CLEVELAND, April 16 (Ticker) -- The Indiana Pacers still have playoff aspirations.

Jermaine O'Neal scored 34 points and Indiana nearly squandered a 17-point lead but held on in a must-win situation, 99-95 over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Cleveland almost erased a 71-54 third-quarter deficit, twice pulling within a point -- the final time at 93-92 on Brian Skinner's dunk with 48 seconds left. But Ron Artest countered with a layup and the Cavs failed to threaten thereafter.

"I was just trying to do something to get us a lead," Artest said. "We were only up one point, so I was doing anything it takes to win. I came away with the ball and the layup."

NBA TV highlights from Pacers-Cavs: 56k | 300k Artest in the Crunch: 56k | 300k Budget Fastbreak: 56k | 300k Jamaal Tinsley was just too quick for Andre Miller, with 13 points and 14 assists. David Liam Kyle NBAE/Getty Images

Artest finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana (41-40), which has won four straight and is tied with Milwaukee and Toronto for the final playoff spot in the East with one game remaining. Both the Bucks and Raptors have the edge in a tiebreaker.

Andre Miller scored 21 points and handed out nine assists and Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 20 points for Cleveland, which lost its third in a row.

Skinner was fouled on his dunk and actually had a chance for a three-point play and the tie, but missed the foul shot.

After Artest came out of nowhere for the rebound and score, Cleveland's Ricky Davis lost the ball with 22 seconds left. Jamaal Tinsley and Reggie Miller then hit two free throws apiece to ice the victory.

"Ron Artest was the difference. We fought back, but we stunk early," Cleveland coach John Lucas said. "We have a lot of work to do. The problem was we were so far down before we got back into the game. I like our energy but I don't like our smarts."

Miller scored 15 points and Tinsley and Brad Miller netted 13 points apiece for Indiana, which shot 43 percent (32-of-75). Tinsley added a game-high 14 assists.

The Pacers led throughout, taking their biggest lead at 71-54 on O'Neal's free throw with 4:42 left in the third.

Cleveland fought back, going on a 12-2 run to end the quarter and closing to within 85-84 on Ilgauskas' runner with 4:38 to go.

But the Cavs had no answer for O'Neal. After Artest's two free throws, O'Neal came up with a tip-in and blocked Ilgauskas' dunk attempt. Ilgauskas managed a lay-in to cut the deficit to 89-86, but O'Neal hit a pair of jumpers around Skinner's eight-footer for a 93-88 lead with 1:53 left.

"I do whatever it takes to win," said O'Neal, who was 11-of-19 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. "We're in a pretty tough situation right now, we needed a win. Hopefully, next year we won't be in this position."

Wesley Person scored 13 points and Skinner had 10 off the bench for the Cavaliers, who shot 43 percent (33-of-76) and had a three-game home winning streak snapped.