Paul George's career night leads Pacers to Game 4 victory over Wizards; take 3-1 series lead

Sunday was a day for dramatic NBA comebacks. Or collapses, depending on how you look at it. Hours after the Los Angeles Clippers overcame a 22-point deficit to stun the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Indiana Pacers came roaring back from 19 down to beat the Washington Wizards 95-92, putting the Wiz on the brink of elimination. 

The Pacers seemed to be sleepwalking through the first half of the game, and trailed 68-51 midway through the third quarter. But Paul George and Roy Hibbert suddenly woke up, and the Pacers ripped off a 20-4 run to pull within a point heading into the fourth. 

The Wizards punched back, stretching their lead back to nine with just over six minutes remaining. But the Pacers dug in their heels, relying on the precise, diligent defense that's been their calling card all year, and finished the game on a 19-7 run. After the Wizards racked up 18 fast-break points in the first half, the Pacers held them scoreless in transition over the last two frames. 

The Wiz now find themselves in serious trouble, heading back to Indiana and facing an elimination game on the road, after watching a winnable game and a series tie slip right through their fingers. 

Star Performer

The Pacers got key contributions from each of their starters (and needed them all - their bench was outscored 32-2), but this night was all about Paul George. After struggling badly in the first three games of the series, averaging 17.3 points on just 33.3 percent shooting, George went bonkers on Sunday, playing more than 46 minutes, racking up a playoff career-high 39 points, going 7-10 from downtown, and grabbing 12 rebounds for good measure. Those are some historic numbers. 

Honorable mention goes out to Roy Hibbert, who proved that his out-of-nowhere monster Game 3 was no fluke. On top of changing shots on multiple key defensive possessions down the stretch, he poured in 15 second-half points, including a huge baby-hook to put the Pacers up 94-91 with under a minute remaining. 

Honorable honorable mention goes to Andrew Bynum.

Turning Point

There were a ton of them in this see-sawing game, but the biggest probably came at the 5:48 mark of the fourth quarter. The Wizards had the ball, up nine, and Bradley Beal had a chance to push the lead into double-digits with a clean look from eight feet out. But his jumper caught iron, and 11 seconds later George buried a deep triple to slash the lead to six. That kicked off a run of eight straight Pacers points that George scored, sandwiching a John Wall three-pointer and bringing Indiana within four with 4:24 remaining. 

Highlight Reel

38-year-old Andre Miller hasn't seen much of the floor in the postseason, but he came in for a dynamic stretch in the second quarter on Sunday, during which he reminded everyone that he's ninth all-time in career assists, and can still throw a lob pass with the best of them. 

John Wall went coast-to-coast in a hurry, beating the buzzer and capping off a near-perfect first half for the Wizards.

Roy Hibbert may have traveled on this game-changing bucket, but c'mon, this is the NBA. Everybody's doing it! 

Quote of the Game

Series at a Glance

Game 1: WAS 102, IND 96 (Wizards lead 1-0)
Game 2: IND 86, WAS 82 (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: IND 85 WAS 63 (Pacers lead 2-1)
Game 4: IND 95, WAS 92 (Pacers lead 3-1)
Game 5: Tuesday, May 13 - TBD
Game 6*: Thursday, May 15 - TBD
Game 7*: Sunday, May 18 - TBD