Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals jumps up Monday night when the Indiana Pacers host the Washington Wizards at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The top-seeded Pacers advanced after a tough seven-game series against the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round. Washington, the fifth seed in the East, moved on with a five-game series victory over the Chicago Bulls. Paul George led the Pacers to victory Saturday night. He had 30 points and 11 rebounds, shot 11-for-23 from the field and was lucky just to be on the floor for the decisive game. George took a few steps onto the court during a skirmish between teammate George Hill and the Hawks Mike Scott in Game 6. Traditionally, that has warranted a suspension, but a slight change in the language of the rule probably kept George from missing the critical contest. "This was a long series," said the Indiana All-Star. "Were happy to get over this hump and get ready for the next task, which is preparing for the Wizards." Roy Hibbert, the Pacers other All-Star this season, had his best game of the series on Saturday. He played sparingly in the later games of the series, but scored 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked five shots in Game 7. "You always feel for guys on your team that are struggling," said Pacers coach Frank Vogel. "You do what you can to push them or encourage them, challenge them when they need to. Its like your family, its like your children. You want the best for them. (It was) very gratifying to stay with him and then to see him step up the way he did." The Wizards have been home since Tuesday, which is a pretty long wait for a group that doesnt have a ton of postseason experience. "It is what it is," said Washington coach Randy Wittman. "Whether you like rest, or whether you want to keep going, we dont have a choice." The Wizards held the Bulls to an average of 90 points a game while being led by their dynamic young backcourt of All-Star John Wall and sharp-shooter Bradley Beal. Against Chicago, the leagues best defensive unit in terms of scoring, Wall averaged 18.8 points and 6.8 assists. Beal led the Wizards with 19.8 points on 45 percent shooting from long range. "The main thing is to focus in and know what this team is capable of," said Wall after dispatching the Bulls. Defense is Indianas calling card. The Pacers finished second in the NBA in opponents scoring during the regular season and first in opponents field- goal percentage. The Wizards werent shabby on the defensive side of the ball either. They tied for eighth in the league in fewest points allowed and actually rank first in that category so far during the postseason. The two teams have never met in the postseason and Indiana has owned this series in recent history. The Pacers won two of three this season against Washington, both at home, but the dominance extends far past the 2013-14 campaign. Indiana has won 11 of the last 13 matchups and 15 of the last 19. The Wizards wont be intimidated playing in Indiana, despite being winless in their last 12 trips there, a span dating back to April 2007. Washington took all three road contests in the series against the Bulls. Game 2 will be Wednesday night in Indianapolis. Austin Brice Jersey . The Canadian defensive tackle suffered the injury on Monday and had tests done on Tuesday. He was a potential starter on the defensive line but head coach Mike OShea said he wasnt even thinking about the ratio when he got the news. Brian Anderson Jersey . The Mavericks were not going to let San Antonio beat them with 3-pointers, and they did not want Tony Parker using the lane as his personal playground. https://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.us/1351r-jordan-yamamoto-jersey-marlins.html .com) - John Wall had 15 points, 12 assists and four steals as the Washington Wizards defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 92-85 on Monday night. Pat Rapp Jersey .Y. - Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs didnt flinch in the face of adversity. Ed Vosberg Jersey . Judging by his performance Saturday night, Cotto has plenty left in the tank. Cotto became the first Puerto Rican fighter to win world championships in four weight divisions, stopping Sergio Martinez in their WBC world middleweight title fight Saturday night.If you were still playing in the NHL today, what team would you want to play for?Being from Toronto I would want to play for the Maple Leafs. Its like being on Broadway, everything you do matters. Id want to be good though! I couldnt play here if I wasnt very good. #83217388 / gettyimages.com (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images)When did the nickname Cujo start? And who came up with it?I was in St. Louis and it started the very first year of my career. A guy by the name of Robert Dirk couldnt really pronounce my name so he shortened it to Cujo, which is the first two letters of both names.Have you ever read the 1981 horror novel Cujo by Stephen King, or seen the movie?Ive seen the movie, but Im sure the book is better. Its awesome! Its a great nickname for me and I ran with it. Kids of all ages loved it and they had to have their mask painted like Cujo. Im very fortunate that I had a great nickname, and still do.Heres a close-up of the famous Cujo mask: #83217370 / gettyimages.com (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images)You lost your temper a few times in the heat of battle, what do you think was the moment in your career where you were the most upset?Visibly you saw some of them, and theyre in the Sportcentre Top 10 highlights. Its a game of emotion, I tell my kids that. I tell my boys, listen, its okay to celebrate and its okay to be mad at a call, just dont take it to the extreme. Certainly its a game of emotion, and if you play with passion thats a good thing. Who is your closest hockey friend from your career?Oh, thats hard! I cant pick just one of them. Certainly with the phones these days and Instagram etc. its easy to follow them and their lives through pictures or whatever it is. Its nice to keep in touch with guys that are still playing and continuing their career. I met a lot of great people. The best men that I have ever met have been through hockey.Hockey players can be known for locker room fun and games, what is the best prank youve ever witnessed?There are a lot of different things. We used to fly commercial in my first ten years probably, and wed be on a commercial flight, played the night before, and everybody would be sleeping before the plane took off. Guys would get shaving cream out from the trainers and pile as much shaving cream in a circle on top of a guy sleeping, right on top of their head. And the people who just bought their tickets and happened to be on our flight would be laughing and dying. Guys would hang things from their lips, so theyd be pretty much a Christmas tree and wake up with all this foam all over their head. They were fun pranks. #53122202 / geettyimages.ddddddddddddcom (Joseph and Martin Brodeur lounging in Team Canada van. Photo by Michael Desjardins/ Getty Images)Is there a player who always tried to mess with you personally? Maybe a teammate during practice shooting extra shots at you when you werent ready?Theres always a guy on each team, and playing for nineteen years… yknow what, it was usually the tough guys! It was always the tough guys that were the pranksters on the team. Maybe they didnt play enough and they had too much time on their hands, but it was always the tough guys who would be pulling these pranks. I wont mention names but I remember one tough guy, a friend of mine got him back. This tough guy was trying to be in style and his shoes looked like bowling shoes, so my friend wrote 9½ on the back of them like the bowling shoes. It was pretty funny. The tough guys, they were pranksters for sure. #164995547 / gettyimages.com (Photo by Tony Brock/ Toronto Star via Getty Images)Do you ever wish you got to play out of the net in the NHL?Oh ya! I wanted to be a player, but because I couldnt skate I had to be a goalie, and then it was too late to change in my late teens. I definitely liked to get out of the net. One year I had 9 assists and I used to bug a guy on my team telling him I had more points than him. I was a closet passer and a set up man.What was your most embarrassing moment on the ice? Probably knocking over Mick McGeough. I wouldnt say that was embarrassing, because I was passionate about it, but I fell. I slipped and slid right into him and knocked him over, and I was too mad to be embarrassed in the moment, but now that Im older and I see the Top 10 Lose It Moments on SportsCetntre, and that moments up there, its embarrassing.What was your favourite thing about being a goaltender?My favourite thing was having a great game and being able to shut out the other team. Winning games that maybe you werent supposed to win…. if you were able to steal a game as a goaltender, any goalie will tell you theres no better feeling than contributing that at the NHL level, especially in the playoffs. When you can contribute and steal a game you werent supposed to win its a great feeling.And finally… what was the most memorable game you ever played in?Thats hard to say, I always say its like asking who is your favourite child… and uh, I cant say. But definitely the games where the most was on the line, Olympics or playing game 7s of series, I played in many game 7s and those are the highest risk, and most reward. Winning game 7s and winning the Olympics were all great, memorable experiences. ' ' '