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INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers used a 14-0 run to start the fourth quarter to take control of Wednesday's game against the Wizards and claimed their first home win of the season, 114-101.

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The Pacers improved to 4-8 with their first victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse since their win over Miami on March 29. The Wizards fell to 4-8.

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 28 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Center Ivica Zubac posted 20 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Guard Andrew Nembhard had 17 points and 10 assists. Forward Kelly Oubre Jr. had 14 points, six rebounds and four steals. Kyshawn George posted 25 points and nine rebounds for the Wizards. Anthony Davis had 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Here are three observations.

Unique Pacers combination provides big edge in the fourth

The Pacers had a 10-point lead with 6:24 to go in the third quarter but watched it disappear as they were outscored 18-8 the rest of the period.

With forward Aaron Nesmith dealing with a sore right knee and the Pacers desperately needing a spark of some kind, they turned to a rarely used lineup and saw the game change completely.

Starters Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam took the floor to start the quarter with Kelly Oubre Jr., Larry Nance Jr. and two-way contract forward Jalen Slawson. That group, with no true center and one true guard, proceeded to take the game over and put it away.

The Pacers started the fourth with a 14-0 run with Nembhard and Siakam doing most of the scoring, but Nance and Slawson had important buckets as well. Nance drilled a 3 off a dish from Siakam that increased the Pacers' lead from five to eight and then Slawson stole a pass and took it the distance for a thunderous one-handed dunk to put them up 89-77. Defensively, the Pacers held the Wizards without a bucket for the first 3:15 of the period and once Washington finally scored, Nance immediately answered with a dunk off a smooth cut and a slick Nembhard pass. The Pacers were up 12 when they finally subbed and ended up winning by 13.

Kelly Oubre Jr. took another big step

The Pacers targeted Oubre in free agency (with what little available money they had under the first apron) because he could give him the kind of defensive ballhawk and multi-positional matchup option they've been lacking. At 6-8 with a 7-2 1/4 wingspan, he has a history of causing havoc and turning it into offense on the other end. He entered this season with 756 career steals, an average of 1.1 per game.

Prior to Wednesday night he'd been slow to make that kind of impact with the Pacers and he missed two games with a calf contusion where he might have had some real opportunity. Oubre had just two steals in his first nine appearances. He had five double-figure scoring games and was averaging 9.1 points per game heading into Wednesday but was shooting a modest 44.3% from the floor and a worse-than-modest 24.2% from 3-point range (8 of 33).

However, Wednesday's matchup gave him an opportunity to shine and he did. The Wizards roster outside of veterans Trae Young and Anthony Davis is mostly a collection of long-armed young wings and Oubre matched their physicality but brought more intellect and cunning. He made life difficult on No. 1 overall pick A.J. Dybantsa, forward Kyshan George and wing Tre Johnson, taking away passing lanes and finding a way to get his hands on the ball. In the first half alone, he recorded four steals and scored 14 points on 7 of 10 shooting. He didn't score in the second half but finished with six rebounds.

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IvIca Zubac leads Pacers paint attack

As Ivica Zubac has worked his way back to health since his ankle sprain on Oct. 25, the Pacers have slowly learned how to play with him without Tyrese Haliburton also on the floor.

It's been a slow and sometimes grueling process, but they took significant steps over the weekend and an even bigger one Wednesday.

The Pacers stressed paint points from the beginning and kept feeding Zubac and Siakam. Zubac had 14 points on 6 of 12 shooting at halftime to go with seven rebounds and two blocks. The Pacers kept going his way in the fourth quarter especially and he finished with 20 points on 9 of 15 shooting, 12 rebounds and two blocks. The Pacers won the paint battle 60-44.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 3 observations on the Pacers win over the Wizards, including an unusual fourth-quarter lineup

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