Allgemeines » the Lakers. They trailed just 57-54 at halftime and clos

WASHINGTON - Just when it appeared that the intensity of a playoff run was getting to be too much for the Washington Wizards, they pull off a solid win over the Indiana Pacers. And the Pacers? They played so poorly that it made this weeks win over the Miami Heat look more like an aberration in some late-season doldrums. John Wall scored 20 points, and Marcin Gortat added 17 points and 12 rebounds Friday night as the Wizards avenged two of their biggest losses of the season, never trailing in a 91-78 win over the cold-shooting, turnover-prone Pacers. "Were at the point where we cant just get up for the Miamis or the Chicago Bulls and then come out and get doughnuts against the Wizards or these other teams," said David West, who committed four of Indianas 17 turnovers. "I just dont know if we are handling success and being out front the right way." The Heat beat the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, essentially negating Indianas victory over Miami on Wednesday in the standings. The Pacers lead is back to two games atop the Eastern Conference. "The game Wednesday doesnt mean anything if we dont get the one tonight, and were back at square one," Pacers guard George Hill said. "We gave up another game where we should have won." The Wizards, meanwhile, sit sixth in the East and are almost certainly playoff-bound for the first time since 2008, but their recent uninspired play had led to questions as to whether young players Wall and Bradley Beal had the mettle for a post-season push. Washington had lost four of five, with games featuring wild swings and deficits too big to make up. "Our intensity level for 48 minutes had waned," coach Randy Wittman said. "And wed lost that edge a little bit, in terms of we waited until we got down before we really played with effort and intensity." Not so Friday night against the Pacers, who are responsible for two of Washingtons three losses by 20-plus points this season. This was one of those prove-yourself wins that counts a little extra. "They had our number the first two games," Beal said. "They played way more physical than we did. They kind of did whatever they wanted to when they were at home, but once we got them here we did a great job of just hitting them — and we kept hitting them throughout the whole game." Paul George scored 19 points, and Lance Stephenson had 13 points and matched a career-high with 14 rebounds for the Pacers, who have lost a season-high four straight road games. Indiana committed five turnovers in the first four minutes Friday and shot 35 per cent overall. By halftime, the Pacers were up to 10 turnovers. No. 11 came on the first possession of the second half, when centre Roy Hibbert threw the ball out of bounds. After scoring in the 70s only once in their first 69 games, the Pacers have held below 80 in three of their last four. "Im tired of talking about it," said Hibbert, who went 3-for-8 from the field and had only two rebounds. "Weve been in this rut for a month. I dont know. Ive made my suggestions. You take one step forward and three steps back. One game, and then we play like this. ... Weve talked about that for great length amongst ourselves, private team meetings, all that (stuff), and I dont know." The Pacers finished 2-for-13 from 3-point range. Stephenson went 3-for-13 and missed all five of his 3-pointers. George was 6-for-22 and was unhappy he didnt get more calls. "Its just crazy," George said. "We played against a team the other night where if you breathe on the guy (LeBron James) you know he went to the line. Im not saying Im that calibre player, but its just frustrating." As poorly as the Pacers played, the Wizards didnt truly pull away until late in the third quarter. Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster hit 3-pointers in a 10-0 run that made the score 77-56 early in the fourth. Ariza finished just 2 for 12 from the field, and Bradley Beal was 2 for 13. "We guarded our butts off," Beal said. "We didnt necessarily shoot it too well, but we definitely defended." NOTES: Beal played 35 minutes despite suffering a hip pointer in Wednesdays loss to the Phoenix Suns. ... Al Harrington accounted for all of the points in a 10-0 run by the Wizards over 2 1/2 minutes in the second quarter. Adidas NMD Scontate . -- Two nights after losing to the Eastern Conferences worst team, the Phoenix Coyotes handled the best. NMD Outlet Italia . Goins is the early favourite to win the starting job at second base. Pillar is an outsider to secure a role off the bench, which becomes an even more difficult spot to win if the number of back up jobs is reduced by one. That happens if the Blue Jays decide to start the season with an eight man bullpen. http://www.adidasnmditalia.it/ .com) - One point guard will return, while another will sit when the Minnesota Timberwolves visit American Airlines Center to take on the Dallas Mavericks. Scarpe NMD Italia .The McLaren MP4-30 was launched on Thursday, with chief executive Ron Dennis saying it marks the start of a lengthy journey back to winning grands prix and eventually world championships.McLaren, which hasnt won a grand prix since 2012, will be using Honda engines for the first time since 1992, and has signed two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to partner Jenson Button for the upcoming season. Adidas NMD Online Italia .C. - Alberta prop Andrew Tiedemann will captain Canada against Uruguay on Friday, the opening day of competition at the IRB Americas Rugby Championship.INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana already had the leagues No. 1 defence. The Lakers discovered Tuesday that the Pacers offence is becoming just as potent. Paul George had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists, newcomer Evan Turner and five other Pacers reached double figures, and the top team in the East blew out the worst team in the West, 118-98. "Were probably one of the deepest teams in the NBA, where one through 15 can actually really play," Pacers guard George Hill said after scoring 14 points. "It shows that if we continue to move the ball and share the ball like that, it can be anybodys night." This is precisely what Indiana (43-13) envisioned when it pulled the trigger on the biggest deal before last Thursdays deadline. Team president Larry Bird spent most of the off-season reconstructing a bench that didnt quite get the job done against Miami in last years Eastern Conference finals. So hes continued tweaking it throughout the season, signing former All-Star centre Andrew Bynum 3 1/2 weeks ago and then sending former All-Star Danny Granger to Philadelphia for Turner and Lavoy Allen. The Pacers looked like a more explosive team in the second half of Turners first game. He finished with 13 points and six rebounds and was 6 of 12 from the field, leading the Pacers bench to a season-best 50 points. "Hes on this team and Im on the same page as him," George said. "Hes a player who can make shots and make things happen. Hes a huge talent for us and its great to have him here." The addition of Turner certainly helped the Pacers maintain their grip on the leagues best record and best home record (27-3). Indiana is now two full games ahead of Miami in the chase for home-court advantage in the East. Indiana appears to have all the pieces in place, too, though Tuesday nights big game came against a reeling team that has lost six of its last seven while playing without Kobe Bryant. But the Pacers didnt change the blueprint. In addition to the big games from George, Hill and Turner, Indiana also got 13 points from Lance Stephenson; 11 points and 12 rebounds from David West; 10 points, six rebounds and four blocks from Roy Hibbert and 11 more points frrom C.ddddddddddddJ. Watson, who missed only one shot all night. Ian Mahinmi and Luis Scola each scored nine points, too, and Stephenson was the only Indiana player to log more than 28 minutes. There was no defensive letdown, either. Los Angeles (19-38) shot 43.3 per cent from the field, 34.8 per cent on 3-pointers and got demolished on the glass, 62-42, as Indiana grabbed a season-high 21 offensive rebounds. Newly acquired guard Kent Bazemore finished with 23 points, the third straight game hes had a career high since he was traded to the Lakers from Golden State. Wesley Johnson added 15 points, while Pau Gasol and Jodie Meeks each had 13. But it was an abysmal night for the Lakers, who managed only 16 points in the decisive third quarter and half of their 44 second-half points during the final seven minutes, after they trailed by 33. "Well go back and watch the film and get a better idea of how badly we played," coach Mike DAntoni said. For 2 1/2 quarters, things didnt look so bleak for the Lakers. They trailed just 57-54 at halftime and closed to 59-58 when Gasol knocked down a 15-foot jumper early in the third quarter. The Pacers didnt let it get any closer. West answered with a tip-in and Hill followed with five straight points to make it 66-59. Then George accounted for 10 quick points in a 14-5 run that pushed Indianas lead to 80-66. After a layup from Chris Kaman, the Pacers closed the quarter on an 11-2 run that included Watsons 3 with two seconds left to make it 91-70 after three. Indianas 12-6 run to start the fourth quarter gave them a 103-76 lead and the Lakers couldnt get closer than 19 the rest of the way. "Its good to have another guy out there that can put the ball on the floor, get in the paint and make plays," George said of Turner. "I think we are kind of perfect for his game." Notes: Indiana has the NBAs top two single-game rebounding totals this season, both against the Lakers. They outrebounded Los Angeles 63-43 on Jan. 28. ... Los Angeles had won its previous three games in Indy. ... Turner received polite applause when he entered the game for the first time with about 4 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter. ' ' '