The Indiana Pacers used a strong third quarter to pull away from the Washington Wizards and take Game 3 on Friday night, 85-63.

Leading 34-33 at halftime, the Pacers had a 26-12 edge in the third period at the Verizon Center. Indiana turned up their offense over the final 24 minutes, scoring 51 points in a game that featured some historically bad offense.

Washington's 63 points and 24 made field goals were both franchise-lows for the postseason. They shot 32.9 percent from the field, went 4-for-16 from three and 11-for-21 from the foul line. In a low-scoring game, hitting free throws becomes even more important than usual.

The Pacers committed just one turnover in the deciding quarter and grabbed three offensive rebounds (six second-chance points) to make their shooting performance (11-for-24) seem much better than it actually was. Impressive ball movement helped as well, they assisted on eight of their 11 field goals.

The Wizards, meanwhile, shot 5-for-15 in the third with five turnovers and not a single offensive rebound.

Playing in front of their home crowd, Washington didn't possess the same intensity they had during the first two games of the series at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Marcin Gortat and Nene, who hurt the Pacers in the paint earlier this week, were a combined 5-for-21 with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

The Indiana offense was far from elite, but looked like a well-oiled machine in comparison. Not only did the Wizards struggle to make shots, they didn't share the basketball either. They assisted on just 10 of their 24 makes. Washington's assist rate was much greater in the first two games.

Roy Hibbert, who had a breakout performance in Game 2, took another step towards his usual production with 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks in 30 minutes. He was featured on offense once again, attempting nine shots. Through 10 playoff games he is averaging 6.7 shots.

With some of Washington's defensive attention turned towards Hibbert, Paul George enjoyed his best outing of the semifinals. He had 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in 42 minutes. He didn't shoot particularly well, going 6-for-15, but ten trips to the foul line helped boost his efficiency.

George was the only player to score more than 16 points in the game.

Wall Continues To Struggle

John Wall had trouble scoring in the first two games of the series, totaling 13 points in Game 1 and just six in Game 2. His production wasn't much better at home. The All-Star point guard had 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting.

Wall's own offensive struggles were compounded by turnover woes. After posting a seven-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio in Indianapolis, he had six assists and seven miscues back at home.

If Nene and Marcin Gortat aren't on, the Wizards can't compete without Wall on his game.

Speaking Of Turnovers

There was a point during the season when Larry Bird spoke out about turnovers as the one thing that could bring the Pacers down. We've come to discover a number of issues surrounding the club, but lately turnovers have not been one of them.

Indiana averaged 14.5 turnovers per game (tied for 21st) in the regular season, but that figure is down a touch to 13.9 in the playoffs. In the second round against the Wizards, the Pacers are committing just 10.3 turnovers. That has helped an offense that isn't running on all cylinders.

The Run

George Hill kicked off the third-quarter run that would win the game for the Pacers on Friday night with a three-pointer. The shot began a 12-0 run that featured one basket from each of Frank Vogel's starters. The Pacers missed just two shots and a free throw over the two minute, 42-second stretch.

After Nene made one of two at the foul line, Indiana began another run. They put together a 10-3 advantage over the next two minutes and 32 seconds, holding the Wizards to a layup and one foul shot (all by Wall). During that run, only Hill didn't score.