Indianapolis ? Shot after shot rolled off the rim, bounced off the backboard or simply drew air.

It was that kind of night for the Indiana Pacers, who took a 2-1 series lead against Detroit despite a horrible shooting performance by three of their most reliable offensive players.

“The reason for missed shots is we’re human. It happens. It’s life,” Indiana’s Stephen Jackson said after practice Saturday.

The Pacers blew an 18-point lead Friday night. They shot 36 percent for the game, made just one field goal in the final eight minutes and still, somehow, held on for a 79-74 victory. Game 4 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal is today.

“It was just fortunate that we were able to get out of there with a win,” Jackson said. “Nobody’s down about it. Nobody’s dwelling on it. We know we can hit shots. We’ll make ’em next game.”

Jackson, Jermaine O’Neal and Reggie Miller combined for nine baskets in 39 attempts. The Pistons led 72-71 before two free throws by Miller with 1:21 to go. On Indiana’s next possession, Miller hit two more free throws. Jeff Foster then hit two from the foul line, and Miller clinched the victory with his final field goal with 11 seconds remaining.

“There were too many points scored without an attempted field goal … where they were not in scoring position, and we just put them on the line,” Detroit coach Larry Brown said. “Then because we got so far behind, when we were unable to make some shots or had some critical turnovers late, it all was a result of us getting so far behind early.”

The Pistons shot the ball only slightly better than the Pacers — 37 percent — but were struggling almost the entire game after Indiana’s big early lead.

“The last two quarters, we tried like crazy. I don’t know how we could have defended any better,” Brown said.

Jackson shot 4-of-17, O’Neal was 2-of-11, and Miller was 3-of-11. But Indiana had a much stronger contribution from its bench, again led by Foster. In a Game 2 win at Detroit, Foster had a playoff-career-high 20 rebounds, repeatedly tipping in missed shots by his teammates. He continued his strong play Friday night, finishing with only eight points but 12 rebounds, seven of them off the offensive boards.

“He’s been great,” Brown said. “He’s made every hustle play, got his hands on loose balls, defended well. There were a number of times we had great block-outs, and the ball just bounced to him.”

The Indiana reserves outscored Detroit’s bench 25-6 on Friday.

“We’ve got to run just a couple of different sets,” said Chauncey Billups, who led Detroit with 23 points.