J.J. Redick sprained his right ankle 17 seconds into Wednesday’s game against Indiana/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

– This loss isn’t really all that bad. Yes, Clippers players afterward said this was a game they could have won. But let’s face it, they were without their two starting guards – Chris Paul and J.J. Redick. And that’s a problem against one of the best teams in the league – at least from a record standpoint. At 12-5, the Pacers are second in the Eastern Conference to Cleveland (13-5). Paul missed with inflamed rib cartilage and Redick came out 17 seconds into the game with a sprained right ankle and did not return.

– With two of the team’s top three scorers – meaning Paul and Redick – out, Blake Griffin could not pick up the slack. He was heavily guarded and scored 19 points on just 6 of 18 shooting. Griffin also pulled down only four rebounds. Stunningly, he didn’t get his first until there were five minutes left in the game. How the heck does that happen? He had six assists, and four turnovers.

– Doc Rivers told reporters that without Paul and Redick his team lacked offensive rhythm and that DeAndre Jordan is one of those affected by it. Jordan scored only two points on 0 of 4 shooting; he was 2 of 8 from the free-throw line. Jordan did have 15 rebounds, but the Clippers were outrebounded 47-40. The Clippers (10-9) have won the rebounding war in just one game this season.

– Lance Stephenson had a nice offensive night, scoring 19 points on 8 of 11 shooting. He also had three rebounds, three assists, one steal and two turnovers in 28 minutes off the bench. But Rivers said Stephenson did not have a very good night defensively.

– We can’t let this go without mentioning Paul George of the Pacers. The 6-foot-9 small forward is having a superb start to this season. He entered this game averaging 27.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He scored a game-high 31 points. He shot just 9 of 23 overall, but he was 5 of 9 from 3-point range. He pulled down 10 rebounds, doled out four assists, made three steals and did not turn the ball over in 40 minutes. Considering his August 2014 ordeal that saw him suffer a vicious broken right leg during a Team USA Blue-White game, he is quite a story. He played in just six games in 2014-15.