Arash Markazi, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Clippers 102, Pacers 100: Griffin scores 31

LOS ANGELES -- Maybe it's too early to be scoreboard watching and concerned with the standings.

The whiteboard in the corner of the Los Angeles Clippers' locker room, usually dedicated to the standings in seasons past, is currently blank and has been since the start of the season.

But at some point the Clippers' place in the ultra-competitive Western Conference will matter to them, and when it does, games like Wednesday night's 102-100 victory over the Indiana Pacers, will be big. These were the kind of grind-it-out, come-from-behind games the Clippers would drop at the beginning of the season and the kind of games they simply can no longer afford to lose if they hope to finish with a top-four seed and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Star of the night: The Clippers have been pushing for DeAndre Jordan to be voted into this season's All-Star Game alongside Chris Paul and Blake Griffin in a campaign they are calling "Vote DBC" (as in DeAndre, Blake, Chris). While Paul and Griffin are virtual locks to be in the game, Jordan is making his case so far this season. On Wednesday, he had 15 points and 23 rebounds. Jordan already leads the league in rebounds per game (12.6) and is second in field-goal percentage (.734) and blocks (2.46).

Play of the night: Someway, somehow Rodney Stucky missed an east 10-foot jumper over J.J. Redick that would have given the Pacers the lead with 18 seconds left. When he missed the shot, Jordan quickly snagged the rebound and gave it to Redick, who scored the Clippers' final three points of the game from the free-throw line.

Stat of the night: The Clippers are one of the league's best teams free-throw shooting teams, hitting more than 77 percent of their shots this season. But they hit just 28-of-45 attempts (62.2 percent) on Wednesday.

Players of the game: In addition to Jordan, Griffin had 31 points and 16 rebounds and Paul had 20 points, nine assists and five steals.

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