<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan refers to the time before the All-Star break as the "dog days" of the season. Fortunately for the Wizards, their opponents are doing better impersonations of dogs these days. Gilbert Arenas scored a game-high 20 points, and Antawn Jamison had 19 points and 18 rebounds last night at MCI Center to lead the Wizards within a game of the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference standings with an 84-79 victory against the depleted Indiana Pacers. Facing the Pacers (21-22) for the first time with newly acquired Peja Stojakovic, the Wizards (21-22) never trailed in pulling into a tie for seventh in the East. They did, however, get sloppy in the fourth quarter, allowing a 14-point lead to be reduced to four with less than 10 seconds to play. It would not get any closer. "We didn't play smart down the stretch tonight," Jordan said after the Wizards won for the eighth time in their last 11 games. "But we won. When you win, it builds and it builds and it helps you. Again, we didn't play smart. We haven't played smart in the last two games, but basically who cares. It's a win." The loss dropped the Pacers below .500 for the first time since March 6 of last season. They have lost six in a row and eight of their last 10. Indiana was led by Stojakovic -- acquired last week in the long-anticipated deal that sent Ron Artest to Sacramento -- who finished with 17 points in his first appearance for the Pacers, who played without injured All-Star Jermaine O'Neal. The Pacers' play on the interior is lacking without O'Neal, who was lost for approximately two months with a torn groin. As a result, Indiana fell hopelessly in love with long jumpers last night -- and paid for it. Seemingly unwilling to attack the basket under any circumstances, the Pacers made just nine of 32 3-pointers. The Pacers never led because of a horrendous start, falling behind by as many as 14 points in the first quarter. "We dug ourselves into a hole and spent the rest of the game trying to dig ourselves out," said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, whose team made just five of 19 shots in the first quarter. "We managed to give ourselves a chance in the second half, but the Wizards were able to put together a few scoring runs, and we couldn't stop them." </div> Source
