Pacers at Wizards
As Washington backs toward a playoff berth, Indiana is in danger of fading out of the picture. The Wizards, who have won five in a row at home, lost the last three games of a four-game trip to fall to 9-16 since Jan. 28, but are close to earning their second straight playoff berth and would need to collapse to fall out of the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference. Washington was outscored by an average of 23.3 points in the three straight losses, capped by a 107-76 loss at Golden State on Monday.
Indiana's six-game slide is two shy of a season high and has Frank Vogel's squad in 10th place in the East, a game behind Boston for the eighth and final playoff spot. Like the Wizards, the Pacers - who lost 110-100 at home against Houston on Monday - have had a hard time stopping opponents on the defensive end of late, allowing over 100 points in four of their last five games and a total of 223 in the last two. Washington took the two previous meetings in a span of four days back in November, and the teams will play once more in Indiana on April 14.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE PACERS (30-40): Houston's James Harden made 21-of-22 free throws and the Rockets attempted 18 more than Indiana on Monday, which continued a recent issue for the Pacers, who have taken 60 fewer foul shots than their opponents during the six-game slide. "I think that sometimes we take the easy way out," center Roy Hibbert told the Indianapolis Star after the loss to Houston. "In the years past, we've been able to earn no calls and get stops, and I think the easier way out [this season] has been to foul, myself included." While it may not make a big impact in that area, the Pacers hope to have shooting guard Rodney Stuckey back from a calf injury that kept him out of Monday's game.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (40-31): Washington's 76 points at Golden State represent a season low and the squad was held to one basket in a dismal eight-point third quarter. While that is an extreme example, the Wizards have had some issues on the offensive end after halftime all season, entering Tuesday ranking 24th in the league in scoring (47.1) in the second half, compared to 13th in the first half (50.2). They have been outscored by an average of 15.3 points after the break over the course of the three-game slide.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pacers F Solomon Hill had a career-high 28 points in the previous meeting with Washington on Nov. 8.
2. Wizards All-Star PG John Wall is averaging 13 points - more than four below his season average - on 31.8 percent shooting during the losing streak.
3. Washington PF Kris Humphries (groin) has missed 13 straight games while SG Garrett Temple (hamstring) has sat out seven in a row.