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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. Alexei Kovalev Jersey . -- Blake Griffin scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 22 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 98-96 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. Noah Juulsen Jersey .com) - Tonight will go a long way in determining the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference. http://www.canadienssale.com/customized/ . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Tomas Tatar Canadiens Jersey .com) - The 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes continue a four-game homestand at Value City Arena on Wednesday night when they face off against the High Point Panthers in a non-conference matchup. Howie Morenz Jersey . Ryu (8-3) allowed a run and three hits in six innings and struck out six in his 13th start. In his first 13 starts last season -- his first in the major leagues -- the left-hander was 8-5 with a 2.85 ERA. This was the ninth time this year that Ryu has allowed fewer than three earned runs, and he is 7-0 in those games.Champions Tour golfer Steve Elkington drew plenty of attention over social media on Tuesday, sending out out two comments on Twitter about NFL prospect Michael Sam. "ESPN covering Michael Sam as a gay athlete is embarrassing..." read the first tweet. Hours later, Elkington tweeted, "ESPN reporting Michael Sam is leading the handbag throw at NFL combine...No one else expected to throw today." Elkington then clarified his remarks to a respondent, tweeting: "Im for Sam Im against ESPN telling me hes gay...." Sam, the Missouri defensive end who was the SEC defensive player of the year, could be the first openly gay player in the NFL if hes drafted in May. They werent Elkingtons first controversial comments made via Twitter..dddddddddddd Earlier this month, he made a misogynistic comment on the platform about a female golf writer and later apologized, saying that he had "been drinking." Late last year, he also made a remark about a fatal helicopter crash in Glasgow that killed eight people. "Helicopter crashes into Scottish pub... Locals report no beer was spilled," he wrote. During last years Senior British Open at the Royal Birkdale course in Southport, the Australian tweeted: "Couple caddies got rolled by some Pakkis (Pakistanis), bad night for them." And that followed a Twitter post in which Elkington wrote, "Things about Southport - fat tattooed guy, fat tattooed girl, trash, Pakistani robber guy, [expletive] food." ' ' '