Short-Handed Clippers Hold Off Pacers' Comeback For 91-89 Victory

The Clippers (29-16) played without All-Star forward Blake Griffin, who was sent home after breaking his shooting hand in a scuffle with equipment manager Matias Testi.

Indiana (23-22) lost its third straight despite having Paul George finish with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Myles Turner had 16 points.

Los Angeles turned the game with a 13-0 run that gave the Clippers an 81-72 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Pacers were held scoreless for nearly eight minutes.

Indiana got back into the game with a 14-7 run, closed to 91-89 on George's 3-pointer with 28 seconds left and had a chance to tie or win after forcing a turnover with 2.1 seconds to go. But the Pacers didn't get the shot off.

Indiana got the ball back in the closing seconds after the officials called a backcourt violation with 2.1 seconds left.

The Clippers then deflected an inbound pass in the frontcourt out of bounds on the opposite side and in the Pacers' backcourt, running off all but 0.3 seconds. And George Hill's lob pass bounced off the backboard without being touched until it crossed midcourt.

It was a big relief for the Clippers who had lost two of their previous three on this long road trip and had to contend with the distraction of dealing with Griffin's embarrassing injury.

For 2½ quarters, Los Angeles looked like it lacked energy.

But after a 72-68 lead on Paul George's three-point play with 3:01 to go in the third quarter, the Clippersdefense shut out Indiana for nearly eight minutes. By the time, George ended the drought with a nifty crossover move to beat a defender with 6:27 left in the game, the Pacers were in a big hole that they couldn't completely dig out of.

GOING BIG

Pacers coach Frank Vogel spent the offseason designing an offense for small-ball. Now, he's contemplating going big more often. Vogel started the game with a more traditional lineup and acknowledged before the game that he would consider playing that way more often the rest of this season.

TIP-INS

Clippers: Avoided a season sweep in this series, something the Pacers have only accomplished once since the 2006-07 season. ... Paul also had six rebounds, seven assists and one steal. ... The only other player to score in double figures was Wesley Johnson, who had 15 points. ... Los Angeles was 15 of 37 on 3s.

Pacers: Played at home for only the fourth time in January for the first time since Jan. 15. ... Center Ian Mahinmi returned to action but was limited to short spurts as he continues to recover from a sprained left ankle. He still scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds. ... George Hill made three 3s to tie Troy Murphy (419) for sixth on the franchise's career list. Hill finished with 15 points.

UP NEXT

Clippers visit Atlanta on Wednesday.

Pacers host Atlanta on Thursday.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)