Indiana Pacers stumble and fall to Washington Wizards behind ugly performance

The Pacers took their only trip to DC of the season on Friday night

The Indiana Pacers continued their road trip on Friday night as they took on the Washington Wizards in DC. The Wizards have been struggling this season, but the Pacers have some bad losses on the schedule. The blue and gold were the favorites. They still needed to be focused.

Indiana was hoping to bounce back from a dramatic, intense game on Wednesday in which they fell to the Milwaukee Bucks. A win would give the Pacers five wins in their last six games.

The game opened with some longer possessions for Indiana, which is rare. The action was tied at five after about two minutes, but it took more work than normal for the Pacers to score. They looked substandard to get things going.

Washington kept pushing and went up by five early, but the blue and gold responded with a 5-0 run to tie things up again. In that short burst, the Pacers started to look like themselves again. Their energy level was better.

They took the lead soon after, and the Wizards took a timeout in response. The home team's great start was already for nothing.

Coming out of the stoppage, the game turned into a back-and-forth battle. There were eight lead changes in the first nine minutes of the game, neither team was able to create any separation on the scoreboard.

Indiana's bench group was able to change that. They were able to get the Pacers into the lead late in the quarter, and they were having no trouble outpacing Washington's second unit. The lead got as high as seven.

After one period, Indiana was ahead by that same margin at 37-30. Obi Toppin was the leading scorer for the blue and gold with seven points.

The second frame began with a Wizards run that cut into the lead. Indiana's defense was rough early in this game, and Washington was able to get a solid look on many possessions throughout the first half. That made it hard for the Pacers to go on a big run.

The Wizards were able to tie the game at 40 later in the quarter. They were on an 8-0 run at the time. The Pacers looked flat to start the second period, which they opened 1/7 from the field.

Washington took the lead soon after via a three by Corey Kispert, who was playing extremely well. The Wizards' run climbed to 13-0 as they took a five-point lead, and that forced Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle to take a timeout.

The blue and gold finally ended the Wizards run at 15-0, but they were still struggling on both ends. With just under six minutes to go in the second quarter, they were shooting about 40% from the field.

Washington went up by as many as 14 points in the second period. The Pacers looked miserable in the quarter. Late in the frame, they were able to temporarily get the advantage down into single digits, but the Wizards instantly responded.

The quarter ended with a scoreline of 39-18 in favor of the home team. They were ahead 69-55 at halftime. Indiana had nine turnovers and 14 fouls in the first half. Isaiah Jackson was leading the way with 12 points.

The Pacers needed to be much better in the second half if they were going to have a chance. Instead, they watched the Wizards expand their lead to open the third quarter. The blue and gold was down by 19 points with 9:21 to go in the third quarter. They were playing awful.

Indiana upped their pace and intensity slightly over the next few minutes, but they still couldn't get enough stops to cut into the lead significantly. A few baskets from Toppin pushed the lead down to 13 with 6:40 to go in the third period, but Indiana needed more consistent play on defense if they were going to make a comeback.

Instead, the Wizards kept rolling. With 4:45 to go in the third quarter, they grew their lead back up to 19 after a three-point shot from Tyus Jones. Indiana wasn't doing anything well.

Washington ballooned their lead over 20 late in the frame. They were crushing the Pacers. The Wizards were rolling, and the road team had no answers. Jordan Poole and Kispert were playing very well offensively.

The third quarter ended with the Wizards ahead 108-87. It was, to that point, one of the Pacers worst outings of the season. If they didn't have a good final quarter, they were set up for their most disappointing night of the campaign.

Winning time opened with news that Tyrese Haliburton had a left knee contusion. He was available to return to the game, but given how big the deficit was, a return didn't make a ton of sense barring a comeback.

The Pacers played a bit better early in the fourth quarter. They were at least keeping pace with Washington instead of watching the game get out of hand. But they weren't going to win without several stops in a row at some point.

They were able to make a few defensive stands, but their offense couldn't quite score enough to come all the way back. With just under six minutes to go in the game, the blue and gold were able to reduce the Wizards lead to 12 after a three by Buddy Hield.

That didn't last long, and with 4:11 to go, Washington was back up by 17. They were headed for victory. Washington controlled the game for the next few minutes to put things out of reach.

Lottery pick Jarace Walker and offensive weapon Jordan Nwora made some nice plays to end the game for the Pacers. In the end, they fell to the Wizards 137-123.

Jackson was the star for the Pacers with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Haliburton finished with 19 points and 11 assists. Toppin had 16 points.

The Pacers are now 13-10 and next play tomorrow night on the road in Minnesota.

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