The Washington Wizards haven’t played their best basketball this season, yet have managed to improve their record to 5-2. With Bradley Beal out, the Wizards have struggled to find consistent scoring, but have still beaten the teams they’re supposed to beat. After suffering their first blowout loss against the Toronto Raptors last night, the Washington Wizards bounced back tonight against the Indiana Pacers, 97-90.

Washington gained a double-digit lead early on and it looked like they would run away with the game. John Wall fed Nene in the post, and he got whatever he wanted inside against Luis Scola. The Wizards forced multiple turnovers, leading to easy transition points, extending their lead to 20. Roy Hibbert bruised his knee in the first half and the Indiana Pacers were left with zero starters from the previous season. I thought the game was over. But, of course, the Washington Wizards made it a lot harder than it should’ve been.

Solomon Hill, who scored 28 points tonight, led the Pacers’ comeback in the third quarter. Hill got to the basket at will and it wasn’t long before the Wizards’ bigs got in foul trouble. He knocked down a few tough shots from the perimeter, but Washington really struggled to stop his penetration. Hill’s aggressiveness opened up shots for A.J. Price and Damjan Rudez, who scored a combined 18 points off the bench. It wasn’t long before the Pacers cut the Washington Wizards’ lead to single digits.

John Wall and Nene eventually led the team to victory in the fourth quarter. The Pacers’ hot shooting tapered off and Chris Copeland continued to miss shot after shot.

It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win.

Despite their inability to control the game for 48 minutes, there were some bright spots for the Washington Wizards

Wall managed the game well, scoring 18 points to go along side 4 assists and 4 steals. He probably would have finished with double-digit assists, but his teammates failed to knock down open jumpers. Paul Pierce struggled again tonight, making just 2 of his 13 shot attempts. Luckily for Randy Wittman, the bench was able to make up for some of the starters’ lack of production.

Kris Humphries scored 7 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, while Kevin Seraphin scored 13 and grabbed 6 rebounds. Rasual Butler has also replaced Glen Rice Jr. in the rotation, and chipped in with 9 of his own points against his former team.

The Washington Wizards played four games in five nights, and that could be the reason they struggled to control the game tonight. Nene played well after last night’s miserable game, and the bench is slowly becoming more consistent.

Washington will have a few days to rest before meeting the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.