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Pacers hold on to beat Wizards in double OT

Apr 15, 2015 - 5:33 AM Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - C.J. Miles scored 25 points and George Hill flirted with a triple-double to help the Indiana Pacers get one game closer to a playoff berth with a 99-95 double-overtime win against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

Hill finished with 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Indiana, which moved a full game ahead of Brooklyn for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The win also eliminated the conference's reigning No. 1 seed, the Miami Heat.

The Pacers will clinch the eighth seed with a win at Memphis on Wednesday. If they lose to the Grizzlies, coupled with a win by Brooklyn against Orlando, the Nets will earn the final playoff berth because they own the tiebreaker for winning the season series.

David West had 15 points and eight rebounds in the Pacers' sixth straight win.

Washington, which has already wrapped up the fifth seed in the East, played its starters despite having a spot locked up.

Bradley Beal and Marcin Gortat each scored 19 points, with Gortat pulling down 10 rebounds. John Wall scored 16 points and dished out 11 assists for Washington.

"It was like a playoff game," Wall said. "We knew it was going to be a battle... We fought and it prepared us for the playoffs."

Each team was successful with their first possession of the second overtime, then each committed a turnover. Miles fired in a 3-pointer and Hill found an open West underneath for a layup to make it 92-87.

Beal kept Washington in it with a 3-pointer with under two minutes left to close within two. It remained a two-point lead for the Pacers when Hill buried a 3-pointer that helped them inch closer to a playoff berth. Beal missed a trey at the other end preceding free throws from West that sealed the win.

"I couldn't be more proud of our group," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "All- out effort and perseverance."

Beal opened the scoring in the first overtime with a pair of free throws almost a minute in. The Pacers did not shoot very well in overtime, but lucky for them neither did Washington as Roy Hibbert's jumper with 57.5 seconds left tied the game at 83-83.

Wall made a tough layup and absorbed contact from Hibbert to put the Wizards back up. He missed the free throw, however, and Paul George netted a jumper from Hill to tie it at 85-85 with 22.4 ticks on the clock.

Beal's drive to the basket was deflected by Indiana's swarming defense and off his leg out of bounds. George missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer and the game remained tied.

Washington led by four with 3:19 remaining in regulation when Miles converted a three-point play that started an 8-0 run that gave the Pacers a 79-75 lead.

Gortat responded with a layup and Wall made two free throws to tie the game at 79-79 with 1:17 left. Rodney Stuckey knocked down a jumper before Wall quickly countered with a basket at the other end.

Hill missed a 3-pointer with 31.8 seconds left, and Wall had two chances to win it in the closing seconds but both attempts did not go as the game went to overtime.

The game was tied at 16-16 after 12 minutes, then Washington went into the locker room with a 41-33 lead at halftime. The Wizards held a 59-56 edge entering the fourth.

Game Notes

Hibbert grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in the win ... Washington went 14- of-17 from the free throw line, while Indiana made 10-of-17 chances ... Each team had 22 assists ... The Wizards end the season at Cleveland on Wednesday.