(The Sports Xchange) – The Indiana Pacers acknowledged the unsightly nature of their latest win against the Washington Wizards, but All-Star forward Paul George will be happy if the remainder of the series continues in a similar slogging manner.
The Pacers held the Wizards to 30 points in the second half, pulling away to win 85-63 on Friday and take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-finals.
“This was probably the ugliest game of the post-season thus far,” George, who scored 23 points, said after Indiana held Washington to its fewest points in franchise history.
“This is our style of basketball. Every now and then this team is fortunate to get hot offensively, but what we do is play defense.”
Center Roy Hibbert added 14 points for the top-seeded Pacers, who began taking control with a second-quarter run and outscored the Wizards 26-12 in the third quarter.
The NBA’s biggest curiosity because of their inexplicable laboring in recent weeks, the Pacers have won two straight in the best-of-seven series.
