The Indiana Pacers moved a step closer to locking up homecourt advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 104-98 win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyrese Haliburton added 22 points and six assists as the team secured its fifth consecutive victory.
The Pacers improved to 48-31, maintaining a firm hold on the No. 4 seed in the East, three games ahead of Milwaukee with three games remaining.
Despite shooting just 37.9 percent from the field and 25.7 percent from beyond the arc, Indiana capitalized at the free-throw line by converting 29 of its 37 attempts.
Siakam’s go-ahead layup with 2:04 left in the fourth gave the Pacers a 94-92 lead, and timely threes from Aaron Nesmith and Myles Turner helped seal the win.
Turner’s three-pointer with under a minute to play extended the margin to 100-94, effectively putting the game out of reach.
Bennedict Mathurin chipped in 17 points off the bench for the Pacers, while Obi Toppin contributed 12 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.
Myles Turner added 14 points and 11 rebounds despite shooting 4-for-13 from the field and 1-for-7 from deep.
The Wizards, who fell to 17-62, dropped their third straight and sixth in the past seven games, remaining at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
Justin Champagnie posted 20 points and 13 rebounds for Washington, while rookie center Alex Sarr delivered a double-double with 20 points, 12 boards, and three blocks.
Jordan Poole finished with 19 points in 19 minutes on 7-for-14 shooting, but Washington’s offense faltered after a hot first quarter.
The Wizards opened the game with a 35-point first quarter but managed only 13 in the second, resulting in a 48-48 halftime score.
Indiana outscored Washington 32-25 in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback and secure the win.
The Wizards were held to 41.8 percent shooting overall and just 28.2 percent from long distance, connecting on 11-of-39 from beyond the arc.
Washington also committed 11 turnovers, leading to 14 Indiana points.
The Pacers were without Isaiah Jackson, Ben Sheppard, and Quenton Jackson due to injury and G League assignment, while the Wizards were missing several key rotation players including Malcolm Brogdon, Saddiq Bey, and Corey Kispert.
Anthony Gill left the game early with right hamstring soreness after logging just seven minutes and going scoreless.
The loss marked Washington’s 62nd of the season, and with two more defeats in their final three games, they would match the second-worst record in franchise history, behind only last year’s 17-65 finish.
The Pacers have now won eight of their last ten games and are positioned to enter the postseason with a favorable first-round matchup if they can maintain the fourth seed.
