The Indiana Pacers defeated the Washington Wizards 119-86 on Friday, handing Washington their 16th loss of the season. Washington's lack of big man depth and perimeter shooting was a glaring weakness in tonights contest. Washington had 38 points in the paint and 42 rebounds, compared to Indiana's 58 paint points and 50 rebounds. However, second year big man Alex Sarr had another strong performance. Sarr scored 24 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and was a force on the defensive end, notching 2 blocks and 2 steals in 33 minutes of action. In addition to his stellar performance, Sarr became the 4th player in Wizards/Bullets franchise history in total rebounds through 82 games. Alex Sarr continues to look like a franchise cornerstone for the Washington Wizards moving forward. 

Washington had their worst game from behind the arc of the season, shooting 22.2% (7-32 3PT). Indiana's length and athleticism on the perimeter proved to disrupt Washington's flow and rhythm offensively. Veteran leaders CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton shot a combined 1-for-6 from three, Kyshawn George went 1-for-3, and the bench shot 2-for-14. The absence of Tre Johnson and Corey Kispert was evident tonight, as their floor spacing and knockdown shooting ability proves to be crucial for this offense to find success. Kyshawn George had an underwhelming night offensively, but his playmaking ability was on full display tonight as he racked up four assists. George has now recorded four assists in seven consecutive games. 

Pascal Siakam led the way for Indiana tonight, as he dropped 24 points and 11 rebounds on 11-for-20 shooting from the field. Washington threw multiple different matchups his way, such as Kyshawn George, Justin Champagnie and Alex Sarr, but none of them could successfully slow down Siakam. Siakam leads Indiana in points per game (23.9) and rebounds (6.9) this season. Siakam wasn't the only player tonight to score 20+ points for Indiana —— Bennedict Mathurin dropped 20 of his own on 8-for-16 from the field and 3-for-5 from three. After making the NBA Finals last season, Indiana has had an extremely poor start to their 2025-26 campaign getting off to a 3-16 record. Indiana gave their loyal fans a much needed win tonight.

Although Washington has gotten off to a historically bad start, the flashes of youth development have been dazzling all season long. The young duo of Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George are building some serious chemistry. Bilal Coulibaly, Cam Whitmore, Justin Champagnie and Will Riley are showing promise at the wing position —— and guards Bub Carrington and Tre Johnson possess offensive upside that is prominent. Although Washington couldn't stack back-to-back victories, it's the small victories that count during a season like this.

Washington is back in action Monday, December 1st at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.