Clippers Put It Together in Time

After their November to remember, unlike any other in club history, what would the Clippers have in store for an encore?

For starters, they kicked off December by holding off the Eastern Conference-leading but suspension- and injury-depleted Indiana Pacers for a methodical 88-76 victory Wednesday night in front of 13,587 in Staples Center.

Elton Brand scored 27 points on 12-of-16 shooting, Bobby Simmons scored 20 on nine-of-14 shooting and the Clippers won their fifth game in a row, their longest winning streak since November 1995.

Only eight players dressed for the Pacers, who also were short-handed last month when they lost to the Clippers, 102-68, at Indianapolis. Their starting point guard played in the Continental Basketball Assn. last season. Their starting power forward wasn’t in the NBA a week ago. Their starting center was a rookie, as was his backup. And their sixth man joined the team only Wednesday morning.

They could have used Jim Raiche, a 42-year-old mortgage broker from Tujunga who won a car by making a half-court shot during a halftime promotion.

Instead, they relied on their own long-range shooters, making 10 of 22 shots from beyond the three-point arc to stay close and even taking the lead in the first minute of the third quarter before the Clippers pulled away.

“At halftime, I told our guys, ‘You’re going to let a lot of good work go to waste here,’ ” Clipper Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “One three-pointer could beat you.”

The Clippers, who also got 17 points and nine rebounds from Corey Maggette, then made 51.4% of their shots after halftime and outscored the Pacers, 48-38.

“I’ll admit, it’s tough,” Brand said. “We’d won four in a row and you see a team you beat by 30 some-odd points with [many more of their regulars] and you see a bunch of guys you don’t know. But those guys can play....

“We took them too lightly.”

The Pacers were without their top three scorers -- Stephen Jackson and All-Star forwards Ron Artest and Jermaine O’Neal -- because of long-term NBA suspensions after a Nov. 19 brawl at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Point guard Jamaal Tinsley, the only real starter left, sat out because of a left thigh bruise. Forward Austin Croshere, who has averaged 17 points and 8.8 rebounds since the suspensions, was sidelined because of a cracked rib. And backup center Scot Pollard sat out because of a sore back.

Four other regulars were suspended or on the injured list.

“It’s a different kind of challenge for us,” said Pacer Coach Rick Carlisle, who got 40 points from guards Eddie Gill and Fred Jones. “But we’ve got to find the opportunity in it. We’ve got to stay upbeat and we’ve got to continue to prepare to win, and that’s what we’re doing.”

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Rookie Lionel Chalmers was activated from the injured list after sitting out five games. Taking his place on the injured list was Mamadou N’Diaye, who was sidelined because of back spasms, the Clippers announced.