Wizards-Pacers Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Jan 02 2013 12:40AM

The Indiana Pacers continue to perform superbly while short-handed and are now on the verge of their longest home win streak in three seasons.

The Pacers hope to have starting guard George Hill available as they attempt that feat, but if he's not, D.J. Augustin will try to prove a capable replacement again Wednesday night against the woeful Washington Wizards.

Despite the season-long absence of perennial scoring leader Danny Granger, Indiana (18-13) is leading the Central Division after winning eight of 10.

The Pacers also overcame Hill's absence, due to a bruised right thigh, in Monday's game against Memphis. Hill, averaging 15.2 points and a team-best 5.1 assists, suffered the injury in a win over Phoenix on Friday but scored 15 points while playing 33 minutes in a 109-100 loss in Atlanta the next night.

On Monday, the Pacers turned to Augustin, who is averaging only 3.7 points on 28.3 percent shooting in his first season in Indiana. Given his first opportunity to start, he had 17 points and six assists, making four free throws in the final 30 seconds to help seal an 88-83 victory.

"We knew with George out, it would be a challenge," said forward Paul George, who had a team-high 21 points. "But D.J. stepped up and made the game easy. Everybody had to step up and everybody did."

Hill is questionable for this game, but given the next opponent and Augustin's performance, the Pacers may not have to rush him back into action. Washington (4-25) has lost 10 of 11 overall and is 1-13 on the road this season, and has also dropped eight straight matchups with Indiana - two in 2012-13.

The Wizards blew a 14-point lead Tuesday in a 103-94 home loss to Dallas. With a season high-tying 22 points, rookie Bradley Beal was the team's only player to score more than 14.

"We let them back in the game too easily then they came out in the second half and put us away," Beal said. "We weren't aggressive and we didn't put them away. Whenever we play teams, their mentality when they play us and we're down by 10-plus points is to put us away. We have to have that mentality."

Indiana is seeking to earn a sixth straight home win for the first time since an eight-game run in Indianapolis from Feb. 27-March 30, 2010. The Pacers have won nine in a row over the Wizards at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, although they only took command in an 89-85 victory Nov. 10 after a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter.

They also needed a late surge to pull away for a 96-89 win in Washington on Nov. 19 after leading by as many as 20 points.

David West had 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting in that victory after scoring 11 and missing 12 of 16 shots in the home matchup. George had 20 points in Indianapolis but scored just six in the road victory.

Beal, the third overall pick in the 2012 draft, has a combined 35 points in the two meetings.

Pacers beat Wizards for 6th straight home win

By ANDY PROFFET
Posted Jan 02 2013 11:06PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Good enough to beat the Wizards, not good enough to satisfy Paul George.

George had 29 points and 14 rebounds, leading the Indiana Pacers to an 89-81 victory over Washington on Wednesday night.

"I'm glad we got this win but we've got to look past this," George said. "We didn't do a good enough job executing.

"Luckily we made enough shots to win, but we didn't do a good job at all of executing. We let them pressure us and get us out of stuff; we play tough teams and that's not going to fly."

The Wizards (4-26) came into the game with the NBA's worst record, and had lost eight straight against the Central Division-leading Pacers (19-13).

A strong start by the Pacers helped ensure another loss for the Wizards. The Pacers opened with an 8-0 run and led by as many as 17 points in the first quarter.

"It's all about the first quarter. I don't know honestly how to fix it," Washington's Emeka Okafor said. "The past two games, teams have jumped on us."

Still, Washington didn't go away easily.

After falling behind 24-7, the Wizards took advantage of Indiana's turnovers and cold shooting to pull within 38-35 with 5:16 to play in the first half. The Pacers had six turnovers and shot just 7 of 22 from the field in the second quarter but still led 47-39 at the break.

"Until we come together as a group, we're going to have our ups and downs through every game," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "We talked this morning about how we wanted to end this bad run and end it now."

A 10-4 run to start the third quarter brought the Wizards within 51-49, prompting a timeout by Pacers coach Frank Vogel. The Pacers responded with a 12-4 run over the next 6:27 to regain a double-digit lead.

"The NBA is a game of runs," Pacers guard D.J. Augustin said. "Teams are going to make runs on you, no matter how much you're up on them."

Augustin, making his second straight start because of the injury to George Hill (strained right groin), scored a season-high 18 points. Ten of those came in the fourth quarter, with eight coming at the free-throw line.

Vogel said Hill could have played if necessary on Wednesday, but was held out as a precaution.

"The way he put it to me, his pain was improving but his ability to explode was not," Vogel said. "He didn't feel he could push off and move the way he wanted to when he was working out in pregame, so we gave him another game. If we had an injury to one of our point guards, he could have played, but he would have been extremely limited."

Despite George's self-criticism, his coach had plenty of praise for the second-year pro.

"Paul George is becoming a beast of a player on both ends of the court," Vogel said. "He's probably the best wing defender in the NBA. We talk all the time about how good his hands are, but his feet are even better. His ability to contain the basketball and really shut down perimeter scorers is unique and special, and it's coming on the offensive end just the same.

"It was just a dominant performance by him on both ends of the court and a good win for our ballclub."

And George's growth will help ease the return of Danny Granger, the Pacers' star forward who has yet to play this season because of patellar tendinitis.

"I think we have other guys that are creating offense for themselves and for teammates, so when Danny comes back, it's going to be that type of deal where he can allow his teammates to set him up the first week or two," Vogel said. "When you get five guys that can create offense and score the ball like we'll have when Danny comes back, with the way we'll be able to defend, we have a chance to be special."

Roy Hibbert added 13 points for the Pacers, who won their sixth straight home game. Ian Mahinmi added nine points and 11 rebounds.

Jordan Crawford scored 20 points to lead Washington, which fell to 1-14 on the road this season. Kevin Seraphin scored 16, Nene added 15 points and Bradley Beal scored 14 for the Wizards, who never led in losing for the third straight game.

Notebook: Pacers 89, Wizards 81

Conrad Brunner, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Jan 02, 2013 10:21 PM - Updated Wed Jan 02, 2013 10:21 PM

THE FACTS: Whatever level a player has reached when he can score 29 points with 14 rebounds and make it look easy, Paul George is there. Coming off the best month of his career, Indiana's emerging young star started the New Year with another big game to spark the Pacers to an otherwise ugly 89-81 victory over the Washington Wizards Wednesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It was the sixth consecutive home win for the Pacers, who improved to 19-13 overall and extended their dominance over the Wizards to nine in a row overall and 10 in Indianapolis. The Wizards got 20 points from Jordan Crawford but fell to 4-26 overall, tied for the fourth-worst 30-game record in league history.

QUOTABLE: "Paul George is becoming a beast of a player at both ends of the court. He's probably the best wing defender in the NBA and on the offensive end, he's coming just the same."

-- Pacers coach Frank Vogel

THE STAT: Indiana improved to 7-6 when scoring less than 90 points, exceeding the team's total victories of the previous five seasons combined, in which the Pacers went 6-57 including a 2-14 mark last season.

TURNING POINT: The Pacers jumped out quickly, building a 24-7 lead -- marking the 13th time in 30 games the Wizards fell behind by double figures in the opening quarter -- but Washington surged twice. The first, a 20-7 run bridging the periods, cut the lead to 38-35 but George scored seven in a row to stem the tide. The Wizards opened the second half on a 10-4 burst to close to 51-49 but George and D.J. Augustin answered as the Pacers quickly pushed the lead back to double digits.

QUOTABLE II: "They are a tough team, defensively. They really get after it. We had to take care of the ball, really execute and find guys, offensively. They play all-out with nothing to lose. Sometimes that's all it takes, for guys to go out there and be fearless."
-- George on the Wizards

HOT: George averaged 18.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists in December and started January even hotter, posting his sixth double-double of the season and fourth in the last eight games. ... Augustin made nine of 10 free throws and played solidly in his second consecutive start filling in for George Hill (bruised thigh), adding six assists. ... Centers Roy Hibbert and Ian Mahinmi combined for 22 points and 15 rebounds. ... Washington's bench racked up 48 points led by Crawford and Kevin Seraphin, who scored 16 with nine rebounds and hit 8 of 13 shots.

NOT: The Wizards' starters were outscored 74-33 and two -- Garrett Temple and Martell Webster -- failed to score. ... David West had a rare off night for Indiana, shooting 3-for-13 and scoring just eight points. ... Indiana's bench managed just 15 points on combined 4-for-16 shooting with six turnovers and one assist. Bradley Beal, the Kia NBA Rookie of the Month in the East for December, shot just 6-for-15 and scored 14 points.

QUOTABLE III: "It seems like it's the same thing over and over. Until we come together as a group we're going to have our ups and downs through every game. We talked this morning about how we wanted to end this bad run and end it now but at the start of the game tonight we just didn't seem to have it."

-- Wizards coach Randy Wittman

NOTABLE: Hill said the pain in his bruised thigh has started to recede but he still lacks the strength to make explosive moves. It is uncertain if he will play Friday when the Pacers face the Celtics in Boston. ... The Pacers-Bulls game originally scheduled for Dec. 26 but postponed by a blizzard in Indianapolis has been rescheduled for Feb. 4. That sets up the Pacers for a difficult week as they'll play three games in three nights and four in five. ... This is Indiana's longest home winning streak since an eight-game run in 2009-10. ... The Wizards may soon regain a few key players. Trevor Ariza (calf) may practice Thursday with an eye on returning this weekend. A.J. Price (fractured right hand) had his cast removed, and Trevor Booker (knee) is also making progress. Even John Wall (knee) has begun light workouts in hopes of returning sometime this month. ... Washington's three losses to the Pacers this season have come by a total of 19 points.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Friday @ Boston, Saturday vs. Milwaukee, Tuesday vs. Miami. For the Wizards, Friday vs. Brooklyn, Sunday @ Miami, Monday vs. Oklahoma City.

• Wizards: Booker, Wall
• Pacers: Granger, Johnson

• Wizards: --
• Pacers: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #33 Sean Corbin, #8 Marc Davis, #58 Josh Tiven
• Attendance: 11182
• Duration: 2:09