Pacers at Wizards
A pair of Eastern Conference teams battling for their playoff lives clash when the Washington Wizards host the Indiana Pacers on Saturday. The Pacers lost for the fourth time in five games Friday with a 108-101 decision against Charlotte while Washington saw its four-game winning streak come to an end the same night in a 108-83 rout at Cleveland.
Indiana is 1-8 in the second of back-to-back games since mid-November and hopes to turn that around with the leadership of All-Star Paul George, who scored at least 30 for the 19th time this season after recording 35 on Friday. The Pacers, who are seventh in the East with a one-game lead on ninth-place Chicago, have three of the next four on the road where they are 14-15 with a home game against red-hot San Antonio in the middle. The Wizards had averaged 109 points during their four-game winning streak before turning the ball over 16 times and making 3-of-20 from behind the arc against Cleveland. Washington is 7-3 since the All-Star break and stands a game behind Detroit for the final playoff spot in the East.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, CSN Plus (Washington)
ABOUT THE PACERS (32-30): Indiana, which came into Friday’s action fifth in the league defending the 3-point shot, allowed 13 from beyond the arc and Charlotte’s guards Nicolas Batum and Kemba Walker combined to score 64. Rookie Myles Turner, who was the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in February, has cooled off of late while making 12-of-34 from the field the last four games. The Pacers are showing that they miss C.J. Miles (12.0 points per game), who could miss his eighth straight contest with a calf injury.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (30-31): Point guard and leading scorer John Wall, who scored 17 on Friday, told reporters he jammed his left foot and ankle but should be ready to go Saturday. Recently acquired forward Markieff Morris is averaging 11 points over the last five encounters and Bradley Beal is scoring 15.9 per game while coming off the bench in the last 10 contests. Otto Porter Jr. is 3-for-10 from the field to total nine points in the last two games for Washington, which has lost in its last four tries after reaching .500.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Washington C Martin Gortat (32) and Wall (35) are both in the top eight in the league in double-doubles.
2. Indiana C Ian Mahinmi is averaging 10 points and 11 rebounds over the past two games.
3. The teams split the first two meetings in the three-game season series with each winning on the road.