---

The Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons are battling in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. The Pistons have a 3-2 series lead, so the Pacers lose tonight's Game 6 in Indiana, it's likely the last time we see Reggie Miller in an NBA game, as he stated a few months ago that he's retiring after the season. InsideHoops.com scanned the web for key quotes about Reggie from newspapers in Indianapolis and elsewhere. Obviously, all quotes are credited to the newspaper/media outlet:

These are from Thursday morning, before Game 6 was played.

May 19, 2005

Indianapolis Star: The obstacles seemed insurmountable. Injuries and suspensions decimated their lineup, but still the Indiana Pacers persevered. They rallied late in a season marred by the Nov. 19 brawl with Pistons fans to finish with a winning record and secure a playoff berth. Once there, they won three road games, including the decisive Game 7, to capture their first-round series against Boston. Tonight, the Pacers need to muster all the energy they have left -- and effort has been an issue in their past two losses -- because this isn't an ordinary Game 6 against the Detroit Pistons.

Indianapolis Star: A loss not only ends the most turbulent season in franchise history -- when Pacers players lost 435 games to suspension and injury -- it also will be the curtain call on Reggie Miller's 18-year career. "Everybody has thought about that," Pacers forward Stephen Jackson said Wednesday. "He doesn't like us to think about it. He wants us to win for ourselves as much as him. It's on everybody's mind." Prolonging Miller's career won't be easy.

Detroit Free Press: At some point before tip-off tonight, Reggie Miller will approach Pacers video coordinator Hanson Wong and ask Wong what he'd like to see happen in the game. Miller will then walk into the Pacers' locker room and imitate Wong's precise delivery, making sure the entire team knows the night's goal. It is but one of many quirks that are part of the Miller lore, part of the legend that surrounds the man who has been Pacers basketball for 18 years. Miller, 39, announced months ago that this would be it for him, that he is done playing in the NBA. Now the Pistons threaten to make that end real, to unceremoniously retire Miller by wrapping up this second-round series in Game 6. That the Pistons are in position to do so stems largely from the fact that they've hounded him. Miller is shooting just 38% against Detroit; this from a man whose career field-goal average is 47.1%. His clutch shooting was the reason the Pacers won Game 3, but otherwise, Miller's lack of offense has been devastating.

Detroit Free Press: If Game 6 weighs on Miller, he is not letting on. O'Neal and Jackson both said Miller appeared the same as always Wednesday: upbeat, sticking to routine. "The way he approaches games is the same way he's approached them the last 17-18 years in the league," Jackson said. Tonight, then, Miller will go out as always before the game and take the same rotation of shots he's done so many times before. He'll go through all his old routines, and his newer one with Wong, and then he may well go out and add to his legend.

New York Times: Two hours before tip-off, Reggie Miller is on the court, quietly practicing his shot before anybody else. The warm-up to the 1,533rd game of his N.B.A. career - Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Pistons on Thursday night - will probably be no different, even if it could be his final game. Repetition, ritual and self-confidence have been the cornerstones of Miller's game for 18 seasons, upholding his sinewy body longer than anyone had predicted. But at age 39, Miller's muscle memory seems to be fading, and the pregame shots the only ones falling with consistency. Since he hit the game-clinching jumper in Game 3 - only his third field goal that night - Miller has missed most of his wide-open attempts and has been blanketed by Richard Hamilton and the Pistons' crafty defense.

New York Times: Donnie Walsh, the Pacers' president, said steadfast confidence had defined Miller's character from the time Walsh drafted him in 1987. "He's never given up on himself," Walsh said. Even when critics said that "Indiana's never going to win in the N.B.A., he just kept believing." That was what Miller conveyed to his teammates Wednesday. "Reggie's mood is like we're up, 3-0," Jackson said. "Reggie's routine, the way he approaches games, it's the same as has been his approach the last 17, 18 years in the league. From the first preseason game till now, he's still a professional, he comes ready to play. He's never negative, he has never doubted, he keeps everybody positive."

CNNSI.com: This is not intended to jinx the Indiana Pacers as they attempt to avoid elimination Thursday night at home against Detroit in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference second-round playoff series. But I needed to say goodbye to Reggie Miller, and, well, let's just say I believe this will be my last chance. Miller is not one of those players about whom fans wring their hands and say, "Oh, man, how are we going to replace him?" He's not an immortal, but after a career of clutch 3-point shots, Miller is probably headed to the Hall of Fame -- I'd vote for him. And privately, NBA officials are truly saddened by Miller's departure. The public sees a league weakened by young players who are clueless about diplomacy, and, for several fabulous weeks late in the season, good ol' 39-year-old Reg gave us a compelling, and gloriously ancient, story line.