Indianapolis ? New York Knicks coach Don Chaney became the latest coach to realize what everyone is quickly finding out — Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal and Ron Artest have arrived.

O’Neal had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Artest added 21 points in the NBA-leading Pacers’ 93-70 victory over the Knicks on Thursday night.

“Those two guys are emerging as solid stars in our league, not only on the offensive end, but on the defensive end as well,” Chaney said.

O’Neal and Artest fueled an 18-2 run in the third quarter to help the Pacers pull away for their seventh straight victory.

The strong third-quarter performance was a welcome sight for Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who has stressed improved play in the period after the team’s last loss, against Boston on Nov. 11.

“One thing we’ve been trying to concentrate on is being a very strong third quarter team ever since the Boston game where we had a let down,” Carlisle said. “Tonight was an example of coming out at a high level in the third quarter.”

O’Neal helped put the game away with 4:37 to play in the third, hitting a hook shot in the lane to give Indiana a 69-50 lead.

The star forward, who apologized after criticizing Pacers fans for booing earlier in the season, slapped hands with several fans after hitting the shot.

The two young stars were simply too much for the injury-plagued Knicks, overpowering them with their strength and dominating them with their quickness.

“They’re tough,” Knicks guard Allan Houston said. “They’re the reason that this team is where they are.”

The Pacers scored 27 points off 24 Knicks turnovers and held their opponent under 79 points for the eighth time in nine games.

“You can’t have turnovers and miss shots against a team like that,” Chaney said. “The window’s not that wide. You have to play flawless basketball. That’s why they’re good, they take things away from you.”

Nets 102, Clippers 96

Los Angeles — Kerry Kittles scored 22 points and Jason Kidd had 18 points and 10 assists Thursday night to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 102-96 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Nets led almost all the way, but the Clippers kept it close before losing their fifth in a row.

Jason Collins added 14 points for New Jersey.

Corey Maggette had 20 points, and Chris Wilcox had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles. Quentin Richardson had 17 points after shooting 0-for-7 in the first half.

Maggette scored 13 points in the third quarter.