The Washington Wizards continued their slide Wednesday in a 114-101 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday. Despite having an overwhelming talent advantage on paper, the Wizards looked inferior to a Pacers team that knew how to execute even without Tyrese Haliburton on the floor.
The Wizards started the game positively enough, with a renewed focus on crashing the glass. They won the rebounding battle 16-11 in the first quarter and had 6 offensive boards, leading to 8 second-chance
points.
Anthony Davis had six points in the period, while AJ Dybantsa showed a little sauce with a sweet reverse in transition. Washington trailed 26-25 after one.
Tre Johnson had the hot hand before halftime. He scored 8 of his 13 first-half points in the opening minutes of the second quarter to give the Wizards a 37-31 edge.
But Washington quite literally gave that lead away to close out the half. Dybantsa and Kyshawn George combined for 7 early turnovers, including three live-ball miscues in the final two minutes leading to easy Indiana points. The visiting Wizards trailed 55-50 at the break.
Trae Young was virtually a non-factor in the first half. He had just 3 points and 2 assists, and didn’t even take a shot in the second quarter. Johnson led the way with 13 off the bench.
The Pacers tried to pull away in the third quarter. A Pascal Siakam triple gave Indiana a 69-59 lead midway through the period. Anthony Davis responded with a personal 7-0 run, which keyed an 18-8 Wizards spurt to end the third. The two teams were tied at 77 entering the fourth.
The Wizards were simply outclassed in the final 12 minutes. The Pacers started the fourth quarter on a 14-0 run that mercifully ended with a Dybantsa dunk at the 8:45 mark. Indiana’s veterans generated open looks seemingly at will while also pummeling Washington inside on Siakam drives and Ivica Zubac post-ups.
The difference in offensive execution between the two teams was stark in Wednesday’s game. The Pacers tallied 29 assists even without Haliburton on the floor. Andrew Nembhard nearly had more assists (10) than the entire Wizards team (12). The small silver lining is that Washington won the rebounding battle 58-52.
George led the Wizards with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists on 9-of-20 shooting. However, his 6 turnovers made it hard to feel good about his performance. Dybantsa scored 13 points on a 6-of-15 clip and missed all four of his three-point attempts. Davis had another 20-10 night, while Young had an unimpactful 15 points and 4 assists.
The Wizards get right back on the court tomorrow for the second night of a back-to-back against the Detroit Pistons at Capital One Arena.
