The Washington Wizards could’ve easily packed it in, retired on the laurels of a resurgent season and surprising playoff showing and spent their summer focused on the future, bright and brilliant as it may well be.
Blame it on pride, perhaps, but John Wall and Marcin Gortat, who combined for 58 points in Washington’s 102-79 Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night, were far from ready to give up the fight.
With Indy’s series lead cut to 3-2, the focus now shifts back to D.C., where Wall and Co. will look to pull off what on paper seems improbable, until you remember these Pacers—bipolar basketball if ever such a thing existed—just refuse to play a stable part.
More than anything else, Tuesday’s tilt was an exercise in enthusiasm. Washington brought it, buoyed by Gortat’s low-post presence and Wall’s hot right hand—outwardly, the oddest of basketball pairings, until you appreciate the yin and the yang of the scowls and smiles.
Indiana? Its exertion can be summed up in a singular stat: a 62-23 rebounding margin that, somehow, looked far ...
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Article written by Jim Cavan
Monster Performances from Wall, Gortat Halt Indiana Pacers’ Resurgence
May 13th, 2014 by Jim Cavan Leave a reply »
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