INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Al Harrington more than made up for the absence of Jermaine O'Neal.
Harrington took advantage of a starting opportunity with 22 points and nine rebounds as the Indiana Pacers won their third straight game, a 91-78 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers.
O'Neal was scratched before the game with right knee tendinitis. Harrington was penciled in for the All-Star forward and responded with 14 points in the first half, flourishing as the Pacers' go-to guy.
"I'm always ready to play," Harrington said. "I'm the player on this team that really needs to be ready to do whatever on any given night. Tonight it was to start and to be aggressive on the offensive end and rebound."
The Pacers have won 11 straight home games from the Clippers and 18 of the last 20 meetings overall. Indiana sports the NBA's best record at 9-2.
Indiana took control late in the third quarter, scoring six of the final eight points for a 69-65 advantage. The Pacers followed up with stifling fourth-quarter defense, limiting the Clippers to 19 percent (3-of-16) shooting.
"When our defensive energy was good, our offense is good," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "When you hold this team to 78, you're playing hard."
The fourth-period effort was part of a rough shooting night for Clippers leading scorers Quentin Richardson and Corey Maggette, who combined to make just 5-of-22 shots for 17 points.
"When one guy gets tired, they just throw another guy at you," Maggette said. "They have a lot of depth and they wear you down."
Harrington and Jeff Foster was the catalyst as Indiana held a 44-30 edge in points in the paint. The duo outmanned LA's interior of Predrag Drobnjak and Chris Wilcox.
With O'Neal out and Reggie Miller struggling, Indiana used a handful of unsung heroes to improve to 4-2 at home. Kenny Anderson scored a season-high 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting and Jeff Foster collected 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Carlisle gave significant minutes to his bench and it produced. Austin Croshere scored a season-high 13 points in 20 minutes and Anthony Johnson and Fred Jones each had four assists.
"The bench had to do well tonight when you have a guy like Jermaine out," Jones said. "We all came to play tonight and the result was a win."
Los Angeles played without point guard Marko Jaric, who suffered a foot injury in Tuesday's loss in Cleveland. Keyon Dooling was restored to the starting lineup and matched a career high with 18 points.
