Nate McMillan often goes with lineups built for defense down the stretch of close games. That means Cory Joseph is on the court, and sometimes Lance Stephenson as well.
This time, however, it wasn't working. The Clippers had scored on five consecutive possessions — getting three points on two of them — midway through the fourth quarter to complete a comeback from an 18-point deficit. How much worse could it get, then, if McMillan went with his best offensive unit?
In other words, put the band of starters back together and at least find some offensive chemistry.
It worked. The Pacers hit six of their final nine shots and outscored the Clippers 17-12 over the final 5 1/2 minutes to salvage a 109-104 victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It was a crucial victory for the Pacers, who are fighting for homecourt advantage in the opening round of the playoffs, and an exasperating loss for the desperate Clippers, who are fighting for any place at all in the postseason.
It also was a marker of sorts. The Pacers have matched last season's win total of 42, with nine games still to play. They are guaranteed of a non-losing season for the sixth time in the past seven years and need just one more victory — or a loss by Detroit — to clinch playoff participation for the sixth time in the past seven years.
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They have proven their best avenue toward meaningful victories is with widespread contributions, and that's what they got on Friday after the starters reunited.
Bojan Bogdanovic, who had averaged 5.8 points while hitting just 12-of-47 shots over the previous five games, hit two midrange jumpers down the stretch on his way to 28 points, one short of his season high.
Darren Collison hit two shots as well, one with his foot on the 3-point line and another step-back jumper from 19 feet to open a two-point lead.
Victor Oladipo, who struggled through a 4-of-16 shooting performance, kicked off the sprint to the finish line with a 3-pointer and added three free throws. He also made the game's biggest defensive play, following Collison's second field goal of the closing minutes with a deflection from behind of Tobias Harris' dribble to give the Pacers a chance to extend their two-point lead.
They did so, but only after Collison fired an air ball over the outstretched arm of Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. Thaddeus Young grabbed the ball underneath the basket between Harris and Milos Teodosic and converted the rebound into a putback that opened a four-point lead and forced a Clippers timeout with 35.8 seconds left.
Harris, caught off-balance after driving into the lane, then threw the ball out of bounds and Oladipo came back with two foul shots to secure the victory.
Four different players. Four major contributions. Myles Turner was ineffective in the box score with five points and two rebounds in 37 1/2 minutes but was given credit by Bogdanovic for the sidecourt screens that freed him for some of his jumpers.
"The guys on the court (at the end of this game) have been in big-time situations and have closed out games," said Collison, who finished with a rather typical stat line: 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 10 assists, and two turnovers.
"That's the beauty of our team. We have guys with experience and (McMillan) happened to call those names today. It's just in their comfort zone."
"That's how we win most games: team effort," Young added. "Everybody's putting in some type of work, some type of energy, making some type of play. That's the only way we're going to have a successful season."
The Clippers, with the NBA's second-leading rebounder in DeAndre Jordan, entered the game a significantly better rebounding team than the Pacers. The Pacers, however, grabbed eight more rebounds, thanks mostly to Young, who had 10. None was bigger than the one of Collison's air ball.
"The biggest thing I saw was Deandre Jordan playing away from the basket," Young said, smiling. "When you see him away from the basket you know you have a chance to get the rebound. I kind of positioned myself to where I could get in for an offensive rebound and put it back or kick it back for a three or get a fresh shot clock."
Bogdanovic grabbed five rebounds, which doesn't seem like many, but was as many as he's grabbed in any game since the one at Dallas on Feb. 26. McMillan had made a point of warning him against leaking out of the lane to get open in transition, and Bogdanovic responded. He got a rise out of the fans late in the first half when he grabbed an offensive rebound in traffic, scored with Austin Rivers hanging on to him and the ball, and hit the foul shot to convert a three-point play that gave the Pacers a five-point halftime lead.
"Yeah," Bogdanovic said, smiling when the question was raised about his rebounding. "I know I'm 6-7 and I should be involved more in defensive boards. I will try to do everything my best to help the team."
The Pacers could have made it a lot easier on themselves by protecting the 18-point lead they took on Bogdanovic's 3-pointer with 6:20 left in the third period. It's not their nature, however, to kick an opponent when it's down. The Clippers were within six points by the end of the quarter, and held a lead as late as 1:55 left in the game.
Bogdanovic tied it 15 seconds later by faking a 3-pointer and dribbling in for a 10-foot shot, then joined Turner for a double-team of Lou Williams to force a turnover in front of the Pacers bench. Collison followed with his 19-foot step-back with 1:09 left and the Pacers were in control the rest of the way.
Making big plays in the closing minutes also is in their nature, especially at home.
"We've been doing that all year long," Collison said. "When you have the chemistry we have, it's easy to close out games. Sometimes it's hard to get wins when your team is not playing well together but we've been playing well together all year long."
Not every game. Certainly not in New Orleans on Wednesday. But often enough to assure another winning season, and, soon, another playoff berth.
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Mark Montieth's book, "Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis," covers the formation and early seasons of the franchise. It is available at retail outlets throughout Indiana and online at sources such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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