AUBURN HILLS, Mich., March 10 (Ticker) -- Ron Artest shackled Jerry Stackhouse and Jermaine O'Neal controlled the interior for the Indiana Pacers.

O'Neal scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Artest harassed Stackhouse into 2-of-14 shooting as the Pacers posted an 89-84 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Detroit had won the two previous meetings this season, but O'Neal missed both due to injuries and Artest arrived in Indiana before the trade deadline in the multi-player deal that sent Jalen Rose to Chicago.

The deal allowed O'Neal to slide over to power forward with the acquisition of center Brad Miller and he has flourished, posting eight straight double-doubles.

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Along with holding Stackhouse to seven points, Artest scored 16 and rookie Jamaal Tinsley added 15 for Indiana.

"That's what Ron can do for you," said Pacers coach Isiah Thomas, a Hall of Fame player with the Pistons. "He gives you defensive intensity and can really shut you down. He did an outstanding job on Stackhouse."

"It feels good to be playing for something important," Artest said. "I thought it was important for us to beat a good team on the road and we did that today. Detroit is a solid team."

But afterwards, Stackhouse attributed his performance to a sore right hip rather that to Artest's defense.

"Right now, I have got to get well," said Stackhouse, who was 3-of-12 from the field in Friday's 117-92 loss to Boston. "I can't help us feeling the way I'm feeling. I can still do some things in other areas, but I can't be myself as far as scoring and it shows in the box score."

Clifford Robinson struggled along with Stackhouse, hitting just 2-of-11 shots and finishing with four points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Afterward, he took a shot at the officials.

"I don't think we get respect (from the officials) on a consistent basis," Robinson said. "Today was a primary example. I just felt we got a lot of ticky-tack fouls called against us."

The Pacers were 25-of-29 from the free throw line while the Pistons were 13-of-19 from the line.

Corliss Williamson led the Pistons with 22 points off the bench but could not overcome Stackhouse and Robinson's combined 4-of-25 shooting effort.

Yet, the Pistons somehow held a 71-70 lead on a dunk by Ben Wallace with 9:42 remaining.

But the Pacers scored the next eight points on baskets by O'Neal, Reggie Miller and Tinsley and a pair of free throws by Jonathan Bender.

A layup by Williamson pulled Detroit within 78-75 with 5:48 left, but Tinsley converted a three-point play and O'Neal added a pair of free throws with 3:35 left.

Robinson scored inside and Jon Barry hit a layup to pull the Pistons within 83-79 with 1:30 remaining.

Tinsley converted two free throws and O'Neal added a free throw with 50 seconds left to push the lead back to seven. Detroit closed within four again after a pair of free throws by Williamson with 34 seconds left, but Austin Croshere and Artest hit three free throws in the final 32 seconds to seal the win.

Indiana is in the seventh playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"We're fighting for our playoff lives and we have to grind out wins," O'Neal said. "Defense is where it starts for us. We have to get better offensively but we're doing a good job on defense and that will keep us in games."

O'Neal scored 16 points and Artest added 12 in the first half, when Indiana built a 47-40 lead. Stackhouse had just five points on 1-of-7 shooting.

Artest opened the second half with a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 50-40. But Detroit scored the next seven points, capped by a 3-pointer by Chucky Atkins with 9:38 left in the third quarter.