Clippers beat Pacers, 117-109

INDIANAPOLIS Zach Randolph had 34 points and 16 rebounds to help the Clippers beat the short-handed Indiana Pacers 117-109 in double overtime on Friday night.

Randolph felt that a team with skilled players such as Marcus Camby and Baron Davis would break through once chemistry developed, but it would take some time because the core of the team is new. Randolph came to the Clippers in a trade with New York during the season, Davis was a free-agent pickup and Camby came in an offseason trade with Denver.

The trio has played 12 games together, and now, the Clippers have won four of five, including victories over Portland and Houston.

"We've got good players," Randolph said. "I'm just trying to bring what I can bring to that team, and that's being aggressive about rebounding and scoring the basketball and getting offensive rebounds."

Randolph is averaging 26.7 points and 11 rebounds in 11 starts since being traded.

"He competes every night, every possession," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "He's out there working his tail off. Offensively, he's very gifted in the post. He can go outside and stretch big guys and shoot the ball from out there as well."

Al Thornton scored 25 points, Camby had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Davis had 18 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who got off to a 4-17 start this season.

Jarrett Jack scored a season-high 27 points, T.J. Ford scored 17 and Rasho Nesterovic and Roy Hibbert each scored 16 for the Pacers.

Indiana tipped off missing four of its usual starters. Danny Granger, Troy Murphy and Marquis Daniels were in the hospital with viral infections, and Ford didn't start because of a sore left groin. Granger, the league's No. 5 scorer with 24.4 points per game, scored 41 points in a win over Golden State on Wednesday.

The Clippers felt they should have won more easily.

"I'm happy we won," Dunleavy said. "I'm disappointed in a sense because we were playing a team that has a lot of guys out, and it took us until way late in the game where we were competitive and we could really win it."

The Pacers dropped to 0-4 in overtime games this season. They committed 26 turnovers leading to 29 points for Los Angeles.

Ford said the injuries weren't a valid excuse.

"We're a team," he said. "We came out tonight, we had a chance to win it, but we couldn't make some plays down the stretch. It's a game we had and let get away from us."

In the second overtime, the Clippers led 111-107 before rookie Eric Gordon, playing in his hometown for the first time as a pro, drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner to give Los Angeles a 114-107 lead and send most of the crowd toward the exits.

"I saw the guy who was guarding me, he was going down there to trap Baron, and I knew he was going to look for me, and I knew I had to knock the shot down."

Gordon finished with 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting.

"I was missing all game, and I'm glad I hit that last shot," he said. "Big confidence booster."

With the score tied in the final minute of the first overtime, Indiana's Josh McRoberts blocked Randolph's shot, and the Pacers advanced quickly. Jack drove to the hoop, but Randolph blocked his shot, and the Clippers called time out with 11.8 seconds left.

Davis got the inbounds pass and kept the ball until the clock neared zero. He drove right against Ford and pulled up, but his shot was long and the game went into a second overtime.

The Pacers did not lead in the fourth quarter until Nesterovic made a baseline jumper to give Indiana an 89-87 edge with 1:33 to go.

Jack missed the second of two free throws with 19.6 seconds left, and Indiana led 95-92.

Gordon scored almost immediately off the inbounds pass to make it 95-94. Jack made two free throws at the other end to set the Clippers up with a chance to tie. Thornton hit a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left to make it 97-all.

Ford tried to drive for the winning shot, but Davis stole the ball from him and put up a runner that missed at the buzzer.

"Our team really played their hearts out," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "It feels bad to leave the building with a loss. I thought everyone in a Pacer uniform played as hard as they could."

Notes: The Pacers were called for four technical fouls in the first quarter. Three were for defensive three seconds, and the other was called on an assistant coach. ... Clippers G Mike Taylor broke his right thumb and did not return. ... Three Indiana high school stars - Randolph, Gordon and McRoberts - were on the floor at the same time for much of the second half. ... Gordon was cheered during pregame introductions, and was applauded when he made his first basket early in the game. ... Indiana F Stephen Graham got the second start of his career. ... Jack got his second straight start after being a reserve in the first 24 games.


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