The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - With all the big names in the Indiana-Boston playoff series, seldom-used Brandon Hunter might have had the biggest impact in Game 1.

The Celtics' rookie forward appeared to take a cheap shot Indiana star Jermaine O'Neal in the second quarter, igniting a rally by the Pacers that made the difference in their 104-88 victory over the Celtics in Game 1 of their first-round series Saturday.

Hunter entered the game in the second quarter and immediately tangled with O'Neal under the Pacers' basket, drawing a foul for pulling O'Neal to the floor.

"They had a young, strong player throwing an MVP candidate on the floor, and it looked like he was doing it intentionally," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "I reacted and our team reacted. I think that raised their level of angst a little bit."

O'Neal got up and yelled at Hunter and Ricky Davis, drawing a technical foul. The confrontation fueled a 24-7 Pacers run, and they never looked back.

"I think it was a factor," Carlisle said. "You don't like to see some guy coming in the game that looks like he was put in there to go rough up your best player. I don't think it's right. ... I disagree with that kind of basketball. It got all of us going."

Carlisle spoke to the media after Boston coach John Carroll, who was unavailable to respond to the remarks. Hunter left the locker room quickly and did not comment.

"He just grabbed me and threw me down," O'Neal said. "I've just got to do a better job keeping my composure."

Following the skirmish, the Pacers used their big run to take a 65-43 lead at halftime.

Boston's Paul Pierce scored 11 points in the first quarter, but Ron Artest didn't let him get free the rest of the game. Artest held Pierce to 1-for-10 shooting in the final three periods.

"Ron did a real good job on him as the game wore on," Carroll said.

O'Neal had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Artest also scored 24.

Pierce went 8-for-10 from the free throw line and finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

"They play good team defense," Pierce said. "They go up 20 and then you find yourself forcing a lot of things trying to get back in the game."

The Celtics shot 55 percent in the first quarter to keep the game close, 30-29, but went just 3-for-19 (16 percent) and scored 14 points in the second quarter to Indiana's 35.

Al Harrington added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers.

Lakers 72, Rockets 71

LOS ANGELES - Shaquille O'Neal's only basket of the second half, a dunk off an airball by Kobe Bryant with 17.4 seconds remaining, provided the winning points.

The Lakers shot 25 percent in the second half (10-of-40) and 32.9 percent overall, and were outrebounded 51-41. Still, they emerged with the victory when Jim Jackson missed an open 3-pointer from the left corner just before time expired.

With the Rockets leading by one point and the shot clock running down, Bryant tried a 3-pointer despite having two defenders on him and missed everything. But O'Neal snatched the ball out of the air and rammed it into the basket while being fouled by Yao Ming, who committed his sixth personal.

O'Neal scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half and also had 17 rebounds. Bryant took just one shot in the first half and finished with 16 points, five rebounds and six assists, shooting 4-for-19 from the field.

Francis led the Rockets with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Nets 107, Knicks 83

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -Jason Kidd took his anger out after being shoved to the court by a backup guard, and Jason Collins knocked Tim Thomas out of the game on a flagrant foul in the fourth quarter.

Kidd channeled his annoyance at being sent sprawling by Frank Williams into a 14-point, 13-assist performance.

Kerry Kittles hit his first six shots and scored 20 points as the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions shot nearly 60 percent in the first half and used their defense to put the game away in the second half, holding New York to 28 points.

The most physical moment of the game came midway through the fourth quarter when Thomas, driving to the basket, was hit hard across the body and in the face by Collins. Thomas landed on his lower back and rolled over in pain, then walked off with assistance and went to the locker room. He was to be hospitalized overnight.

Spurs 98, Grizzlies 74

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs, giving the Grizzlies a harsh initiation to postseason play, got 26 points from Tim Duncan and took control.

The Spurs used their size advantage to produce easy inside baskets from Duncan and Robert Horry, while their relentless defense made Pau Gasol a non-factor while holding Memphis to its worst shooting percentage of the season.

Eighteen of San Antonio's first 25 points came in the paint, and they ended with 50 points inside.

The win was the 12th straight for the Spurs and their 14th straight at home, coming against a team that beat them three times during the regular season.

Memphis, which entered the league in 1995 as the Vancouver Grizzlies, never made the postseason or won more than 28 games in its first eight seasons.