Pacers at Wizards
The Indiana Pacers have been waiting weeks for Roy Hibbert the All-Star to show up, and it finally happened just in time. Hibbert will try to follow up his season-high 28-point effort when the Pacers visit the Washington Wizards for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday. The veteran big man went scoreless in three of the previous four postseason games and was mired in a long slump going back to the regular season before breaking out in Game 2.
Hibbert totaled 37 points in the previous eight playoff games but was aggressive early in Game 2 and helped make up for off-nights from David West and Paul George as Indiana fought back to even the series at a game apiece. “I felt that I put a lot of pressure on myself to get going and I don’t want to get into excuses,” Hibbert told reporters. “I think I was making a lot of excuses throughout the second half of the season and the playoffs so I decided to take it into my own hands and change it around.” Marcin Gortat was nearly as impressive for Washington but point guard John Wall endured a second straight tough shooting night and the Wizards could not overcome the lack of production in Game 2.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE PACERS: Indiana made some news between the first two games of the series when George posted a picture to Instagram of himself fishing with Hibbert and George Hill, suggesting that the team remains tight and rumors of off-court chemistry issues are baseless. The Pacers certainly played like a team with plenty of chemistry in Game 2 as Hibbert was aggressive from the start and his teammates kept feeding him the ball en route to a 10-of-13 shooting effort. “First of all, (Hibbert) made a decision that he’s going to step up and sometimes you have a game where the ball bounces your way or the coverage leaves you as the open man,” coach Frank Vogel told reporters afterward. “…We didn’t call any more plays for Roy tonight than we have all series. That’s the remarkable thing. He did this on his own.”
ABOUT THE WIZARDS: Washington went 10-of-16 from 3-point range in Game 1 behind Trevor Ariza’s 6-of-6 effort but missed 15 of its 21 attempts from beyond the arc in Game 2. Wall had the toughest time, going 2-of-13 from the field and missing all four of his 3-point attempts en route to six points. “Some nights you’re going to miss shots, but I didn’t play great,” Wall told reporters. “I feel like I lost the game for my team.” Even with Wall and Ariza (2-of-8) struggling through off-nights the Wizards were in a position to win Game 2 with a three-point lead and under five minutes left before going cold down the stretch.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. George was held to 11 points on Wednesday - his lowest scoring performance of the playoffs.
2. Indiana lost its only trip to the Wizards in the regular season 91-78 on Mar. 28.
3. Washington G Bradley Beal is averaging 21 points, seven assists, six rebounds and 3.5 steals in the first two games.