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Pacers capitalize on Clippers' collapse

Mar 8, 2009 - 7:51 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- It was giveaway night at the Staples Center on Saturday as the Los Angeles Clippers gift-wrapped a victory for the Indiana Pacers with a stunning - but at this point predictable - fourth-quarter collapse.

The Pacers scored the last six points of the game as part of a 12-2 run that rocked the Clippers, 106-105.

With the score 105-103, Jarrett Jack made a driving layup and was fouled by Zach Randolph with 44 seconds left in the game. Jack, who led Indiana with 25 points, hit the foul shot to give Indiana the lead.

Neither team would score again and the Clippers' final chance for victory when down the tubes as Eric Gordon's drive and shot was far, far off the mark.

"We were struggling all game defensively and trying to keep the ball in front of us," Jack said. "We played terrible in the first half and had some adversity but we came back and really challenged our selves and put up the effort to win the game."

Gordon was disappointed.

"I am just going to have to let it go," the rookie said. "It should not have gotten to the point where we needed to make the basket at the end to win the game. We were up by a good amount the entire game."

The Clippers did not make a basket over the last seven minutes of the game.

"There was a lot of contact and there are a lot of parts in the game where that would have been a foul, but towards the end of the game a lot times referees do not want to blow their whistles," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said of the final play. "You've just got to be ready for it and you got to be ready to either finish it with contact or make a play."

Los Angeles surged to a 64-51 lead at halftime only to see Indiana chop eight points off the deficit heading into the final quarter.

The deficit was down to 103-100 when Troy Murphy hit from long distance. Randolph came down the other end and was fouled by T.J. Ford. The big man canned both shots to open the gap to five.

Brandon Rush hit a pair of free throws to make it 105-103 with less than two minutes left. Thornton came up bad at the other end, blowing a dunk.

"It's always good to get a win," Pacers guard Maquis Daniels said. "We stayed focused for the whole game and did what was necessary to come up in the win. We started struggling but pulled it together just in time."

Gordon led Los Angeles 35 points. Al Thornton chipped in with 22. Randolph, who was not expected to play due to a family illness but opted to suit up, had a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.