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Wednesday, Jan. 12 7:00pm ET
Precise Pacers pound Wizards | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Returning home from a road trip to the West that ended with losses to the Clippers and Kings, the Indiana Pacers got well again Wednesday against the Washington Wizards. "We feel like in the halfcourt, when we're on, we're as good as they come," said Jalen Rose, who led the Pacers with 25 points in a 117-102 victory. "We can pick a team apart with our execution in the halfcourt. That's the way to break a team's will." Rik Smits added 19 as the Pacers pulled away from Washington in the second half. The Pacers used their defense to produce runs of 15-4 in the third quarter and 13-3 in the fourth. The first surge propelled Indiana to a 78-67 lead. The second, which featured four straight 3-pointers from three players, ran the lead to 95-78 with nine minutes to play. Reggie Miller added 17 points, Austin Croshere had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Dale Davis added a 12-point, 13-rebound performance. Mark Jackson dished out 13 assists as the Pacers extended their home winning streak to 11 games. Juwan Howard led Washington with 23 points and 11 rebounds, Mitch Richmond added 17 and Jahidi White had 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Washington, last in the Atlantic Division at 12-24, dropped its fifth straight road game while outrebounding Indiana 55-38. Wizards coach Gar Heard was impressed with the Pacers, saying, "Once this team gets going, they are very hard to stop. They run to the 3-point line and hit three after three after three. You just can't let them get open like we did." Indiana scored 13 points on four consecutive fourth-quarter possessions to break open the game. Sam Perkins hit a 3-pointer from the right side, Miller knocked down a 3 from the right corner, Perkins hit another 3 and was fouled and sank the free throw, and Austin Croshere hit another 3-pointer to complete the 13-3 run. The Pacers shot 9-of-18 on 3-pointers, while Washington was 3-of-10. Game notesIndiana's nine-game winning streak against Washington dates back nearly three years, when the Wizards last won, at home, by 103-90 on April 16, 1997. ... In the last 11 games, Jackson has dished out 117 assists. ... Richmond has scored 106 points in his team's last four games. ... Wizards forward Tracy Murray has hit 23-of-39 3-pointers in the last eight games. ... Miller needs 35 points to become the 33rd player in NBA history to score 19,000. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Washington Clubhouse Indiana Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 95 LA Clippers 88
Indiana 117
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