May 10, 2014
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
Playing at home, in front of the hometown fans, seemed to be just the motivation the Wizards needed to get back on track after their Game 2 loss. Instead, Washington looked slow and tired as they missed shot after shot Friday night and fell to the Pacers for the second straight game. They now trail the Pacers 2-1 in the series.
Both teams seemed pretty anemic in the first half, each scoring less than 20 points. But while the Pacers came out of the locker room with a revived offense, the Wizards seemed to lose confidence. Trailing by just one (34-33) at half-time, Indiana outscored them 51-30 in the second half, holding Washington to a franchise low 63 points.
Coach Randy Wittman had no real explanation for the performance. “This really was a clunker for us. There is no question about it,” he said. But he seemed optimistic, noting their strong performance in the playoffs thus far. “It was our first one of the playoffs. We’ve got to let it go. We can play better.”
The Wizards will have a chance to redeem themselves in Game 4, Sunday night at Verizon Center. Here’s hoping they give their fans something to cheer about.
