Gallinari, Harrell carry Clips past Pacers

[March 20, 2019]  Danilo Gallinari scored 24 points, and Montrezl Harrell added 20 as the Los Angeles Clippers improved their playoff prospects with a 115-109 victory Tuesday over the visiting Indiana Pacers.

Rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 17 points as the Clippers moved into a tie with the Utah Jazz for the bottom spot among playoff-eligible teams in the Western Conference. The Clippers and Jazz are just seven games out of first place in a crowded Western Conference field.

After scoring just two points in the first half, Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 19 as the Pacers lost their third consecutive game, keeping their playoff-clinching celebration on hold. Tyreke Evans also scored 19 as all three of Indiana's defeats have come to start its four-game West Coast road trip that ends Thursday at Golden State.

Outside of an early Indiana advantage, the Clippers led throughout despite an off night from 3-point range, Los Angeles, one of the best long-distance shooting teams in the NBA, shot 29.4 percent from behind the arc.

The Clippers led by as many as nine points in the first half and held a 55-49 advantage at halftime. The Pacers appeared to run out of gas toward the end of the third quarter after a late travel night Monday into early Tuesday morning.

The Clippers closed out the third quarter on an 8-0 run to lead 89-75 and ultimately took a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter. But the Pacers closed within three points twice in the final 1:02 before a Patrick Beverley layup with 10.7 seconds remaining sealed the victory for Los Angeles.

Gallinari has now scored at least 20 points in a career-best seven consecutive games. Harrell has reached at least 20 for a season-high five consecutive games, and he added 12 rebounds.

Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari (8) shoots against the Indiana Pacers in the first half at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Domantas Sabonis scored 13 points with 16 rebounds as the Pacers lost their seventh consecutive road game, their longest road drought since they lost eight consecutive road games from March 6-April 2, 2017.

The Pacers were without guard Darren Collison, who came away with a quadriceps injury in Monday night's defeat at Portland.

The victory clinched the eighth consecutive winning season for the Clippers, who now head out on a four-game road trip. They have games at Cleveland and New York against the Knicks before heading to Minnesota and then to a March 28 test against the Eastern Conference leading Milwaukee Bucks.

--Field Level Media

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