Pacers 85, Wizards 63

WASHINGTON — Forward Paul George scored 23 points and the Indiana Pacers held the Washington Wizards to 30 points in the second half as they pulled away for a 85-63 victory on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the second-round playoff series.

Center Roy Hibbert added 14 points for the Pacers, who began taking control with a second-quarter run and outscored the Wizards 26-12 in the third quarter.

The top-seeded Pacers have won two straight in the best-of-seven series after losing Game 1 102-96 on Monday night.

Indiana led 34-33 at halftime thanks to a 13-1 spurt late in the second quarter. After the Wizards briefly pulled ahead at 37-36, Indiana ripped off 12 straight points starting with guard George Hill’s 3-pointer. The run ballooned to 23-7 as the Pacers’ staunch defense stymied Washington from all angles.

Forward David West added 12 points for the Pacers.

Guard Bradley Beal scored 16 points for the Wizards, who shot 32.9 percent from the field in their lowest scoring game of the season. Washington’s two lowest scoring games of the regular season came against Indiana.

The 63 points set a franchise low for the postseason, well below the 75 scored in the first-round series-clinching victory over the Chicago Bulls on April 29.

Wizards guard John Wall scored 15 points but committed seven turnovers — one more than his combined total in the previous five games. Indiana converted 18 Washington turnovers into 21 points. Forward Trevor Ariza had 15 rebounds and scored all 12 of his points in the first half.

Though George continued his shooting struggles from the field, the All-Star forward added eight rebounds and four assists and made 9 of 10 free throws. Indiana was 16 of 21 from the line and Washington went 11 of 21 after going 5 of 12 in Wednesday’s Game 2 road loss.

Hibbert did not have a second straight productive start to a game but made 6 of 9 shots from the field and finished with three blocks in his return to the arena where he played during his college career with Georgetown.

Hibbert starred in Indiana’s 86-82 Game 2 win on Wednesday with 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field with nine rebounds.

Trailing 27-20, Indiana took the lead with a 13-1 run. Hibbert and George combined for 13 of the Pacers’ final 14 points.

Beal went 6 of 19 from the field after averaging 21 points in the first two games of the series. Power forward Nene was 3 of 14 from the field and scored eight points.

Ariza finished the first half 4 of 5 from the field and his teammates went 9 of 36 as the Wizards shot 31.7 percent.

Washington’s last home win in the second round or later came in the 1979 NBA Finals against the Seattle Supersonics.

NOTES: Pacers F Luis Scola received a technical foul in the second quarter for shoving Wizards F Martell Webster in the back. …Washington starters Bradley Beal, Nene and Marcin Gortat shot a combined for 4-for-22 from the field in the first half. … Among those in attendance included NBA commissioner Adam Silver. … Before this series, Washington’s previous playoff win beyond the first round came during the 1982 playoffs against the Boston Celtics. … At 22-19, the Wizards had the worst regular season home record among the Eastern Conference playoff teams. Indiana went 21-20 on the road and 2-1 at Atlanta in the first season versus the Hawks. … Game 4 tips at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday in Washington with Game 5 at Indiana on Tuesday.