Wizards Draw Top-Seeded Pacers in Second Round

The Washington Wizards had been patiently waiting for their second-round opponent after disposing of the Chicago Bulls. They finally found out which team they would face when the top-seeded Indiana Pacers survived a seven-game scare against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.

Series Schedule

Game 1: Washington @ Indiana - Monday, 7:00 p.m. ET (TNT)

Game 2: Washington @ Indiana - Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. ET (TNT)

Game 3: Indiana @ Washington - Friday, 8:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Game 4: Indiana @ Washington - May 11, 8:00 p.m. ET (TNT)

Game 5 (if necessary): Washington @ Indiana - May 13, TBD (TNT)

Game 6 (if necessary): Indiana @ Washington - May 15, TBD (ESPN)

Game 7 (if necessary): Washington @ Indiana - May 18, TBD (TBD)

Season Series

Nov. 29: Indiana 93, Washington 73

Jan. 10: Indiana 93, Washington 66

March 28: Washington 91, Indiana 78

Setting The Pace 

The Pacers were the toast of the Eastern Conference this season, but they limped into the NBA playoffs on a late-season funk. The scrappy Hawks, a sub-.500 team, gave the Pacers more of a test than was expected, nearly becoming the sixth No. 8 seed to win a first-round series. Indiana survived, however, rallying from a 3-2 series deficit for the first time in franchise history to advance.

Indiana is one of the few teams that can match Washington's size down low. Big men Nene and Marcin Gortat will have their hands full with Roy Hibbert, David West and Ian Mahinmi. Hibbert, who had a terrible series against the Hawks, came alive in Game 7, scoring 13 points and grabbing seven rebounds after scoring 20 in the first six games combined.

There is also All-Star swingman Paul George, who has proven that he can take over a game. With Lance Stephenson and George Hill joining George, John Wall and Bradley Beal will not have their way in the backcourt like they did against the Bulls. 


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