Pacers contribute to Clippers’ slide

The flickering spark nearly ignited.

Al Thornton, the Clippers’ first-round pick who has struggled to find his groove, appeared aggressive as ever Sunday.

But the Clippers have seemingly run out of new injuries and moved on to aggravating old ones.

Thornton keyed a large first-half turnaround but left because of an ankle sprain, and Corey Maggette aggravated an injury in a 101-95 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Staples Center in front of 13,741.

The Clippers, hitting a stretch of relatively weak opponents in their schedule, have dropped five consecutive games and nine of 11.

“I can’t pinpoint one thing,” center Chris Kaman said. “There’s a lot of different things. We have to play better on defense. We have to limit the turnovers. The offense has to execute better.”

Kaman cobbled together another giant effort with 22 points and 22 rebounds, but the Clippers went dry after a Tim Thomas jump shot gave them an 88-84 lead with 7 minutes 6 seconds left.

The Clippers missed their next nine shots from the field, and seven of their 16 turnovers came in the final six minutes. Maggette, who recently returned from a strained right hamstring, aggravated the injury and played only four minutes in the fourth quarter, finishing with 19 points.

Meanwhile, Jamaal Tinsley made two three-point shots to close the game for the Pacers.

He finished with a game-high 29 points, and Jermaine O’Neal had his first 20-point game of the season and collected 15 rebounds.

“Yesterday morning, he was unable to put his arm above his shoulder,” Pacers Coach Jim O’Brien said of O’Neal, who was a game-time decision because of a shoulder injury.

“He was doubtful and I was planning on going without him. But I found out he could go and he had a great game.”

The Clippers, playing without Sam Cassell while he recovers from a strained left calf, outscored Indiana by 14 points in the second quarter to take a 51-50 halftime lead.

Kaman had 13 points and seven rebounds in the first half, and Maggette scored 11 points.

But Thornton was the catalyst early. He scored 10 points, including seven during a 9-0 run by the Clippers.

He drove aggressively to the rim and connected on four of six shots, brushing aside a flagrant foul committed on him by Troy Murphy.

Coach Mike Dunleavy had said in recent weeks that he was looking for Thornton to go off at any time. Thornton started the game averaging 6.3 points and had yet to show the same flashes that produced 24 points in one quarter during an exhibition game.

He appeared well on his way Sunday but left after his ankle flared up, an injury that caused him to sit out a game this season.

“Tell me about it,” Dunleavy said. “He’s been playing really well in practice for us. And we want to try and get him bigger minutes because of the growth potential there, and he gave us the big energy when we needed it.”

Thornton and Maggette are considered day to day.

“It’s ridiculous,” Kaman said. “It’s like one injury after another for this team, and we just keep getting hit. From the left side to the right. You can’t control it. You just have to keep working through stuff.”

The Pacers scored the first 11 points of the game and opened an 18-point first-half lead before the Clippers climbed back into it.

“The game was up and down,” Cuttino Mobley said. “We came back and didn’t close the game out right.”

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jonathan.abrams@latimes.com