Indianapolis ? Reggie Miller had been preparing for the moment for several years, handing the team leadership over to younger, more athletic players and getting the Indiana Pacers ready to move on without him.

When Miller’s NBA career ended with a playoff loss to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night, the transition was complete.

“The mantle goes to Jermaine (O’Neal) now,” Miller said. “It’s his team. But there’s a lot of great, young talent here.

“Truthfully, this has been the most trying season and the most challenging. The most rewarding part is that we brought this team, franchise and city together,” he said.

Miller considered retiring last year, after the Pacers won an NBA-best 61 games in the regular season but lost to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. He had one year left on his contract, however, and decided to come back for a final try for the championship.

He had every reason for optimism.

The Pacers bolstered their roster by trading to get Stephen Jackson from Atlanta. And with O’Neal, NBA defensive player of the year Ron Artest and point guard Jamaal Tinsley, Miller figured the Pacers had a good chance to challenge for the title.

Everything changed that night in Detroit in November, however, when a fan hurled a cup of beer that landed on Artest, triggering a wild free-for-all in the stands.

The Pacers won that game, but Artest was suspended for the rest of the season, Jackson was suspended for 30 games, and O’Neal was suspended for 25. His suspension later was reduced to 15 games.

Injuries also began piling up. Tinsley missed half the season with a variety of ailments, and O’Neal was out 22 games late in the regular season because of a sore shoulder – which still bothered him in the playoffs.

Indiana used 32 different starting lineups throughout the season and playoffs.