Pacers top Hornets

Jermaine O’Neal scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Pacers, who had lost two straight entering the game. Jamaal Tinsley chipped in 13 points for Indiana.

Desmond Mason led the Hornets with 28 points. Jannero Pargo added 14 points off the bench. Devin Brown and Marc Jackson scored 11 points each for the Hornets, who dropped their fourth straight.

Trailing 94-88, Pargo hit a layup with 25 seconds left and was fouled, giving him the opportunity to bring the Hornets to within three points with the free throw. Pargo missed, though, and the 94-90 score was as close as the Hornets would get, as Stephen Jackson hit six free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

The Hornets had pulled to within 71-70 on a Linton Johnson three-pointer in the waning seconds of the third quarter.

Indiana opened the game on a 10-1 run, with one Marc Jackson free throw all the offense the Hornets could muster in the game’s first four and a half minutes. A Stephen Jackson layup put the Pacers up 23-14 with just under a minute left in the quarter, but two Pargo free throws and a Chandler dunk sent the Hornets into the second quarter only trailing 23-18.

A Marc Jackson jumper tied the game at 25-25 with 8:14 left, but O’Neal ripped off seven straight points, putting the Pacers up 32-25 with just under seven minutes left in the second. Two Tyson Chandler free throws tied the game at 36-36 with 4:03 left, but Indiana stretched ahead 50-46 by the end of the first half.

Game Notes

The Hornets continue to play without Chris Paul (sprained right ankle), Peja Stojakovic (back surgery), and David West (right elbow surgery), who combined for 44 points in the Hornets’ 100-91 win over Indiana on November 3...Indiana shot 47 percent from the field, but only 33 percent from behind the three- point line.