At 8:00 p.m. ET on TNT, the Indiana Pacers, who held the Washington Wizards to a record-low 63 points in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Round 2 matchup will attempt to put the series in a stranglehold in Game 4 by going up 3-1. Live stream the game for free by clicking this link; Pacers fans can find the radio broadcast on 1070 The Fan, while Wizards fans may do the same on WFED-AM 1500.
The Pacers' struggles aren't completely gone, but center Roy Hibbert's play has picked up considerably and Indiana's stout defense was in full effect one game ago.
"Sometimes teams go through tough stretches. We just went through ours toward the end of the year. But we were playing (great) basketball in the beginning of the year. Normally it's the complete opposite -- going through struggles early and figuring it out," Pacers point guard George Hill said.
"Now we're starting to get back, and things are starting to click the right way. And we're starting to get our mojo back."
Offensively they are still a work in progress as Paul George's performance on that end has slipped since Round 1, but head coach Frank Vogel is more impressed by the defensive showing. "That's what we want to be," Vogel said.
"We had great regular-season success by being a dominant defensive team -- limiting the 3-ball, keeping teams out of transition, limiting teams to one shot, being a dominant defensive rebounding team -- and that's who our identity is."
The Wizards were a popular pick to move on to the Eastern Finals in this series thanks to their electric backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal, but that pair's been frustrated against the Pacers D.
They didn't make anything easy. They were all together on one page on the defensive end," Beal said, adding: "I didn't feel comfortable."
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