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Pacers still alive in playoff race; take on Nets

Mar 21, 2011 - 2:50 PM (Sports Network) - When you are playing .429 basketball, the postseason should be the last thing on your mind but the 30-40 Indiana Pacers are still in the driver's seat for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference as they get ready to resume a three-game road trip tonight in the Garden State against the New Jersey Nets.

Despite going 3-7 in their last 10 games the Pacers lead both Milwaukee and Charlotte by 1 1/2 games for the eighth spot in the East with just 12 games left in their season. Indiana, which will finish its trek against the Bobcats on Wednesday, dropped the opener of the trip in Memphis on Saturday when Tony Allen filled the stat sheet with 19 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, six assists and six steals, as the Grizzlies blew out Indiana, 99-78.

Danny Granger and Darren Collison each had 17 points for the Pacers. Tyler Hansbrough chipped in 14 points, but the Pacers lost one night after outlasting Central Division-leading Chicago in overtime.

"Our offense right now is not doing a good job of getting shots for us, getting shots for myself," Granger said. "We're just going one-on-one."

The Nets, meanwhile, lost their third straight game in the nation's capital on Sunday when John Wall led the way with 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds, as the Washington Wizards snapped a six-game losing streak with a 98-92 win over a Deron Williams-less New Jersey team at the Verizon Center.

Brook Lopez had a team-best 21 points to go with 10 rebounds for the Nets, who are a woeful 4-29 on the road. Anthony Morrow donated 19 points, while Kris Humphries turned in a double- double with 18 points and 17 boards.

Jordan Farmar, who started in place of Williams, dished out a career-high 17 assists and netted 10 points in defeat.

"I guess we just got complacent," Lopez said. "I definitely did a little and once we realized what was going on, it was a definitely too late."

Williams, who is out with a wrest injury, will miss at least two more games.

The Pacers have won six straight over New Jersey, including a pair of meetings so far this season. Indiana has also won four consecutive in the Garden State.