INDIANAPOLIS — Guard Chris Paul scored 26 points, including a clutch jumper with 33.7 seconds remaining, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the struggling Indiana Pacers 91-89 on Tuesday night in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Guard J.J. Redick added 19 for the Clippers, who made 15 of 37 shots from 3-point range while the Pacers were five of 16 from beyond the arc.
Forward Paul George had 31 for the Pacers, who are 3-17 when trailing after three quarters.
Guard George Hill’s 3-pointer with 1:43 remaining cut the Clippers’ lead to 88-86, but a free throw from guard Jamal Crawford and the Paul jumper created a 91-86 lead.
George made a 3-pointer with 28 seconds remaining, but the Pacers could not take advantage of a final opportunity, throwing the ball away with less than a second to play.
Forward Myles Turner added 16 points, George Hill had 15 and center Ian Mahinmi added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana, which lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Forward Wesley Johnson came off the bench to score 15 for the Clippers (29-16) on 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range.
A George 3-pointer with 5:10 remaining pulled the Pacers within 82-79, but Paul answered with a layup and a 3-pointer for an 87-81 Los Angeles lead with 3:07 left.
A 7-0 Clippers run to begin the fourth quarter created a 81-72 lead and prompted an Indiana timeout. The Pacers (23-22) had a stretch of 13 consecutive missed field-goal attempts and did not score in the period’s first 5:33.
Los Angeles closed the third quarter on a 6-0 run, including a Redick 3-pointer, to seize a 74-72 lead through 36 minutes. The Clippers outscored the Pacers 28-21 in the third period.
The Pacers scored the first half’s final five points to grab a 51-46 lead through 24 minutes, getting 16 points off the bench from Turner on 7-of-7 field-goal shooting along with 14 points from George.
The Clippers got 13 first-half points from Redick and nine off the bench from Johnson, who made three 3-pointers before intermission.
NOTES: Clippers F Blake Griffin, already sidelined by a partially torn left quad tendon, will be out an additional four to six weeks after the organization confirmed Tuesday that he broke a bone in his right hand in a fight with a team assistant equipment manager in a Toronto restaurant. … The Pacers were without G Rodney Stuckey (right foot bone bruise, sprain). … Indiana G George Hill returned to the starting lineup after missing two games because of the birth of his child. He played Saturday at Sacramento but did not start. … The Pacers started their big lineup against the Clippers, going with 6-foot-9 Lavoy Allen at power forward in place of the 6-6 C.J. Miles.