Pacers aim to stay the course vs. Wizards
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(SportsNetwork.com) - The Indiana Pacers control their own playoff destiny and look stay on track Tuesday versus the visiting Washington Wizards.
The Pacers are currently a half-game ahead of the Brooklyn Nets for the eighth and final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference and one game behind the Boston Celtics for the No. 7 seed.
Indiana caught a break when the Nets lost to the Chicago Bulls on Monday night and is riding a five-game winning streak. The Pacers survived a 54-point flurry by Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook in Sunday's 116-104 victory and were led by C.J. Miles' 30 points and 10 rebounds.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}George Hill had 19 points, Roy Hibbert added 17 and 10 boards, and David West provided 13 points for Indiana, which made 53 percent for the game and sank 22 of its 35 foul shots.
"These guys have really stayed in the fight, had a great attitude and a great perspective to grind through the tough spots," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "You get in the playoffs, you've got a chance to go somewhere. We're about winning here. We want to win every game."
Miles is averaging 18.0 ppg in his last six games, while Hibbert has recorded three straight double-doubles.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Pacers have prevailed in each of their last four home games and are 22-18 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season. They will close the season Wednesday with a stiff test at Memphis.
An Indiana win Tuesday will eliminate the Miami Heat.
Washington is seeded fifth in the East and will play back-to-back road games against Indiana and Cleveland. It is 17-22 on the road and 2-4 in the past six games as the visitor.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Wizards won for the fifth time in six tries with Sunday's 108-99 triumph versus the Atlanta Hawks, as they stormed out to a 38-22 lead after 12 minutes and took advantage of a short-handed squad.
Atlanta did not have Kyle Korver, Al Horford, DeMarre Carroll or Jeff Teague.
John Wall led the Wizards with 24 points and nine assists, but had 10 of the team's 19 turnovers. Bradley Beal scored 17 points, Marcin Gortat had 15 and both Nene and Paul Pierce scored 14 points. Nene grabbed 10 rebounds for Washington, which shot 46 percent for the game and has the most wins in a season since 1978-79.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They came back and tried to make it a game," Wall said. "They have a great system and great role players."
Washington, which improved to 39-9 when holding teams under 100 points, had a 51-38 rebounding advantage and finished its home schedule with a 29-12 record.
Wall is averaging 21.7 points and 11.5 assists in his last seven games, and Beal is posting an average of 18.9 ppg in the past eight.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Wizards are 2-1 against the Pacers this season, but Indiana has won five of the last eight meetings between the teams. Wall is averaging 27.7 points in three games against the Pacers this season.