WASHINGTON - Just when it appeared that the intensity of a playoff run was getting to be too much for the Washington Wizards, th

WASHINGTON - Just when it appeared that the intensity of a playoff run was getting to be too much for the Washington Wizards, they pull off a solid win over the Indiana Pacers. Nike Air Max 97 On Sale . And the Pacers? They played so poorly that it made this weeks win over the Miami Heat look more like an aberration in some late-season doldrums. John Wall scored 20 points, and Marcin Gortat added 17 points and 12 rebounds Friday night as the Wizards avenged two of their biggest losses of the season, never trailing in a 91-78 win over the cold-shooting, turnover-prone Pacers. "Were at the point where we cant just get up for the Miamis or the Chicago Bulls and then come out and get doughnuts against the Wizards or these other teams," said David West, who committed four of Indianas 17 turnovers. "I just dont know if we are handling success and being out front the right way." The Heat beat the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, essentially negating Indianas victory over Miami on Wednesday in the standings. The Pacers lead is back to two games atop the Eastern Conference. "The game Wednesday doesnt mean anything if we dont get the one tonight, and were back at square one," Pacers guard George Hill said. "We gave up another game where we should have won." The Wizards, meanwhile, sit sixth in the East and are almost certainly playoff-bound for the first time since 2008, but their recent uninspired play had led to questions as to whether young players Wall and Bradley Beal had the mettle for a post-season push. Washington had lost four of five, with games featuring wild swings and deficits too big to make up. "Our intensity level for 48 minutes had waned," coach Randy Wittman said. "And wed lost that edge a little bit, in terms of we waited until we got down before we really played with effort and intensity." Not so Friday night against the Pacers, who are responsible for two of Washingtons three losses by 20-plus points this season. This was one of those prove-yourself wins that counts a little extra. "They had our number the first two games," Beal said. "They played way more physical than we did. They kind of did whatever they wanted to when they were at home, but once we got them here we did a great job of just hitting them — and we kept hitting them throughout the whole game." Paul George scored 19 points, and Lance Stephenson had 13 points and matched a career-high with 14 rebounds for the Pacers, who have lost a season-high four straight road games. Indiana committed five turnovers in the first four minutes Friday and shot 35 per cent overall. By halftime, the Pacers were up to 10 turnovers. No. 11 came on the first possession of the second half, when centre Roy Hibbert threw the ball out of bounds. After scoring in the 70s only once in their first 69 games, the Pacers have held below 80 in three of their last four. "Im tired of talking about it," said Hibbert, who went 3-for-8 from the field and had only two rebounds. "Weve been in this rut for a month. I dont know. Ive made my suggestions. You take one step forward and three steps back. One game, and then we play like this. ... Weve talked about that for great length amongst ourselves, private team meetings, all that (stuff), and I dont know." The Pacers finished 2-for-13 from 3-point range. Stephenson went 3-for-13 and missed all five of his 3-pointers. George was 6-for-22 and was unhappy he didnt get more calls. "Its just crazy," George said. "We played against a team the other night where if you breathe on the guy (LeBron James) you know he went to the line. Im not saying Im that calibre player, but its just frustrating." As poorly as the Pacers played, the Wizards didnt truly pull away until late in the third quarter. Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster hit 3-pointers in a 10-0 run that made the score 77-56 early in the fourth. Ariza finished just 2 for 12 from the field, and Bradley Beal was 2 for 13. "We guarded our butts off," Beal said. "We didnt necessarily shoot it too well, but we definitely defended." NOTES: Beal played 35 minutes despite suffering a hip pointer in Wednesdays loss to the Phoenix Suns. ... Al Harrington accounted for all of the points in a 10-0 run by the Wizards over 2 1/2 minutes in the second quarter. Air Max 97 Cheap Mens . One out away from finishing off an impressive shutout, they let a must-win game slip away. Cheap Air Max 97 All Pink China .com) - Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall left Saturdays game against the Senators in the second period with a left knee injury. http://www.cheapairmax97fromchina.com/ . Mike Vecchione tied it at 2 with 4:01 left in the first, Saskatoon native Eli Lichtenwald gave the Dutchman the lead 57 seconds later, and Daniel Ciampini capped the spree with 2:57 to go.NEW YORK -- Road crowds and fourth-quarter deficits are suddenly no problem for the Toronto Raptors, who have turned from chokers to closers. "Last year we were in a ton of situations, late-game situations we couldnt pull out. Wed kind of fold under the pressure, get frustrated or let a big shot frustrate us," guard DeMar DeRozan said. "Now, we dont let none of that get to us." Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, DeRozan scored 25 and the Raptors rallied for a 95-83 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night. The Raptors trailed by 12 points in the third quarter but outscored the Knicks 29-12 in the fourth to take the opener of a home-and-home series. "Second half we picked it up defensively and offensively. We got the ball up the floor a little bit faster, picked up the pace in that third and fourth quarter, and really made a charge down the stretch," point guard Kyle Lowry said. Lowry had 15 points and 11 assists for the Atlantic Division leaders, who host the Knicks on Saturday with a chance to extend their lead to five games over last seasons division champions. Andrea Bargnani had 18 points and 12 rebounds against his former team. Beno Udrih finished with 15 points and 10 assists for the Knicks, who played again without Carmelo Anthony because of a sprained left ankle. Anthony was hurt Monday and had hoped to play against Oklahoma City on Christmas, but instead might be out until the new year. Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Anthony likely wouldnt travel with the team to Toronto for the rematch. The Raptors won for the fifth time in their last six road games, this one adding to a recent stretch of impressive fourth-quarter performances. The Raptors started the fourth with an 11-0 run in an overtime victory at Dallas on Dec. 20, then outscored Oklahoma City 29-14 on Sunday while handing the Thunder their first home loss. Toronto shot 9 of 18 in the fourth quarter, held the Knicks to 5 of 19 and had a 16-9 rebounding advantage. "Fourth quarter we just couldnt get a win. We couldnt get stops. They played well down the stretch," said thee Knicks Amare Stoudemire, wearing a brace over what he said was a jammed right wrist from the previous game but adding he expected to play Saturday. Cheap Air Max 97 Gold China. . John Salmons 3-pointer gave Toronto the lead for good with 8:07 left, and DeRozan followed with a jumper. After J.R. Smiths basket, Salmons made another 3 before Valanciunas scored to make it 81-75. Valanciunas had a three-point play that made it 91-81 with 2:01 remaining. Despite the Knicks miserable 9-20 record, Woodson has continued to point their focus toward the division title. The Knicks thought for most of the game they would cut their deficit to two games, but instead headed north of the border down four. "Its just disappointing because I felt like we had the game in control for a big part of the game. And then kind of let it dwindle away fourth quarter, its pretty disheartening," centre Tyson Chandler said. Despite playing without Anthony and point guard Raymond Felton, the Knicks jumped out to a strong start. Toronto fought back to take a 37-36 lead with 3:17 to go in the second, but the Knicks outscored the Raptors 13-3 the rest of the half, with Smiths second 3-pointer during that span coming with 4.5 seconds left and giving New York a 49-40 lead. The Knicks extended it to 61-49 on Tim Hardaway Jr.s 3-pointer with 7:17 remaining in the third, but the Raptors had it down to 71-66 by the end of the period before controlling the fourth. Smith had 17 points and Hardaway added 15. NOTES: Saturdays game is the last of 2013 for the Knicks, who are off until visiting San Antonio, Houston and Dallas from Jan. 2-5. ... Woodson wouldnt comment on an ESPN.com report that Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan met with the team Thursday and told players there were no trades or coaching changes forthcoming. Knicks forward Metta World Peace, who played despite a sore left knee, said he wasnt there and couldnt comment because he was an alien. "I was in another galaxy yesterday with my galactic friends," he said. ... Toronto and New York will have played eight times in 2013. The Raptors only faced Orlando once. ' ' '