WASHINGTON — The doubts raised about the Indiana Pacers were more than justified. The way they dispatched the Washington Wizards shows that perhaps the Pacers have dismissed any and all dysfunction.
Roy Hibbert revived himself in Game 2. Team defense smothered the way to a win in Game 3. Paul George went off for 39 points in Game 4. And, after an ugly Game 5, David West came up big in the clincher.
West scored 29 points Thursday night, the Pacers blew a 16-point second-half lead but pulled away late in a 93-80 win that ousted the Wizards in six games.
“With all the adversity, we kept pulling together,” West said. “Guys just showed unbelievable grit, unbelievable toughness.”
So, for all their mysterious slumps and chemistry curiosities, the Pacers are back where they were last season — playing the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. Game 1 against the two-time defending NBA champions is Sunday in Indianapolis.
“We just keep a bubble,” said Hibbert, whose off-and-on disappearing act was one of the more baffling late-season developments. “We don’t try to let our emotions show too much. Sometimes it does. But we stuck together.”
Indiana took Miami to seven games a year ago. If the Pacers spread the wealth the way they did against the Wizards, LeBron James and the Heat could be in for a tough series.
On Thursday, it was West’s turn. He went 13 for 26 from the field — a career playoff-high in shot attempts. His pair of jumpers, including a tough fade-away, started a game-ending 20-6 run after Bradley Beal’s 3-pointer gave the Wizards a one-point lead with 8½ minutes to play.
“When David West has that look, when he’s assertive and he demands the ball, I know we’re in good hands,” said George, who was just 4 for 11 and scored 12 points. “He’s never failed us when he’s given us that look and he’s told us in the huddles, ‘Get me the ball.’”
Marcin Gortat scored 19 points, and John Wall had 12 points and nine assists for the Wizards, who ended their best playoff run in decades. Washington won a playoff series for the first time since 2005 and a second-round game for the first time since 1982.
The Wizards were ultimately undone by an inability to win at home, going just 1-4 at the Verizon Center and 5-1 on the road in the playoffs.
The future looks bright, however, with youngsters Wall and Beal manning the backcourt.
“Nobody expected us to be here,” Wall said. “I think a lot of teams respect us now. We definitely made Indiana earn it.”
They appeared to have a fix on the home-court demons when Beal stole a rebound from Hibbert, then hit the 3-pointer that put the Wizards up 74-73.
But that was Washington’s only lead of the second half. The Wizards went five minutes without a point, including a span of three turnovers in four possessions, and scored only two field goals the rest of the way.
“We spent so much energy trying to just make that comeback,” Beal said, “we just ended up being dead at the end.”
Thunder 104,
Clippers 98
LOS ANGELES — Kevin Durant had 39 points and 16 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the Western Conference finals with a 104-98 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6 on Thursday night.
Russell Westbrook overcame a slow start to finish with 19 points and 12 assists as the Thunder reached the conference finals for the third time in four years, closing out Los Angeles with two straight wins.
Two days after the Thunder erased a late 13-point deficit to win Game 5, the Thunder rallied from an early 16-point deficit and maintained their lead throughout the fourth quarter, shaking off any memories of their Game 4 collapse.
Chris Paul had 25 points and 11 assists, and Blake Griffin scored 22 points as the Clippers’ exhausting postseason ended in disappointment.
Durant hit five 3-pointers and Reggie Jackson added 14 points for Oklahoma City, which will face the Spurs in a rematch of the West’s last two champions. The series begins Monday night in San Antonio.
J.J. Redick scored 16 points for the Clippers, who followed their epic collapse in Game 5 with a disappointing second half at home. Despite a raucous home crowd, Los Angeles won’t play for its first trip to a conference finals.
Perhaps the cumulative pressure of two playoff series amid the distractions of owner Donald Sterling’s lifetime ban finally cost the Clippers, who couldn’t keep up late.
Or perhaps Durant is just that good.
The Clippers were in control for most of the first three quarters. But the league MVP kept the Thunder close and eventually ignited a 30-10 run stretching across the final two quarters. Westbrook, who didn’t have a field goal until late in the third quarter, contributed 10 points in the fourth as the Thunder comfortably maintained their lead.
By wire sources
