Wizards’ Home Woes Undoing in Playoff Elimination

Leading up to Game 6 against the Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat told anybody who would listen that he would have preferred for the pivotal game to be on the road, where the Wizards were an impressive 5-1 during the playoffs.

Perhaps Gortat had a point. The Wizards' season ended Thursday in a 93-80 loss to the Pacers, leaving them 1-4 at Verizon Center this postseason and still without a second-round home victory since April 29, 1979. To put that into perspective, only one member of Washington's roster -- guard Andre Miller -- was alive when that happened over 35 years ago.

"Maybe we have to be locked before the game in the hotel and have a team breakfast in the morning, have two buses from the hotel to the game," Gortat told reporters.

The Wizards have now lost six straight home games when facing elimination. Entering the game, it was the second-longest streak in NBA history according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Once again, it came down to crunch time, and the Wizards failed to deliver in the clutch. Over the six games, the Wizards shot 16.7 percent from the field with six turnovers when the score was within five points in the last five minutes. Meanwhile, the Pacers shot 64.3 percent in the same situation.

Despite the loss, the Wizards are encouraged by their overall direction.

"Nobody expected us to be here," guard John Wall told reporters. "I think a lot of teams respect us now."