If you had something better to do on a Friday night than watch Wizards basketball, here’s the quick summary: the Wizards played well, and the Indiana Pacers played poorly. The result: Washington broke their six-game losing streak with a resounding 137-123 victory.
It was the team’s best defensive performance since their last win (November 27 against the Detroit Pistons), and their fourth best defensive game of the season. While the Pacers missed an array of shots they normally make, the Wizards also hustled into closeouts, contested shots, and competed on the boards.
They still gave up too many offensive rebounds — Isaiah Jackson had six in just 20 minutes of action — but the guards came back to help, they induced Indy turnovers, and generally made the Pacers offense work.