Game Recap
It was a game the Pacers needed badly. They needed to win to keep up in the Eastern Conference Playoff race. Needed to win to snap their six-game skid. They just needed a break to go their way.
And with the ball in the hands of George Hill, who scored a team-high 29 points, they got the win they were seeking, thanks to a layup from Hill in the game’s closing seconds to beat the Wizards (40-32) in their own building, 103-101.
“All these guys did a great job lifting me up,” said Hill, who hit six of the Pacers last seven field goals. “Just a great team win.”
The Pacers (31-40) had been leading by three with under 30 seconds left when John Wall, coming off a screen from his teammate Marcin Gortat, rose up from the top of the key and buried a game-tying 3-pointer that knotted things up 101; setting up the eventual game-winner from Hill.
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Indiana had been trailing for much of the game, and was down 10 with just over six minutes left in the game. But against the Wizards at the Verizon Center, the Pacers willed their way back into the game, holding the Wizards to just one field goal in the game’s last five minutes, which led to one of the most crucial road wins of the Pacers’ season.
The win not only improved the Pacers’ positioning in the Eastern Conference Playoff standings, but also spoiled the electric offensive night of Wizards point guard John Wall, who poured in a game-high 34 points.
On Tuesday, when Pacers coach Frank Vogel addressed the media after practice, he was asked about what makes John Wall such a difficult player to guard.
“He challenges your whole team, not just the point guard matchup,” said Vogel of the two-time All-Star, “He challenges your whole team with his motor on the break.”
That motor was on full display Wednesday night as the Wizards outscored the Pacers 36-9 on the fast break, due much in part to the speed and playmaking of Wall, who made five of the Wizards’ first six field goals in the fourth quarter.
Indiana got off to a slow start in the game, scoring just 14 first-quarter points, which tied its season low. But things started to click in the second quarter, as the Pacers doubled their offensive output with a 28-point quarter and trailed by just two at halftime.
After briefly leading at the beginning of the third, Washington—who was without the services of Bradley Beal (ankle)—reestablished its lead, keeping a double-digit buffer for much of the second half.
But the Pacers’ 33-point fourth quarter, which was just three points shy of their season-best, was enough to sink the efforts of Wall and the Wizards, and put Indiana back on the right track.
Inside the Numbers
George Hill’s 29 points were one shy of his season-high, set on March 14 versus Boston.
It was only the second time since January 7 that Lavoy Allen played 24 or more minutes (the other being a blowout win over New York). Allen played excellent for the Pacers, scoring eight points and grabbing six boards, including a crucial rebound in the game’s closing moments.
Indiana had six players reach double-figures.
Noteworthy
- The win snapped a three-game regular season losing streak to the Washington Wizards
- It was Frank Vogel’s 198th win as head coach of the Pacers
- Indiana is now tied for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, with Boston currently holding the tiebreaker
Stat of the Night
It was only the seventh time all season in which the Pacers came away with a win during a game in which they trailed entering the fourth quarter
Up Next
The Pacers now travel to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night at 8 PM.