Matchup
Following an impressive rally to overcome a 20-point deficit and beat the Pelicans by 15 points, the Pacers tip off the first matchup of a three-game road trip on Saturday night in Washington D.C.
The Pacers (39-20) received a breakout performance from shooting guard Wesley Matthews during Friday's win, who sent in a game-best 24 points while sinking six shots from beyond the arc.
Now Indiana will turn its attention to the struggling Wizards (24-35), who dropped their first game out of the All-Star break with a 123-110 loss to the Hornets.
The Wizards will be the second of seven straight opponents with losing records that the Pacers will face to open up the final stretch of games, before the season turns more demanding in mid-march.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: Track the Pacers' Playoff Push »
Washington, however, can't be taken lightly even though a long list of injuries and trade activity has left the team with a dramatically reshaped roster.
The Pacers were beat handily, 107-89, in a late-January matchup in D.C., unable to overcome the stellar play of All-Star guard Bradley Beal, who finished with 25 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
Beal has done his best to carry this Wizards this season with John Wall out for the year. The veteran has averaged career-highs of 25.5 points, 5.4 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Even with his heroics, Washington has still struggled mightily, currently riding out a three-game losing streak and dropping six of its last eight games.
Projected Starters
Darren Collison
Wesley Matthews
Bojan Bogdanovic
Thaddeus Young
Kyle O'Quinn
Tomas Satoransky
Bradley Beal
Trevor Ariza
Jeff Green
Thomas Bryant
Pacers: PG - Darren Collison, SG - Wesley Matthews, SF - Bojan Bogdanovic, PF - Thaddeus Young, C - Kyle O'Quinn
Wizards: PG - Tomas Satoransky, SG - Bradley Beal, SF - Trevor Ariza, PF - Jeff Green, C - Thomas Bryant
Injury Report
Pacers: Myles Turner - questionable (bruised left hip), Victor Oladipo - out (right knee surgery), Tyreke Evans - questionable (sore left ankle)
Wizards: Dwight Howard - out (L4-L5 lumbar microdiscectomy procedure), John Wall - out (left Achilles tendon tear)
Last Meeting
January 30, 2019: The Pacers fell in Washington on the first stop of a four-game road trip, 107-89. It was the third straight loss for Indiana, its first losing streak of three games or more in over a calendar year, and came a week after losing All-Star guard Victor Oladipo to a season-ending knee injury.
"It's just low energy right now," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said after the loss. "We've kind of lost our way here and we've got to find it. Victor is not coming back. We've got to move past that and not look at what we don't have and focus on what we do have."
Thaddeus Young led the Pacers with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the loss and also tallied seven rebounds and five assists, though he also had five turnovers. Bojan Bogdanovic added 12 points, as did Doug McDermott, who went 3-for-7 from 3-point range.
Bradley Beal led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, six rebounds, and six assists. Jeff Green also had a big night for the Wizards, tallying 23 points, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals off the bench.
Noteworthy
- With a win on Saturday, the Pacers would take three of four games against Washington this season. It would be the first time Indiana won three games over the Wizards in a season since the 2012-13 campaign.
- The Pacers are 7-3 on the season when playing on the second night of a back-to-back, but just 1-3 on the road.
- The Wizards' roster features a pair of centers with ties to Indiana. Ian Mahinmi played for the Pacers for four seasons from 2012-16, while Thomas Bryant spent two years at Indiana University from 2015-17.
Tickets
After a three-game road trip, the Pacers will return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »
Broadcast Information TV & Radio Listings »
TV: FOX Sports Indiana - Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 107.5 FM/1070 AM The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Pat Boylan (studio host)