With the fifth seed sealed heading into the game, the Washington Wizards nearly pulled out a double-overtime win over the Indiana Pacers despite essentially giving Paul Pierce the night off.

The 17-year veteran played just 18 minutes on Tuesday night while fellow starters John Wall, Bradley Beal and Marcin Gortat each played at least 42 minutes, but the Wizards came up just short in a 99-95 double overtime loss at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Nene, the fifth Washington starter, had the game off.

“This was a playoff atmosphere that we’re going to face Saturday or Sunday, so yeah, I thought it was a good test,” Wizards head coach Randy Wittman said after the loss.

Washington Wizards v Indiana Pacers

Paul didn’t score at all in the contest, but he contributed five rebounds and a pair of assists, and he helped hold Solomon Hill to just seven points; Hill scored 28 points the first time the Wizards played in Indiana this season, on Nov. 8.

Though Washington’s seeding was already solidified before the game, Wall and some of the Wizards who were with the team when Indiana knocked them out of the playoffs last year wanted to hurt the Pacers’ playoff chances by pulling out a win on Tuesday. Indiana is just barely holding onto the eighth and final playoff spot.

“We definitely wanted to not let them get into the playoffs, I mean that was our goal,” Wall told reporters. “They knocked us out last year. No bad blood against them, we wanted to compete. We competed and played the right way, just give credit to those guys.”

Washington Wizards v Indiana Pacers

Paul got most of his minutes and all of his rebounds and assists in the first quarter, sat out the entire second, played seven more minutes in the third, then remained on the bench for the rest of the game. Though he wasn’t playing late, the future Hall of Famer was routinely off the bench, encouraging teammates, helping to orchestrate the offense, yelling advice to Wall and participating during timeouts.

The Truth helped his team hold Indiana to just 16 points in the first period, setting the defensive tone for the rest of the lengthy battle that would follow. His ability to track down the loose ball and his decision-making with the ball in his hands were crucial during parts of a game in which Washington shot just 35.6 percent from the field and turned it over 13 times—Paul didn’t turn it over once.

“When we’re competitive and good, our defense gives ourselves a chance to win it,” Wittman explained. “We didn’t, obviously, shoot the ball worth a crap tonight. We got a lot of good looks, didn’t go in, but we still had a chance to win, that’s what we take out of it.”

Washington Wizards v Indiana Pacers

Still, the Wizards got a welcome tune-up against the Pacers, who just recently saw the return of Paul George from injury. George, a star in the making who helped knock Washington out last year, scored 10 points off the bench and gave the Wizards a taste of what to expect when a team is fighting to continue its season.

The Wiz held a healthy eight-point lead at halftime, but the Pacers battled back through the second half and knotted things up late. After a quiet first overtime, Indy jumped out to a five-point lead early in the second extra session, and the Wiz couldn’t keep up with the home team playing with its season on the line.

“We knew it was going to be a battle, and they’re a great team, we know how good they are, we know they’re fighting for their lives to get into the playoffs,” Wall said. “And we fought, and they made us prepare for the playoffs and that’s what type of game we’re used to having.”

NEXT UP

The Wizards close out the season against the second-place Cleveland Cavaliers, who have also clinched their seed. Both teams are widely expected to rest their star players, as the result of the game will have no effect on the playoff seeding, so No. 34 could have the night off.

Washington heads into the game with a 46-35 record while Cleveland is 52-29.

The game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. ET tip and can be seen locally on Comcast Sports Net.

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