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Wizards welcome Pacers to nation's capital

Dec 29, 2010 - 4:08 PM (Sports Network) - A pair of struggling clubs clash tonight in the nation's capital, as the Washington Wizards play host to the Indiana Pacers from the Verizon Center.

The Wizards have lost three in a row and 10 of 11 games, and are coming off Monday's 100-93 loss in Houston. Kirk Hinrich led the way with 19 points and Andray Blatche ended with 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Wizards, who remained winless on the road (0-15) this season.

"It's a tough loss. We felt like we gave it away. We had control until the last five minutes of the fourth quarter," said Wizards new forward Rashard Lewis, who had 12 points, nine boards and five assists.

Nick Young scored 18 points and rookie John Wall chipped in 13 points and six assists off the bench in defeat. The Wizards are just 7-7 in DC this season and Young is averaging 20.6 ppg in his last six games. Hinrich is averaging 16.8 points, 7.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds in his last five games.

Meanwhile, the Pacers will try to put the brakes on a six-game road losing streak when they head to Washington tonight.

The Pacers are 5-8 away from Conseco Fieldhouse, where they dropped a 95-83 decision to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

Brandon Rush led the Pacers with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Danny Granger finished with 15 points for Indiana, which has lost two straight and six of eight games. Darren Collison chipped in 10 points and Mike Dunleavy scored nine off the bench in defeat.

"We just lost," said Pacers forward Josh McRoberts. "We played well with them for three quarters. They made a run. We didn't respond well, didn't make good plays and lost the ball game."

Indiana made 37 percent of its shots and committed 15 turnovers.

The Pacers and Wizards are meeting for the first time since Indiana took three of four meetings a season ago. Indiana has won six of the previous nine encounters with Washington, winners in six of the past nine matchups at home.