Nothing magical about Pacers win over Wizards

The Pacers defeated the visiting Washington Wizards 93-66 Friday night. The Pacers are now 29-7 and the Wizards are 16-18.
The Big Plays
The Pacers got a nice edge in the second quarter and then pretty much put this one away in the third quarter, which has often been the case this season. The Pacers hit 10 of 15 shots in that second quarter and they put the game away with a 15-4 run going from the end of the second quarter into the early minutes of the third quarter to build a 56-40 lead. The lead was never below double digits after that.
The Ups

The Pacers defense made things difficult for the Wizards Friday night.

1) Wizards point guard John Wall has been one of the best point guards in the league this year at over 19 points and eight assists per game. But in two games against the Pacers, Wall has combined to shoot 8 for 29 from the field with 21 points. It just tells you something about the Pacers defense and how if a team doesn't have more than one consistent weapon, the Pacers are tough to beat. And the 66 points allowed was their best mark of the season and the ninth time they have held an opponent to 80 points or less. It's still all about the defense here and exciting or not, it's what has put the Pacers at the top of the league.
2) I'm not sure you could say David West had been in a bit of a slump or not, but it was good to see West return to form on offense with 20 points. It was his first game of over 20 points since he scored 23 back on Dec. 18 against Miami. It was also good to see because this was a matchup the Pacers needed to win as Trevor Booker is the Wizards power forward. West is certainly one of the leaders on this team and while he doesn't have to be the leading scorer, the Pacers do need him to step up on the scoring end when they have a clear advantage at his position like they did Friday night.
2) If you had never seen Lance Stephenson play before, you would think he had missed maybe a month and was just so anxious to play he couldn't contain himself. But we know that it was just one game and it was good to see the player known as Born Ready back on the court. He finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. So, the triple-double watch never quite hit full throttle. But the best thing about seeing Stephenson return to the court was that he reminds us all it's OK to have fun playing the game and no matter what anybody says, there's nothing wrong with that.
3) This may be my favorite play of the season so far. I'm not saying its the best play, or most meaningful, or anything like that, just my favorite. It came with 5:26 left in the second quarter and the shot clock was winding down at about five seconds. That's when Stephenson found a wide open Roy Hibbert in the corner and the 7-2 center calmly sank a 3-pointer. The best part though may have been Hibbert's reaction. He ran down the court like it was no big deal as the shot gave the Pacers at 34-26 lead. Just another reason to like the big guy, who continues to expand his game.
5) And we can't forget about C.J. Watson here, too. He had a perfect night hitting all six of his shots and all three or his free throws for 16 points. Watson has been a solid addition to this team and Friday night was just another example of why.
The Downs
1) We understand that not even the best players in the world are going to hit all of their free throws. However, the fact the Pacers and Wizards hit 7 of their first 23 free throws was somewhat comical. You know it's bad news when at halftime, you are shooting worse from the free-throw line than you are from the field, and you're not even shooting 50 percent from the field. In the end, it didn't matter in this game, so really no big deal as far as the Pacers are concerned. They've shot the ball well from the line lately, making being 4 of 11 at the line in the first half all the more fascinating.
Afterthoughts
This was the way you like to see the Pacers play after one of their rare losses. Especially since it was a home game, it was good that it was not interesting. Also, these are the kind of games where you don't want to slip up when you are trying to get the best record in the Eastern Conference or the league. The fact they are one win away from 30 and haven't reached the 40th game of the season is quite a reward for us long-time Pacers fans, who remember those mid-80s seasons when just getting to 30 wins was a step forward.
Next Up
Speaking of teams that would like to get to 30 wins for a season, the Pacers next opponent is the Sacramento Kings at Banker's Life Fieldhouse in a 7 p.m. game Tuesday. The Kings are a bit dangerous in that they are capable of playing a good game every now and then. They beat the Trail Blazers in a home game earlier this week. They are led by DeMarcus Cousins at 23.5 points and 11.5 rebounds a game, newly acquired Rudy Gay at 20 points a game and point guard Isiah Thomas Jr. at 19.4 points and 6.2 assists. The Kings had an 11-22 mark going into Friday night's game against the visiting Orlando Magic.