This Time, It’s Clippers Who Are Frustrated : Pro basketball: Indiana makes Larry Brown’s return a success, 120-100. Manning is angry after the game.

Reggie Miller scored a season-high 35 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, as the Indiana Pacers embarrassed the Clippers, 120-100, Wednesday night before a crowd of 8,737 in Larry Brown’s first regular-season game against the Clippers since he quit at the end of last season.

Miller scored 12 points in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, making a pair of three-point shots, as the Pacers blitzed the Clippers, 16-3, to take a 99-84 lead. Miller even had a rare four-point play, making a free throw after he was fouled by Mark Jackson on his second three-pointer of the quarter.

Miller made 12 of 20 shots, including five of 11 three-point shots. Guard Pooh Richardson added 21 points for Indiana (5-8), which shot 56%.

It was a frustrating game for the Clippers (6-7), who lost guard Ron Harper when he was ejected with four minutes remaining after he drew two technical fouls. Harper had 21 points, forward Danny Manning scored 22 and forward Loy Vaught had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Manning was livid after the Clippers squandered an 11-point first-half lead.

“Don’t come over here guys, I’m mad tonight, “ Manning said.

He had good reason to be angry after the Clippers shot only 29% in the fourth quarter. Indiana, which shot 62.5% in the fourth quarter, outscored the Clippers, 37-19, in the final 12 minutes.

“We don’t put teams away when we should put teams away,” Harper said. “We allow teams to stay in games when they shouldn’t be in the game. We take a lead and then we start casting off shots that we probably shouldn’t shoot and that’s why we got our butt whipped.

“We can’t blame nobody but ourselves, and that’s that.”

Vaught agreed.

“We lost hope or something,” Vaught said. “We just lost focus, and that was the end of the game.”

The Clippers, who trailed by 69-59 early in the third quarter, outscored the Pacers, 13-3, to tie the score, 72-72, with 5:25 remaining in the quarter on a layup by Harper, who had 11 points in the third. The score was tied five more times before Indiana took an 83-81 lead into the fourth quarter after Richardson made an 18-foot jumper with 21 seconds remaining.

But Miller took over as the Clippers collapsed, giving up 13 consecutive points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter.

Booed when he was introduced, Brown downplayed his return to the Sports Arena. The Pacers had played here for an exhibition game last October.

“It’s hard coming back because I liked it here,” Brown said. “I like the team and I liked everybody. From that standpoint, I’m anxious to go home and get this game over with.

“It’s tough because it’s not like I left with bad memories or bad feelings.”

One of the Channel 13 promotional ads for the game declared: “Before this game is over, Larry Brown’s Pacers will want to quit,” a jab at Brown.

But the Pacers didn’t quit in the first half.

Indiana, which trailed, 39-31, midway through the second quarter, outscored the Clippers, 17-4, in a 3:17 span of the second quarter to take a 48-43 lead with 3:56 remaining in the half. Miller had five points in the spurt, sinking a jumper and a three-pointer.

Miller had 18 points in the first half as the Pacers took a 58-52 lead. Miller had 11 points in the second quarter as Indiana, which shot 65% in the quarter, outscored the Clippers, 37-24.

“I had to make up for that first quarter,” said Miller, who missed four of his first seven shots. “I just tried to shoot my way out of it. I was trying to be more aggressive on the offensive end tonight.”

Richardson agreed. “When Reggie gets in a zone, he doesn’t miss.”