Indiana @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 23, 2018 ) L.A. Clippers 104, Indiana 109

The Los Angeles Clippers lost a game in the race for a playoff spot in the Western Conference on Friday and are running out of time to make up any ground. The Clippers will try to stay in the race at the expense of another team jockeying for position in its conference when they host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

Los Angeles dropped a 105-96 decision at Portland on Friday to fall two games behind eighth-place New Orleans with six games left in the regular season. "I thought offensively, as much as defensively, we were horrible," Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters after the setback. "I thought we never got to our formula that we have -- the draw and kick and attack. I thought we were passive most of the night. Why? I wish I knew. But clearly Portland has a confidence against us, and you can see it on the floor." The Pacers are winners of four straight and sit a half-game behind the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 4 spot in the East and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, one game shy of third-place Cleveland. "We know it's going to be tough, obviously, with these road games," Indiana All-Star Victor Oladipo told reporters about earning homecourt advantage. "But if we take it one game at a time, we can accomplish it. That's what we're focused on."

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FS Indiana, FS Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)

ABOUT THE PACERS (45-31): Indiana opened the four-game road trip with wins over Golden State and Sacramento, recovering from slow starts in each contest before getting the upper hand late. "We know we're going to be in some tough fights and some dog fights each and every game," Pacers forward Thaddeus Young told the team's website. "Hopefully we can come out and jump on teams like we're supposed to. We're starting off a little slow right now, but like I said, it's getting us ready for the playoff atmosphere. Each and every time we step out on the court, especially when we're away, it's us five versus the whole world and that's how we have to treat each and every game." Young scored 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting in the 106-103 win at Sacramento and is averaging 18.3 points over the last four games to raise his season average to 12.

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (41-35): Los Angeles' season has been marked by constant injuries to key members of the rotation and just when the team got one back, another was lost. The Clippers welcomed small forward Danilo Gallinari back from a broken hand on Friday only to learn that point guard Milos Teodosic would miss at least the rest of the regular season after tearing the plantar fascia in his left foot. Gallinari, who was playing for the first time since Feb. 22, got the start against the Trail Blazers and managed 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting in 25 minutes.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Clippers G Austin Rivers slumped to three points on 1-of-8 shooting on Friday, ending a string of 15 straight games scoring in double figures.

2. Pacers SF Bojan Bogdanovic is averaging 22 points on 57.1 percent shooting over the last four games.

3. Los Angeles suffered a 109-104 loss at Indiana on March 23 as Bogdanovic led the way with 28 points.

PREDICTION: Clippers 113, Pacers 105