MILWAUKEE -- When Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel benched his starters for the entire game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, it meant extended playing time for the teams reserves. Chris Copeland made sure to take advantage. Copeland scored a season-high 18 points and made a difficult driving layup with 1.2 seconds remaining, giving the Pacers a hard-fought 104-102 that moved them back into first place in the Eastern Conference. "Its big for our confidence, the second unit," said Copeland, who came in averaging three points. "Just to get the opportunity out there. A lot of us have been waiting for that all year. So it was very cool for us to get out there and get a win and show the starters that weve got their backs when they need rest." Copeland also tied a career high with four 3-pointers and matched a season high with 17 minutes of playing time. Following a pair of timeouts, the Pacers inbounded the ball to Copeland, who drove hard to the basket for the winning shot. "I tried to rip through to the basket and tried to use my size," Copeland said. "I saw help coming, so I shot it." Copelands shot came after Milwaukees Khris Middleton had tied the game at 102 after making three free throws. Middleton drew a foul while attempting a shot near the 3-point arc with 4.9 seconds remaining that referees initially ruled a 2-point attempt. After a review, the call was reversed, sending Middleton to the line for three shots. Luis Scola also recorded a season high with 24 points and Evan Turner added 23 for Indiana. Vogel made the unusual move to keep all of his regular first-team players on the bench after saying his team appeared tired following a 107-88 home loss to Atlanta on Sunday, when the Pacers were held to a franchise-low 23 points in the first half. "It was a great win for our guys, a great team effort," Vogel said. "We had a lot of good contributors." Even without the starters, Indiana moved a half-game ahead of the Heat heading into Fridays matchup in Miami. After leading the East most of the season, the Pacers had lost five of six games coming into the matchup with the Bucks. Still, the Pacers came in just a half-game behind Miami, which lost at Memphis. The Bucks, who had only eight players available due to injuries, have lost six in a row and were on the losing end of all four games with the Pacers this season. Brandon Knight had 25 points and Ramon Sessions 20 for Milwaukee. Jeff Adrien pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds. The game featured 23 lead changes. Usual Indiana starters Paul George, David West, George Hill and Lance Stephenson dressed but didnt play. Another starter, Roy Hibbert, was inactive for the game. All five are expected to start against the Heat. Vogel insisted that the move would allow the starters to get some minor injuries healed and for his reserves to play extended minutes. The Pacers starting lineup consisted of Scola, Turner, Rasual Butler, Ian Mahinmi and Donald Sloan. The five had a combined scoring average of 21.7 points, equal to Georges per-game average. "It was great for us starting guys to sit out and get some rest as well as our bench rotation guys to get some rhythm going late into the season," George said. "Its tough to be a spectator. But I had to be a good teammate." Adrien wasnt pleased with the benching of the Pacers starters. "It was kind of like a smack in our face," he said. Sessions also was surprised to see Indianas entire starting lineup on the bench. "They are fighting for something so it was a little surprising to see those guys sit," he said. The Pacers built a nine-point lead in the fourth before the Bucks late rally. Indiana held a 53-50 lead at the half, paced by Scolas 16 points and 14 from Turner. Sessions and Knight each had 11 first-half points for the Bucks. The game was tied at 25 after the first quarter. Scola tallied 12 points in the period for Indiana. Notes: Indiana guard C.J. Watson returned after missing 13 consecutive games with a hamstring injury. ... Milwaukee centre Larry Sanders was activated and began serving his five-game suspension for failed drug tests. ... New Marquette University mens basketball coach Steve Wojciechowski attended the game. Brian McCann Jersey . The future hall of famers stole the show at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, with Jagr moving into seventh place in all-time goal scoring and Brodeur stopping 29 shots as the Devils downed the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. Ralph Garr Braves Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. https://www.cheapbraves.com/423o-josh-to...sey-braves.html. Chris Johnson singled with two outs off left-hander Jerry Blevins (1-1), and Schafer pinch ran. With a 2-2 count, Schafer ran on the pitch and Upton dropped a single in front of Bryce Harper. Schafer already was rounding third when Schafer bobbled the ball. Rowland Office Braves Jersey . The result was a game-winning, power-play goal. Chiasson snapped a third-period tie and lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory on Monday night. Tyler Flowers Braves Jersey . Bryant underwent an operation in December to correct an irregular heartbeat. His season ended with four games left because of a rapid heartbeat, a condition he has known about for several years and had been treated for in the past.NEW ORLEANS - Something about Terrence Ross in the spotlight still seems unnatural, though he has proven that hes worthy of the attention. On Saturday night hell only take up a third of it when he aims to defend his Slam Dunk title in the new-look contest, taking place at New Orleans Smoothie King Center. A year ago, Ross defeated reigning champion and little-known Jazz forward Jeremy Evans in a fan vote, breathing some new life into a floundering competition. But does he see himself as the defending champ? "I only do that just because thats what everybody calls me or they always ask me if Im going to defend my championship," said the Raptors modest and soft-spoken sophomore, who was reluctant to re-enter the contest this season, though he felt obligated to. "I have to. I just feel like if you win a championship you have to defend it." This year hell share the court with a few more familiar faces. For the first time in 26 years, the Slam Dunk contest will feature three All-Stars, two of which compete on a team with Ross as the event takes on a controversial new format. Teaming up with a couple of Eastern Conference All-Stars in Paul George and John Wall, Ross squad will oppose All-Star Swiss Army knife Damian Lillard and the Wests Harrison Barnes and Ben McLemore. The contests first round, a 90-second freestyle showcase, will force the teams to work together and assist on each others dunks. Ross met with his teammates Thursday evening to rehearse and formulate a strategy. All three say theyre ready to go. "We got our game plan ready," said the Pacers George, an All-Star starter. "Were all going to have fun with it, were all going to be a part of one anothers dunks so itll be a fun game." In the second round the East dunkers will go head-to-head with the competitors from the West until a team of three is crowned champion. Fans will then vote for the "Dunker of the Night" from the winning team. Intended to spice up an event thats lost its luster, the twist is one that may take some getting used to, one that not everyone is on board with. The participants, as you would expect, have high hopes for the new format. "I personally like [the new format]," Ross said. "A lot of people dont like it but after they see whats going to happen, how the dunks are going to turn out everybodys going to like it." "I think it makes it more fun," Lillard agreed. "Its a little bit less pressure on each individual dunker, its a little more of a group thing and a team thing." Howwever, not everyone is so optimistic.dddddddddddd "I just feel like the dunk contest from back in the day has always been pretty simple and thats what made it good," said All-Star forward Blake Griffin, who won the 2011 competition after jumping over the hood of a Kia. "So I dont know how I feel about putting in a lot of extra stuff. I think it should just be get out there and let them dunk. I think theyve made it a little too rigid. Just kind of make it more free and let guys have more fun with it and I think theyll get better results out of it." Whether you love it, hate it, sit somewhere in between or are reserving judgment, the NBA will take another stab at reinventing an event that is still haunted by the memory of Vince Carters iconic performance in 2000. 14 years after that fateful night in Oakland, Carters show-stopping dunks remain a hot topic of conversation at All-Star weekend. At the time it was exactly what the dunk-off needed, problem is Carter set the bar too high. "It was almost like he made it feel like it wasnt a dunk contest," said Ross, who was just nine years old when he watched Carter make history. "It was kind of like a clinic or like a tutorial, how he just went out there and every dunk he did was like first try, done, 50. It was unreal to see because you havent seen anybody shut down a dunk contest since." No one has topped it and perhaps no one ever will. All the format changes in the world wont change that but an infusion of young talent and star power could. With Ross, the defending champ, facing off against three brand-name players, theres more excitement going into this weekends event than there has been in years past. Still, everyone is clamouring to see a certain MVP throw his hat in the ring. "LeBron (James) would make the Dunk Contest so much more exciting," Ross admitted. "He would have people hanging from the ceiling just to try to get in and watch it. The atmosphere would probably be unreal and thats something I would like to experience. If he ever does it I would sign up again for it. Hopefully one day he does it." He has a Dunk Contest trophy on his shelf and a 51-point game on his resume, yet Ross is still getting comfortable with the attention. It took him a little while to allow his excitement to build up and come out but with a new format and fresh competition, the 23-year-old finally has his game face on. Better late than never. "Thats even more incentive for me to go in now and try to do it again," he said. "Its like a new contest." ' ' '