WASHINGTON — Goga Bitadze was in a groove on Sunday night at the Capital One Arena, and no play proved it more than the Pacers Big Man did just before halftime. With the shot clock closed, O'Shea Brissette bowls the ball to Bitadze on the perimeter. Was being hounded to 6-foot-11 center by Wizards forward Denny Avdija, but fell down the lane, crossed behind his back and even before picking up the ball and a midrange jumper. I lost it before banking.
The difficult, and perhaps lucky, shot gave Bitadze 17 first-half points on 6-for-6 shooting to match his career-high level, but was largely due to a lack of playing time, mainly in the second half. It got cold
Asked why Bitadez didn't play more in the third quarter, the period in which Pacers coach Rick Carlisle "killed" his team on Sunday, he said it was "just a coach's decision." That decision paved the way for the Wizards to take control of the game and win a 133–123.
After acting in the first half, Bitadze remained on the bench until the 1:42 mark of the third quarter. By that time, the Wizards had converted a four-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead behind Kristaps Porzingis, who played for Carlisle in Dallas and made his Washington debut.
"It's tough, man, when you're feeling like that, but it's the coach's decision," Bitadze said of playing hard in the third quarter. "I trust the coach. Anyone who felt like it should have been out, and I was just being prepared."
Bitadez scored a career-high 20 points on shooting 7-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 shooting at the free-throw line. The third-year-old had six rebounds and three 3s in 24 minutes, nearly matching Porzingis' 25 points and five rebounds. Porzingis was acquired from Dallas at the trade deadline, but did not play a 7–3 center January 29, also against the Pacers, due to a right knee injury.
Bitadze, selected 18th overall by the Pacers in the 2019 NBA Draft, made another -1 layoff on Porzingis at the start of the fourth quarter, but he dropped out with 4:46 remaining and did not play again.
"(Bitadze) was great. He gave us great minutes," Carlisle said. "(Jalen) Smith played well too, so he went beyond that. (The Wizards) were younger at the time, so against a smaller lineup, Smith is going to be a little better with switching and things like that, but Goga He played very well. I am really happy for him."
The Pacers headed into the fourth quarter led by Buddy Heald. He scored 10 of his 19 points in this period and scored back-to-back 3 runs to help reduce the Wizards' lead to 116-113, but Indiana couldn't get over the hump. After Held missed a 3 that would have tied the game, Kyle Kuzma converted another -1 layup on Tyrese Halliburton at the other end. Kuzma made an ensuing free throw to push Washington's lead back to six points with only four minutes left in the game.
Smith did a lay-up with 2:31 to pull Indiana back to within three points again, but Porzingis slammed the door on the return, slamming down twice as vigorously.
"He hurt us a lot around him, and the 3s he put in the second half were 3s on time," Carlisle said of his former player. "He's going to play well (with the Wizards). This team is very well established for his skill set. He looked great (Sunday). He looked healthy. He looked strong. That Washington Gives a really different dimension to your team."
Kuzma had a great game with Porzingis, scoring a total of 23 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
Brogdon paced Indiana with a game-high 27 points and four assists. Halliburton had 15 points, a game-high 11 assists and seven rebounds. Smith and Duane Washington Jr added 15 and 11 points respectively.
From the Pacers' perspective, however, the night was still Bitadze's, whose season was up and down.
"He needed a night like this (Sunday)," Brogdon said. "He's a guy who works hard, man. He's come a long way since his first year in the NBA. I've really seen him mature on and off the court, so he spent a night (Sunday) is kind. He deserves. To spend more nights like this. So for me it's always about encouraging him to come out, stay shut, focus on his work and perform at a higher level.