Pacers clinch playoffs despite ugly 109-87 loss to Bobcats

CHARLOTTE – On a night when the Indiana Pacers became the first team in the NBA to clinch a playoff spot, they sure did not play like they're ready for the postseason.

So it was on a night when the Pacers never held a lead and Frank Vogel had to use his timeouts early to, presumably, rouse his players out of their funk, they lost 109-87 to the Charlotte Bobcats, and yet still claimed their ticket to play to at least May.

An early-season hot streak had provided the Pacers (46-15) the top record in the league as well as a comfortable cushion over the defending champion Miami Heat. However, the Pacers haven't played their best in a while. In fact, some very un-Pacer like basketball moments have led the way to their second straight loss – something they have publicly expressed as a goal to never allow.

But, it happened for the second time this season. And for the second straight night, veteran David West spoke while shaking his head.

"We just didn't have any zip," said West, after the Pacers allowed the Bobcats, a potential playoff matchup, to shoot 51.2 percent from the floor.

West – the pulse of the team who thinks big picture after losses – sees an even greater problem than the defensive slippage.

"We haven't had (it) in these back to backs and really over these last few games, last 20 games or so," West said. "We just haven't had our mojo."

Paul George had his worst shooting night of the year, missing all nine field-goal attempts and only finishing with two points. Roy Hibbert provided just four points and West, 4-for-14, also helped crystallize the flatness from the first five who led the Pacers into a 28-8 deficit after one quarter.

After Tuesday night's loss, West repeated "It's time, you know, it's just time." Meaning that the Pacers better ramp up for the final push into the playoffs.

It's time and yet, the Pacers haven't played like it. Through a five-game stretch the Pacers depended on survival tactics against some of the worst teams and escaped with victories. However, that winning streak helped mask some problems but after Charlotte, they came out in full view.

In the 52 games before the All-Star break, Indiana locked down teams to just 90.3 points per game. However since the return, as the defensive intensity has diminished, the average has ballooned to 99 points allowed.

Teams are running the Pacers, as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks had recently demonstrated. They're also getting good looks in the half-court, just like the Golden State Warriors did when they lofted 20 3-point attempts on Tuesday night. And they're punishing the post, best shown by the Bobcats who scored 44 points in the paint – nearly 10 points more than the Pacers' league-leading interior defense average.

"We can't get teams under control," West said. "Nobody's afraid of us and we got to regroup. We got to get back to the basics. We got tough two-game trip out West and it's got to mean something to us to go out and do whatever we have to do to win these games."

Dallas and Houston follow on the upcoming schedule. A cruel jaunt for a team in need for recovery and with bruises and aches to spare.

After a second-quarter play, George Hill fell to the ground, grasping his left shoulder. He appeared to aggravate the injury that had recently held him out of two weekend games, but he remained on the floor Wednesday night. Also, Ian Mahinmi needed to shake the feeling back into his left arm after absorbing a foul from Al Jefferson in the third quarter. Then there was George who waited for the adrenaline to carry him once again through throbbing back pain but his mojo never kicked in.

George, who fell on his tailbone on Sunday, played through the pain on Tuesday night for nearly 40 minutes. However in Charlotte, as his back stiffened, so did his shot, then went his entire game. George missed three long jumpers during the Pacers' first possession of the game and his night never improved. He uncontrollably produced three offensive fouls as part of his team-high five turnovers and even committed the mistake of fouling a 3-point shooter, Anthony Tolliver, in the fourth quarter, adding charcoal to the fired-up home crowd that did not reach capacity but turned into a loud mob during the Bobcats' 36-point frame.

"I was just tight," George said. "Last night I was able to get through it just off adrenaline and then two nights of playing really put a lot of stress on my back tonight. I was sore and I tried to play through it, thinking it would loosen up but it was a tight night for me."

After Wednesday night, although West spoke with concern, he did not search for the panic button. Now, it appears, it's time to simply regroup.

"We've got time. Sky's not falling," West said. "The reason why we wanted to start strong and get off early the way we did was to give ourselves a cushion. …We just got to turn things around."

Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner