Wizards hammer Pacers to stay alive
TYLER SMITH
ISL Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS — After winning three straight games in this second-round series, the Pacers looked to be in great shape coming back home with a chance to wrap things up in Game 5. The Wizards had other plans, completely dominating the Pacers on their home floor (something that has become surprisingly normal), winning by a final score of 102-79.
Now the Wizards have confidence and get a chance to send this series to a seventh game if they can win on their home floor Thursday night.
The rebounding statistics are typically a good indicator of who wants a game more. On this night, the difference was staggering. Washington outrebounded Indiana 62-23.
Marcin Gortat almost outrebounded the Pacers by himself. He dominated the game from the start and finished with 31 points and 16 rebounds. John Wall also played his best game of the series, finishing with 27 points on 11-of-20 from the field.
The Pacers had controlled the third quarter in every game of this series, outscoring the Wizards by 42 in those quarters in the first four games. Tuesday night, the opposite rang true. Washington won the third quarter 31-14.
Indiana dropped to 3-4 on its home floor in the postseason — after losing only six games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in the regular season. It’s been the nature of the losses that have baffled the mind even more than the record. There have been several nights when the Pacers have simply been outworked, and outplayed, from the tip. They’ve trailed by 30 points in both Game 5’s this postseason.
Instead of celebrating and getting some rest for the next round, the Pacers are now in for a real battle. They’ve responded each and every time following a loss in these playoffs, and they’ll try to do it again in Washington on Thursday.
