Game Rewind: Pacers 102, Wizards 109

In a game that Indiana trailed by as much as 21 points, the Pacers looked as if they might have another comeback in the works, chopping their deficit down to just nine points after back-to-back threes to begin the fourth quarter.

But with Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis each sidelined by ankle sprains, the shorthanded Pacers were unable to leave the nation's capital with a victory, falling 109-102 to the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.

"It was a tough loss," said Victor Oladipo after the game. "We learned from it, move on. You got to have short-term memory especially now during the end of the year and get ready for Monday."

The loss at the Capital One Arena could be one the Pacers (40-30) look back on at the season's end, as Washington secured the head-to-head tiebreaker with Indiana 2-1 — a factor that could impact the playoff seeding come April.

The third quarter was when things truly fell apart for Indiana, as Washington got its lead to a game-high 21 points.

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The Pacers needed a spark to have any chance to mount a comeback, and they found one in the play of Lance Stephenson. The electric shooting guard — who finished with a season-high 25 points and dished out five assists — played with an edge in the second half, at one point completing a highlight-reel and-one while being dragged to the mat by Wizards guard Bradley Beal.

"He was aggressive. He was making plays," explained Pacers head coach Nate McMillan. "I thought he was able to get to the basket and give us something off the bench. That was positive. We needed that."

When Indiana opened the fourth quarter, Bojan Bogdanovic sent home a 3-pointer from the wing. Following the make, the Pacers got a stop and delivered the rebound to Stephenson, who raced down the court and dropped a dime to Darren Collison in the corner, who swished a three to chop the deficit to just nine points.

Following the bucket, Washington (40-30) regained its footing, jumping back ahead by 20 and controlling the game for the majority of the fourth quarter — with the exception of a spirited but ultimately unsuccessful run by the Pacers' bench unit in the closing minutes.

To start the night, the Pacers looked dialed in out of the gates, making their first three field goals of the evening. But after jumping ahead in the opening minutes, the Wizards used a 12-2 scoring run to charge in front and ended the first quarter leading 25-20.

With primarily Pacers bench players in the game, Indiana started to close the gap, tying things up at 33 on a 3-pointer from the corner sent in from Bogdanovic.

But for the remainder of the half, it was all Washington as the Wizards outscored Indiana 32-25 in the quarter to take a 57-45 lead into the locker room.

Coming out of the break, Washington's blitz continued as Beal and the Wizards jumped ahead 71-51 in the opening six minutes of the quarter. During the stretch, Indiana's offense continued to stagnate, scoring just six points over the first 6:04 of play in the second half.

After seeing the Wizards' lead balloon to 21, the Pacers began the tall task of chipping away at the deficit. With 3:06 remaining in the third, Bogdanovic buried a 3-point from the corner to get it down to 16.

Moments after, Lance Stephenson converted on a circus-shot layup while being dragged to the court by Beal. Stephenson's shot somehow spun off the glass and in, getting the score to an 81-68 Wizards lead following his and-one free throw.

But to close the half, Wizards forward Kelly Oubre connected on a 3-pointer, leaving the Wizards with a 15-point edge entering the final quarter in D.C.

The Pacers opened up the fourth quarter on the right note, getting back-to-back 3-pointers from Boganovic and Collison to get the lead back to single digits, triggering a quick timeout from Washington head coach Scott Brooks.

But from that point forward, the Wizards took full control of the game, getting their lead back to 20 as Washington closed out the victory on its home floor.

"Every game is important," Oladipo said. "We just got to show a little bit of resiliency. Every game is important, whether it's on the road, whether it's at home. We've proven we can win on the road but every game is important. We got to take it one game at a time, value every possession and value every game."

Both teams made 50 percent of their 3-pointers, with the Pacers going 12-for-24 and the Wizards going 10-for-20.

Washington's offense was locked in all night, shooting 54.8 percent from the field.

Al Jefferson nearly recorded his second straight double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.

"Everybody contributed for them. But it was tough to guard them. We started picking it up again offensively [and] made a little push at the end but we came up short. It was a tough loss. We learned from it, move on. You got to have short-term memory especially now during the end of the year and get ready for Monday." -Victor Oladipo

"We were turning the ball over. We really never felt like we had a rhythm tonight offensively. We missed some shots but we had a lot of turnovers and it seemed like they capitalized off of every turnover that we had in that first half. That just continued to the second half where we just didn't have a rhythm. I think we went down 21, 22 points and never had rhythm." -Nate McMillan

"(Marcin) Gortat is a moving big. He does all the dirty work. He can rebound, (play) offense, (play) defense. He is going to set good picks. He is going to roll to the basket. He is going to find a way. He knows how to read the boys when they get to the basket. He knows how to get the open spot and hit that shot. He is just one of those guys. He has a feel for the ball and a feel for the game." -Al Jefferson

Victor Oladipo has now recorded a steal in 53 consecutive games, moving him into the eighth-longest streak in NBA history.

The Pacers return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Monday, March 19 to host Lonzo Ball and the Los Angeles Lakers at 7:00 PM ET. Tickets starting at just $22! Find Tickets »