The Charlotte Bobcats and Indiana Pacers are 2 and 4 games, respectively, behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference; having said that, the Bobcats did themselves a disservice as the Pacers’ Danny Granger scored 27 points, leading Indiana to a hard-fought 98-93 victory over Charlotte at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The first quarter was one of several lead changes and ties, but the Pacers would change all of that as they went on a 10-0 run early in the second quarter to take a 43-34 lead; they would take their biggest lead of the first half, 54-44, in a T.J. Ford 3-point play.  Mike Dunleavy scored the first 4 points of the third quarter to extend Indiana’s lead to 14, but Charlotte would chip away at that advantage; 2 free throws by Gerald Wallace put the Bobcats to within 74-70 late in the period.

Charlotte would get to within 87-84 on a 2-pointer by Raymond Felton with 6 minutes left in the game; the Pacers would reply with a pair of Granger free throws, a trey by Dunleavy and a Granger jumper to regain their double-digit lead.  The Bobcats would yet again get to within three at 96-93 on a Raja Bell jumper with 1:25 left, but a Jeff Foster free throw gave Indiana a 4-point lead; 2 missed free throws by Boris Diaw and Wallace later, Ford would drain a foul shot, sealing the game for the Pacers.

Indiana was led by Granger with 27 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and a blocked shot while Dunleavy and Ford added 13 apiece – with Dunleavy grabbing 2 rebounds along with a steal and a blocked shot while Ford grabbed 3 boards, dished out 7 assists along with a steal.  Troy Murphy grabbed a double-double as he scored 11 with 14 rebounds while Foster grabbed 13 rebounds.

Charlotte was led by Bell and Diaw with 18 points each – with Bell grabbing 4 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists along with a steal while Diaw grabbed 6 boards, dished out 3 assists and had a steal; Emeka Okafor added 14 with 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.  Indiana (17-27) plays again on Tuesday when they travel to Florida to take on the Orlando Magic while Charlotte (18-26) fly to the West Coast to face the Los Angeles Lakers – also on Tuesday night.