Game Rewind: Pacers 109, Clippers 104

The Pacers' magic number is down to one. After gutting out a 109-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indiana (42-31) needs just one more win or Pistons loss to clinch a playoff berth.

That could happen as soon as Saturday if Detroit loses to Chicago. If not, the Pacers can take care of business themselves by beating Miami on Sunday at The Fieldhouse.

The Pacers had a 75-57 lead with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter on Friday, but the Clippers (38-34) clawed their way back and retook the lead midway through the fourth.

Indiana and Los Angeles then traded the lead 10 times over the next five minutes.

Austin Rivers knocked down two free throws with 2:25 to play to put the Clippers back in front, 100-99. Pacers All-Star guard Victor Oladipo drew a whistle on the other end, but only managed to convert one of two foul shots to tie the game.

Montrezl Harrell and Bojan Bogdanovic traded baskets on the next two possessions before Lou Williams lost the ball out of bounds, giving Indiana a chance to retake the lead. Darren Collison took advantage of the opportunity, knocking down a mid-range jumper to put the Pacers in front, 104-102, with 1:08 remaining.

After a timeout, Oladipo poked the ball away from Tobias Harris to force another turnover. Collison missed a jumper on the other end, but Thaddeus Young was there to clean up the miss and give the Pacers a four-point lead with 35.8 seconds to play.

The Clippers turned the ball over for a third straight possession seconds later, when Harris' wayward lob to DeAndre Jordan drifted out of bounds, allowing the Pacers to seal the win at the free throw line.

"That's what it's all about," Oladipo said. "Making big plays down the stretch, both offensively and defensively. That's what we did."

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Bogdanovic led all scorers with 28 points, going 12-for-18 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3-point range to lead Indiana to the win.

Prior to Friday, Bogdanovic had not scored more than 11 points in any of his past five games, going just 12-for-47 from the field over that stretch. After the win, several of Bogdanovic's teammates went out of their way to congratulate him on a slump-busting performance while he did a postgame interview with FOX Sports Indiana's Jeremiah Johnson.

"I knocked down a couple shots early in the game, so that allowed me to be more effective than usual," Bogdanovic said.

The visitors had jumped out to an early 17-10 lead on Friday and remained in front for most of the first quarter. The Pacers, however, remained close thanks to a balanced offensive attack and headed into the second quarter trailing just 28-27.

Bogdanovic provided a major spark throughout the first half. The Croatian forward led all scorers with 17 points in the opening half, including five during a 9-2 Indiana run midway through the second quarter that put the hosts back in front.

The two teams traded the lead back and forth over the latter half of the second quarter before Indiana closed the half with an 8-2 run to take a 58-53 lead into the break.

The Blue & Gold dominated the opening minutes of the second half, opening the third quarter with a 17-4 run to open up an 18-point lead.

But the visitors rallied and were able to trim a dozen points off their deficit by the end of the frame, as they headed into the fourth quarter trailing just 82-76.

Los Angeles retook the lead on Harris' floater with 7:36 remaining in the contest, setting the stage for a wild finish.

With the win, the Pacers guaranteed themselves a winning season with nine games still remaining on the schedule, although six of them are on the road.

"At the end of the day, the work is not done," Young said. "We're going to continue to fight, continue to play. We still have a tough schedule ahead of us and we've still got a lot of ground to cover if we want to move up the standings."

Five Pacers players finished in double figures in the win. Oladipo had 18 points and six assists, while both Young (16 points and 10 rebounds) and Darren Collison (13 points and 10 assists) recorded double-doubles. Lance Stephenson added 13 points off the bench.

Williams led the Clippers with 27 points and 10 assists off the bench. Harris added 18 points, while Jordan finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Though Los Angeles is still mathematically in the hunt for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, the Clippers have now dropped five of their last six contests and are in 10th place in the West, three games back of eighth-place Utah.

Indiana returns to the court on Sunday night to host the Miami Heat at 5:00 PM ET.

Young recorded his seventh double-double on Friday, while Collison accomplished the feat for the sixth time.

The Pacers scored 20 points off of 15 Clippers turnovers. On the other end, Indiana only had nine giveaways.

Friday's game featured 25 lead changes and six ties, including 12 lead changes and three ties in the fourth quarter alone.

The Blue & Gold outrebounded the Clippers 41-33, including a 14-6 edge on the offensive glass.

Los Angeles outscored Indiana 56-42 in the paint.

"Tonight, we talked about him leaking out, we need our small forwards to rebound and Bojan had two offensive rebounds and two rebounds where he stayed in and helped us on the boards. It really opens up things when he has the ability to knock down shots." -McMillan on Bogdanovic's performance

"Obviously we're showing our resilience. I think everybody is coming together. It seems like that whenever our backs are against the wall. Whenever we have a team like that, it's very hard to lose." -Collison

"It would mean a lot for the entire Pacers organization, especially because no one expected that we were going to be in the playoff race. We just have to stick together and get a W against Miami." -Bogdanovic on the idea of clinching a playoff berth

"It was a frustrating loss. Just disappointed in that one, can't make that many mistakes and think you are going to win a game. They are playing well, so give them credit. But it was a frustrating game." -Doc Rivers

"Tonight was extremely frustrating. We don't have time to drop games like these. They're a really good team and they let us back in it and we fought to get back in it too. But we turned the ball over in crucial moments and we can't afford to do that." -Jordan

Bogdanovic has now scored 20 or more points 13 times this season. The Pacers are 10-3 in those games.

The Pacers welcome Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday, March 25 at 5:00 PM ET. Tickets are available starting at just $15! Find Tickets »

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