Washington Wizards forward Nene (42) of Brazil shoots between Indiana Pacers guard George Hill and Indiana Pacers forward David West (21) during the second half of Game 3 of an Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff game in Washington, Friday, May 9, 2014. The Pacers won 85-63. (AP Photo)
WASHINGTON, May 10 (AP): With an emphasis on defense, Paul George, Roy Hibbert and the rest of the Indiana Pacers are suddenly performing the way they did at the start of the season. And they don't care how ugly the product might look.
Playing precisely the way they did to earn the No. 1 seed — before a late-season swoon — the Pacers held the Wizards to a franchise-low scoring total Friday night to win 85-63 and take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. "Listen, we don't worry about if we're looking good for TV. The other teams can do that, can fill that void with fancy basketball. We don't worry about that," Indiana forward David West said. "We're OK with this. We can win games in the 80s."
Set aside George's 23 points, and neither team looked good on offense. Not at all. It was 17-all after the first quarter, and the Pacers led 34-33 at halftime, only the 13th time teams combined for 67 or fewer points in a playoff game in the shot-clock era, according to STATS. After allowing 102 points in Washington's Game 1 victory, Indiana has won two in a row, including holding the Wizards to 82 in Game 2.
Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday night in Washington. "This was probably the ugliest game of the postseason thus far. This is our style of basketball," said George, who helped limit Bradley Beal to 6-for-19 shooting. "That's what we do. Whether you like it or not, are a fan of watching our games or not, defense is what we hang our hats on."
Washington made only 24 field goals, a team postseason worst, on 73 attempts, 32.9 percent. That included 4 of 16 on 3s, and it didn't get much better on free throws, where the Wizards were 11 of 21. "A clunker," Wizards coach Randy Wittman called it. The Wizards never had scored fewer than 75 points in a playoff game — the previous low came in a first-round series-ending victory against Chicago 1½ weeks ago — or fewer than 64 in a regular-season game. The 63 points also matched the fourth-lowest total by any club since 1954-55, according to STATS.
"They took us out of our comfort zone offensively," Wizards forward Drew Gooden said. "We were overly confident. ... This is a humbling experience for us." So much for the bandwagon-hopping in Washington. There were boos on occasion, and most of the fans started heading to the exits after George's 3 with 3½ minutes left made it 75-58. The 7-foot-2 Hibbert was again a factor for Indiana at both ends, coming up with three blocks and forcing Washington's players to alter other shots. He also contributed 14 points and five rebounds.
Before tip-off Friday, Pacers coach Frank Vogel was asked if he sensed which version of Hibbert would show up — the zero-point, zero-rebound disaster of Game 1 or the 28-point, nine-rebound dominator of Game 2. Vogel's reply, offered with a smile: "Probably somewhere in the middle of Game 1 and Game 2." Turned out to be exactly right. "In the past two games," George said about the All-Star center, "he's been great at just defending our basket."
Beal's perspective? "I'm 6-3, 6-4. He's 7-2," Beal said. "So you do the math." John Wall, Washington's point guard, had five turnovers in his previous four games, but he had seven Friday, to go along with 15 points and six assists. Trevor Ariza had 12 points, but zero in the second half. Marcin Gortat scored four points one game after having 21.
Thunder go one up on Clippers
LOS ANGELES, May 10 (AP): Kevin Durant scored 36 points, Russell Westbrook added 23 and the Oklahoma City Thunder outplayed the Los Angeles Clippers in the fourth quarter for a 118-112 victory Friday night and a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal.
Serge Ibaka added 20 points and Westbrook had 13 assists for the Thunder in a game that neither team ever led by double digits. Blake Griffin scored 34 points, and Chris Paul added 21 points and 16 assists for the Clippers, who saw their four-point lead disappear for good early in the fourth quarter. Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford added 20 points. Oklahoma City led 113-107 on Durant's turnaround jumper with 1:23 left. It followed Westbrook's 3-pointer after the Clippers had closed within 108-107 when Griffin muscled in for a layup.
Game 4 is Sunday at Staples Center. The Thunder shot 56 percent, and controlled the paint and fastbreak points against a Clippers team that never got into their favored run-and-gun mode. J.J. Redick, who got off to a hot start in Game 2, was held to five points on 1-of-6 shooting. DeAndre Jordan was never a factor for the Clippers either, with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Matt Barnes gave them a lift with 14 points.
The Thunder gradually pulled away in the fourth, scoring eight straight points, including Durant's three-point play, to take the lead for good. Former Clipper Caron Butler hit three 3-pointers to give his team the lead and then extend it. Emotions boiled in the third, with double technicals called on Barnes and Kendrick Perkins, who stared hard at each other. Perkins took a step toward Barnes but got pushed away by Westbrook. By then, Griffin was already bloodied. He got hit in the face by Ibaka, but the only call by the referees was 3 seconds on the Clippers.
Griffin held a towel to his gushing nose and changed his jersey during a timeout. The Clippers rallied at the end of the period, outscoring the Thunder 8-0 to take a 90-86 lead. They did it on free throws except for Griffin's basket. Reggie Jackson was called for a foul and a technical, and then Durant fouled Crawford on a 3-point attempt with less than a second left. He made all three. Neither team led by more than seven points in the first half, when the lead changed hands 14 times and there were seven ties. Ibaka had three fouls and Thabo Sefolosha two for the Thunder.
