My commute to Seattle today forced me to miss the final game of the season. From all appearances this roller coaster season ended on a bit of an upswing with a wild 132-123 win over the New York Knicks.

Here's Bruno's story on the game with the usual notes, quotes and highlights.

There were plenty of nice surprises to close out the season on fan appreciation night at the Fieldhouse. For one, a capacity crowd showed up at the Fieldhouse. Yes, the ticket prices helped but a couple of months ago, I'm not sure offering free tickets would've filled the place.

Donnie Walsh received some pre-game love from the Pacers as they recognized his 24 years for the blue and gold with a public ceremony. Donnie will surely be happy to step away from the roar of the arena for a couple of months and head into his cave where he can start restructuring the Knicks.

Oh, and the game was crazy. Mike Dunleavy tagged the Knicks with a career-high 36 points for the second time this year. What, they couldn't run one more play for Dun to get him over the 36-point hump? Five times this year, Dun has pumped in 36. Nutty.

Sounds like the Pacers made the best of a anti-climactic night, showing everyone in attendance that they have something worth watching. This on a night when Jeff Foster and Travis Diener didn't suit up and Marquis Daniels and Jermaine O'Neal left the game early with injuries. Next in line stepped up and rode Dunleavy and Granger who led the way with a combined 62 points.

So the Pacers finish the season at 36-46, one game better than last year. Now the offseason is officially here so it's time for Larry Bird to go to work. I wonder where he'll begin?