(SportsNetwork.com) – The Washington Wizards will try to run their winning
streak to four Wednesday night when they welcome the Indiana Pacers to the
Verizon Center.
These two sides met in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals. Indiana
eliminated Washington in six games, but time has changed this matchup
considerably.
Paul George is out for the season, Lance Stephenson is a Charlotte Hornet and
Pacers’ starters David West and George Hill are both out of action with
injuries.
Washington is without Bradley Beal, but the Wizards made significant
improvements with the acquisitions of Paul Pierce, DeJuan Blair and Kris
Humphries.
The Wiz ran their winning streak to three Tuesday night with a 98-83 victory
over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Pierce and Garrett Temple scored 17 points apiece to lead a balanced effort
for the Wizards.
Kevin Seraphin tallied 15 points off the bench, Andre Miller contributed 12
points in a reserve role and John Wall added 11 points with a team-high seven
assists in the win.
Drew Gooden added 10 points for the Wizards, who have won three of their first
four games to start the season for the first time since 2005-06.
“Guys like me, Andre (Miller) and Drew (Gooden), we are the vets. We’re the
oldest on this team,” said Pierce. “We kind of bring a calmness to this ball
club. I think we have a great mix of youth and veteran guys that gives us an
even keel.”
The Pacers dropped their third in a row Tuesday night when they fell, at home,
to the Milwaukee Bucks, 87-81. It was the Bucks’ first road victory in over
eight months.
Chris Copeland scored all but one of his team-high 19 points in the second
half, while Roy Hibbert donated 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocks in
the Pacers’ setback.
“We’ve gotta figure out a way to get the whole group going for 48 minutes,”
Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said.
Solomon Hill was the only other double-digit scorer for Indy with 12. The
Pacers shot 39.7 percent from the floor and 25 percent from long range. They
committed six more turnovers than Milwaukee, which outscored the Pacers off
turnovers to the tune of 28-4.
The Pacers took two of three from the Wizards last season and are 11-2 in the
last 13 meetings between the squads. Indy has dropped two in a row in
Washington.
