With only six players because of suspensions and injuries, the Indiana Pacers stayed close before dropping an 86-83 decision to the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.

"We had guys who had never played as a unit in an NBA game," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. "I'm disappointed. We went out there to win the game, even given these unusual circumstances."

With leading scorers Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson suspended indefinitely by the NBA earlier in the day following the fight in Detroit, the Pacers started a lineup of reserves and managed to stay with the Magic.

Grant Hill hit four free throws in the final 12 seconds and finished with 28 points to lead Orlando.

"Coming off the events of (Friday) night right away instead of having a few days in between probably helped them," Hill said. "I didn't think it would be that close.

"We talked the possibility of a letdown, but these guys are pros. Still, there's a tendency to say these guys aren't the star players, but we knew they would come out and play well," he said.

Fred Jones scored a career-high 31 points and rookie David Harrison added 19, also his best with the Pacers.

With Fred and James Jones both playing with five fouls, there were thoughts of the Pacers possibly playing with just four players, like the famous scene from the movie "Hoosiers."