INDIANAPOLIS - There will be no Jordanesque comeback for Reggie Miller, not even for one more chance at an NBA championship.

Retiring after 18 years in the league but only one appearance in the NBA Finals, Miller scored 27 points in his final game Thursday night, an 88-79 loss to Detroit. The victory gave the Pistons a 4-2 series win and sent them to the Eastern Conference finals starting Monday at Miami.

Despite a plea from Indiana fans chanting "One More Year!" as he walked off the court, Miller said there was no chance he would change his mind and come back, as Michael Jordan did with the Chicago Bulls and later the Washington Wizards.

"Absolutely not," the 39-year-old Miller said. "Absolutely, positively, 100 percent, this is it."

Miller's 25,279 points rank 12th on the NBA's regular-season career scoring list. He also finished 18th with 2,972 career playoff points. Appropriately, his final basket was a 3-pointer with less than 2 minutes to go to pull Indiana to 82-79.

Richard Hamilton, who led the Pistons with 28 points, then hit a basket and Chauncey Billups added two free throws with 26 seconds left before Miller missed a 3. Miller left the game to a prolonged, standing ovation - which the Pistons joined - as the crowd chanted "Reg-gie, Reg-gie" with 16 seconds to go.

"I'm very disappointed our goal was never achieved, but one thing I want to say is I tried," Miller said. "Every night I tried. I played hurt, I played injured and I always gave it my best. That's all you can ask of a professional athlete.

"I didn't get the ultimate prize, but I tried," he said.

In the other game Thursday night, San Antonio advanced to the Western Conference finals with a 98-96 victory over Seattle. Phoenix is at Dallas on Friday night, with the Suns leading that series 3-2.

The Pistons didn't feel like celebrating, given the emotional sendoff for Miller.

"This is a sad day, really," said Billups, who added 23 points for the Pistons.

"It was definitely very emotional," Hamilton said. "I don't think I've ever been in a game where a team that's about to move on and a guy comes out of the game and the other team is cheering. For a guy his age, the way he played tonight was unbelievable."

As Miller left the court, he embraced players from both teams.

"I told him thanks. Everybody in the NBA should be saying thank you," Hamilton said.

Miller, the NBA career leader in 3-pointers and 3-point attempts, had four of them in his final game.

"For the immediate future, I'm going to rest," Miller said. "This 39-year-old body has a lot of aches and pains. ... The toughest thing will be being away from the guys, being away from the unit."

His 27 points were his most since he had 33 in Game 3 of the first-round series against Boston.

"It's somewhat bittersweet," Miller said. "I thought we competed hard tonight. Every time we got a lead, Chauncey and Rip hit big shots to keep them within distance. That's what championship teams do."

Jermaine O'Neal added 22 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana, which lost to the Pistons in the conference finals last year.

The Pacers led almost the entire first half and turned back every Detroit rally until two straight baskets by Hamilton put the Pistons ahead early in the fourth quarter. The final score marked the Pistons' biggest lead.

"There were very sentimental emotions from all of us," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. "Tonight, the reality is we were beaten by a team that's simply better. We played one of our better games tonight and they were able to win a very tough close-out game on the road."

Indiana's only trip to the NBA Finals was in 2000, when the Pacers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Words can never express how I feel to the city and fans," Miller said. "The city has really embraced me and understood we all had one common goal. Unfortunately, I never delivered on that, but it was an unbelievable ride."

Spurs 98, SuperSonics 96

At San Antonio, Tim Duncan took a sharp pass from Manu Ginobili and banked in a short shot with 0.5 seconds left, lifting the Spurs into the Western Conference finals.

Duncan had 26 points and nine rebounds, and the Spurs survived his 6-for-21 shooting to win the series 4-2 and move one step closer to a chance for the franchise's second NBA title in three seasons.

The Sonics didn't have much time for a final attempt. Antonio Daniels inbounded to Ray Allen, who lobbed a shot from the left corner over Duncan's head. It bounced off the rim, ending a remarkable season in Seattle.

Allen scored 25 points, while Daniels had 22 for the Sonics.

AP-ES-05-20-05 0333EDT