INDIANAPOLIS -- Washington keeps finding ways to break through old, stubborn barriers. Even in the unlikeliest place of all -- Indiana. Bradley Beal scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Trevor Ariza added 22 and the Wizards held off the Pacers with a stout defence over the final 7 1/2 minutes Monday night to get a 102-96 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. It was Washingtons first second-round win in 32 years. "We know its a tough building to play in. We havent won here in a while," Ariza said after the Wizards snapped a 12-game losing streak in Indy. "Why wouldnt this be the best time to come here and get a win -- in the playoffs?" The Wizards know there is a lot more work to do in this best-of-seven series. Game 2 is Wednesday in Indianapolis. So far, though, things have gone well for the upstart Wizards. After clinching their first playoff berth since 2008, the Wizards have advanced to the second round for the first time since 2005, won at Indiana for the first time since April 18, 2007, and have their first second-round win since April 28, 1982. Washington has opened these playoffs with four straight road wins and put the pressure right back on the top seed in the Eastern Conference. It doesnt get better than that for a young team that beat Chicago 4-1 in the opening round. "The way I think about it, Im 20 years old, Im playing in the playoffs, something Ive always dreamed of. Why not embrace it?" Beal said. "Why not accept the challenge and have fun with it? Thats all Im doing -- having fun." For the Pacers, it was another kick in the pants. After salvaging their season with two straight wins to beat Atlanta in seven games, Indiana lost Game 1 for the second straight series and for many of the same reasons. They were outrebounded 53-36 and were outscored 19-5 on second-chance points. They got beat outside as Washington made a franchise playoff-record 10 3-pointers with Ariza going 6 of 6. They got no points and no rebounds from 7-foot-2 centre Roy Hibbert, who has looked nothing like the All-Star he was during the first half of the season. And when they were desperately trying to rally in the fourth quarter, Indiana went 7 minutes without a basket. Things got so frustrating that even the emotional Lance Stephenson lost his cool and snapped at coach Frank Vogel when he was yanked with 1 minute to play in the third quarter. Vogel said he took Stephenson out because he didnt want him playing 48 minutes. Stephenson said he was mostly mad at himself. "I waited too late," Stephenson said. "Third quarter was too late to turn (it) up. I mean we need to come out first quarter and turn (it) up and get everybody going so the second half we could already have that pace." Paul George and George Hill scored 18 points each to lead the Pacers, though half of Hills points came on three 3s in the final minute when it was too late to come back. David West added 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Wizards trailed once all game, 31-30, and retook the lead on the ensuing possession. But Washington won this one in large part because it beat Indiana at its own game. Marcin Gortat had 15 rebounds, six on the offensive end where Washington held a 17-6 advantage. The defence limited Indiana to 40.7 per cent shooting and never allowed them to get closer than six points until the final minute of the game. By then it was too late. Washington jumped to an 8-0 lead and led 28-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. After the Pacers charged back to take the lead, the Wizards closed the half with a decisive 17-6 run to make it 56-43. Washington took its biggest lead of the game, 68-52, midway through the third quarter with the Pacers in full catch-up mode. Indiana got within six late in the third, within seven early in the fourth and within five when Hill hit a 3 with 23.6 seconds to go. That was as close the Pacers got. "We won one game here in Indiana, but we still have to get three more," Beal said. "We have to be more desperate each and every game." NOTES: Washington has won seven straight on the road and nine of its last 10 including the regular season. ... Indiana held Washington to 66 points on Jan. 10, the lowest single-game point total in the NBA this season. It took the Wizards only 26:02 to top that mark Monday. ... Washington shot 62.5 per cent from 3-point range (10 of 16), the best against Indiana this season. ... Robert Mathis and Reggie Wayne of the Colts attended the game. Kris Bryant Cubs Jersey . The outdoor event will be played on Dec. 31 between alumni of the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Jonathan Lucroy Jersey . -- Kevin Harvick pulled away on a restart with 47 laps to go and ended Chase Elliotts two-race winning streak in NASCARs Nationwide Series with a dominating victory early Saturday at Richmond International Raceway. https://www.cheapcubs.com/1580t-fergie-j...ersey-cubs.html. On Wednesday, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas hit back. In a passionate defence of himself and the London clubs medical staff, the Portuguese coach rebuked the "incompetent people" who have attacked Tottenham for allowing Lloris to continue playing after being briefly knocked unconscious against Everton on Sunday. Alec Mills Cubs Jersey . Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley told local media in comments published Wednesday that John Tomic would not be allowed into Melbourne Park in any official capacity or as a spectator. James Norwood Cubs Jersey . Switzerland faces Belgium or Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals in April. Serbia dropped into the World Group playoffs in September. A confident Chiudinelli and Lammer defeated veteran doubles player Zimonjic and young Krajinovic 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2."This is not a team to win tomorrow, its a team of kids, this is a team where the best years are to come, the best stage is not this one or the next one. More than 50 per cent of the team are aged 23 or below, this is a team to be built, which is what I have been asked to do, build, with the fantastic talent I have, a Chelsea team for the next decade." - Jose Mourinho, summer 2013. Without a ball being kicked, Mourinho knew the size of the task at Stamford Bridge. When his team came up against Manchester United at the end of August at Old Trafford, he kept it tight, bringing a new resilience to the team to help them get a point. It was an examination of his players and one they had rarely been asked to do under Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benitez last season. Almost five months later, in the return match against United at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho put his players through a different exam, one they passed again, thumping Manchester United 3-1. This was not a game won on the training pitch, or at the blackboard tactically in the buildup; instead a deflection and two poor defensive errors handed the game to Chelsea. Mourinho had hoped something like that might have happened at Old Trafford. This time hed hoped they might create a bit more, but he will certainly take the manner in which they won. In the minds of many, the game officially ended Uniteds title challenge but, realistically, this was secured two months earlier. Instead, this game showed us more of Chelsea - a win where they finally relied upon a striker to deliver the critical blows, as Samuel Etoo scored a hat-trick inside 50 minutes, and a win where they easily defeated an arch-rival without being at the top of their game. And it is that which will please the manager most. Strikers are paid a lot of money to score goals and often these become vital, isolated moments that have no reflection on the way the game was played. When Etoos shot deflected off Michael Carrick and into the net on 17 minutes, it put an end to a period that United were in control of the match. Etoo scored again and again, both times being left to easily poke home in the penalty box to secure a rare kind of victory for Chelsea. Dont get used to it. Mourinho acknowledged this recently, saying: “We cannot just let the players hide behind the fact that we are not scoring enough goals and wait for that to happen. We cannot play for that. People need to change their brains a little bit more." Sunday was the first time all season a Chelsea striker had scored more than once in a game. Last season? It happened just once in 38 games when Fernando Torres got a brace at Sunderland (and one of those was a penalty.) Etoo handed Chelsea the three points on Sunday, but with a settled back four and an average striker playing up top for Chelsea this season, their championship-calibre credentials will be determined by the five that connects them together. This is Mourinhos most important project. The Fundamental Five Mourinho knows that these five players dictate the way his team is playing. When they lose, like they did at Sunderland in the League Cup last month, it makes Mourinho question how these five play, as he said: "We may have to take a step back in order to be more consistent at the back. Its something I dont want to do, to play more counterattacking, but Im giving it serious thought. If I want to win 1-0, I think I can, as I think its one of the easiest things in football. Its not so difficult, as you dont give players the chance to express themselves." If Mourinho is giving counterattacking more thought, it requires a more solid double pivot in central midfield, but when you ask him about this area, Mourinho would admit he isnt fully sold on the style, saying, as he also did last month, this time after a win: "We are not a very solid team, at the same time compared with last season, when this team played a big part of the season with David Luiz and [John Obi] Mikel in front of the four defenders, so at the end of the day they had five defenders plus Mikel, Ramires playing on the right side closing one side down and the team was playing with one striker and Juan Mata behind him, defending well and trying to counterattack, thats not the direction we want to go." Mourinho will only tell you publicly what he wants you to know. In truth, if Chelsea are to become the powerhouse Mourinho wants, the team needs to be able to attack better annd counter and that was shown on Sunday against United.ddddddddddddUp 3-0, he brought on Mikel to play alongside Luiz and pushed Ramires on to the right to close down the threat of Adnan Januzaj, who had moved there when Javier Hernandez came on. However, it is one thing to do this, up 3-0, but it is quite another to do it at 0-0. Yet, at 0-0 Chelsea still countered. And at Arsenal last month, a game that ended 0-0, they countered from deep positions on regular occasions. However, in that match never, was it more evident that the playmakers didnt trust Torres, as they often would break from deep positions and not want to give the ball to the Spaniard. "It was like they were playing with 10 men," said Sky Sports analyst Gary Neville after the match and he was absolutely spot on. Ramires has been a permanent fixture in central midfield and, despite often saying Luiz wasnt a central midfielder, the Brazilian was selected there again for Sundays clash, just as he did last week at Hull and at home to Liverpool recently. Luiz is clumsy on the ball and gives away needless fouls, but, unlike Frank Lampard, he gets the best out of his midfield partner because, positionally, he is ideal. He allows Ramires to use his speed and energy, getting forward to connect with the playmakers further forward, but is also useful in counterattacks because he can often ignite them with the first pass as he thinks like a centre back when his team is not in possession of the ball. It is clear Mourinho wants to play a four-band system, which has been labeled 4-2-3-1, but is often really 4-3-2-1 with the central playmaker dropping deeper when not in possession, another reason why counterattacking can work for this team. When asked about the three behind the striker, earlier this season, Mourinho said: "We have six players for these three positions and they will give me chances as a manager to change, match to match, depending on the opponent, the game plan. It is based on these three players how we create our football." This has certainly been true. Five months after that comment, Kevin De Bruyne has been sold, Juan Mata and Andre Schurrle have sat on the bench a lot and Mourinho has found out who the three players he relies on most in those positions - Willian, Oscar and Eden Hazard - and, with whoever playing as a striker continuing to be inconsistent, these playmakers certainly dictate Chelseas creativity. Hazard is the fun inside the fundamental five and has had a wonderful season, already scoring nine league goals. Of the three, he sticks to his position, on the left, more than most, but has the football intelligence to come central, to occupy the centre backs, when the striker comes deep, and even go right and attack from deep through the middle, as he did when he scored his wonderful individual goal against Liverpool. Keeping the Belgian predominantly on the left appears to be the reason Mourinho prefers Cesar Azpilicueta over Ashley Cole at left back. Mourinho rarely encourages his full backs to get forward and having a more defensive-minded full back down the left negates Hazards defensive issues, which were far too evident under both managers last season. Finding these combinations all over the pitch is what is crucial in finding the perfect balance for Chelsea going forward. Oscar is much better at combining with Ramires than Juan Mata, for example, while Willians workrate on the right has made him a perfect partner for Branislav Ivanovic. It was fitting, after a win on January 1st, that Mourinho said: "We are right in it, we have a good team but we need a few important bodies for next season, and I will say in the summer we will get it, I would say the team evolves in this direction, I can predict in the next season we will be real important contenders." For many, Chelsea are real important contenders this season, but what Mourinho means is that, by then, his team will play the way he wants them to. Nemanja Matic has arrived and 4-3-3 may well be in the future, but for that Chelsea needs a legitimate star striker and they need to continually show their manager that they are getting better when they immediately lose the ball. Transitions are the theme for Chelsea to improve, but in this transitional time at the club, they might even be surprising the manager with just how well they are doing. The team not built for tomorrow is becoming the team to win today. ' ' '