled the team since arriving in New York in December. His former players are looking forward to seeing him in Indiana again. O'Neal said he hopes to take Thomas out to dinner, and sixth man Al Harrington says he knows Thomas has kept a watchful eye on his old team.

"I think that he's definitely been watching us closely and wishing he was a part of it," Harrington said. "I'm sure he's happy with his team now, but it's going to be a good game."