-11.1°C Clear 
The Charlotte Bobcats came up just short in their pursuit of a new franchise mark on Tuesday night.
The Bobcats were trying for a club-record seventh straight victory but were without all-star forward Gerald Wallace for a second consecutive game and Indiana took advantage with a 99-94 victory.
The Bobcats, playing for the fifth time in eight days, lost Wallace during a win over the Los Angeles Clippers last Friday. Charlotte won its first full game without him at Orlando on Sunday, but couldn't do it again.
Stephen Jackson, who led Charlotte with 20 points, wouldn't use the team's busy schedule as an excuse for losing to a team that entered the night 22 games under .500.
"It wasn't really fatigue," Jackson said. "We were missing shots, and we didn't let our defence be the catalyst of our game. We worried about our offence first, and didn't start playing defence until the fourth quarter. On the road, you can't get down and try to play catch-up."
Danny Granger scored 26 points for the Pacers, but he left the game in the final minute after taking a hit. Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said his top scorer is out for Wednesday's game at Cleveland.
"Danny got hit in the upper cheek, is being evaluated and will not play tomorrow," O'Brien said.
Troy Murphy had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Mike Dunleavy added 15 points for Indiana, which had lost 14 of its previous 17 games.
Indiana nearly squandered a 15-point, fourth-quarter lead.
"You have to close out games," Dunleavy said. "Those guys are going to stick around and hang tough. We made some silly mistakes, took some bad fouls and made it closer than we would have liked."
Elsewhere in the NBA it was: Cleveland 113 Detroit 101; San Antonio 88 Miami 76; Atlanta 104 New Jersey 84; Memphis 104 Chicago 97; Denver 97 Washington 87; L.A. Lakers 106 Sacramento 99; and Phoenix 152 Minnesota 114.
At Indianapolis, the Pacers nearly got beat by their former players. Stephen Graham, a former Pacer who replaced Wallace in the lineup, finished with a career-high 19 points and tied a career best with eight rebounds. Jackson, a former Pacer still disliked in Indiana for his sometimes surly demeanour and non-basketball related issues during his stay, finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Boris Diaw also scored 20 points for the Bobcats, but he had a costly turnover in the final minute.
Indiana had a safe lead until the final two minutes. Raymond Felton got a steal, and Tyrus Thomas dunked over Dahntay Jones to cut Indiana's lead to 97-91.
After Indiana failed to score on its next possession, Graham scored on the other end and was fouled. He converted the three-point play with 56 seconds left.
Indiana came up empty again, and Charlotte had a chance to tie, but Diaw threw the ball right to Indiana's Murphy with 20 seconds to play.
Charlotte coach Larry Brown took credit for Diaw's mistake.
"I tried to call timeout," he said. "We got kind of confused. That was my fault. I thought we maybe could get a two for one, but when there is indecision like that, I've got to be more responsible."
Indiana's A.J. Price made two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to seal the win.
It was a bitter loss for Charlotte.
"If we would have played the first half and third quarter like we did the last five minutes, we would have gave them something," Graham said. "If definitely hurts more because it's a game we let go, it was a game I thought we definitely should have won."
Indiana led 78-67 at the end of the third quarter, and the Pacers remained safely ahead for most of the fourth. Granger made three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give Indiana a 97-85 lead with just over three minutes remaining.
Charlotte got close, but couldn't close the deal. The Bobcats have worked their way into playoff position, but they haven't been there, and Jackson said it showed on Tuesday.
"It's still a young team that's growing," Jackson said. "We tend to get away from understanding what's important and what's at stake."
Graham expects the Bobcats to bounce back.
"Give them credit," Graham said of the Pacers. "They played well, but it was our fault. It was a hiccup on our behalf."
Cavaliers 113 Pistons 101
At Auburn Hills, Mich., LeBron James had 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in his fourth triple-double of the season, lifting Cleveland over the Pistons.
Cleveland has won four in a row and lost only one of its last 11 games, improving to an NBA-best 53-15.
-
Spurs 88 Heat 76
At Miami, Manu Ginobili scored 22 points, George Hill had 16 and surging San Antonio wasted most of a 25-point, third-quarter lead before beating the Heat.
Richard Jefferson added 15 points and Tim Duncan had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who've won eight of their last nine and ensured they would end the night no worse than No. 7 in the Western Conference standings.
-
Hawks 108 Nets 84
At East Rutherford, N.J., Jamal Crawford hit a 30-footer at the buzzer to cap his game-breaking, 15-point second quarter and Atlanta ran away from the woeful Nets.
Crawford, the NBA scoring leader (17.5) among players who have not started a game, finished with 25 points in leading Atlanta to its third straight win and ninth in 12 games.
-
Grizzlies 104 Bulls 97
At Memphis, Tenn., O.J. Mayo scored 24 points, going 4-of-5 from three-point range, and the Grizzlies sent undermanned Chicago to its eighth straight loss.
Mike Conley finished with 19 points and 10 assists, while Zach Randolph added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Rudy Gay had 12 points, and Marcus Williams and Hasheem Thabeet finished with 10 apiece. Thabeet grabbed nine rebounds.
-
Nuggets 97 Wizards 87
At Denver, J.R. Smith scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, helping Denver pull away to beat Washington.
Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Nene added 16 points for Denver, which sent Washington to its ninth consecutive loss.
-
Lakers 106 Kings 99
At Sacramento, Calif., Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, Pau Gasol added 28 points and 11 rebounds, and Los Angeles completed a sweep of its Northern California swing to win its fourth straight.
Andrew Bynum added 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the Lakers finished with 60 points in the paint to remain four games ahead of Denver for the best record in the Western Conference. Gasol and Bynum combined to make 21-of-28 shots.
-
Suns 152 Timberwolves 114
At Phoenix, Jason Richardson scored 27 points and Amare Stoudemire 25, then sat with the rest of the starters while the Suns' reserves finished off the highest-scoring game by an NBA team this season.
Lou Amundson matched his career high with 20 points as Phoenix sent the Timberwolves to their 10th straight loss and 16th in the last 17 games. The Suns, with eight players in double figures, shot 56 per cent and 15-of-31 from three-point range to win their ninth in 12 games.
