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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. Cheap Old Skool China . According to a report from ESPN, the veteran safety has signed another one-year deal with the team Raiders, the team that drafted him, and who he returned to last year after a long stint with the Green Bay Packers. Old Skool Clearance .com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. http://www.cheapoldskoolchina.com/. -- Canadian ski cross star Marielle Thompson accomplished two goals in one race Saturday. Discount Old Skool . The 24-year-old Raley was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA for Chicago in his first two career starts after being called up from Iowa on Aug. 7. He was optioned to Iowa on Monday after losing 3-0 to Cincinnati in Chicago on Sunday. Wholesale Old Skool . After Andrew Romine served up two monster home runs in the inning, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he thought Romine was one of the bright spots on the night, showing just how bad the series opener against the last-place Minnesota Twins went for the Tigers.LOS ANGELES -- Michael Cuddyer is closing in on his first batting title. And he didnt even need to play on Saturday night to help get there. Cuddyer spent the game on the bench with his .333 average and the Rockies beat Zack Greinke and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0. Atlantas Chris Johnson went 0 for 4 against Philadelphia and slipped to .321 -- effectively locking up Cuddyers first batting title in 13 big league seasons with one game remaining. "It means a lot," said Cuddyer, who was a teammate of two-time AL batting champion Joe Mauer in Minnesota. "It takes a lot of hard work, sticking to routines and things of that nature -- and a lot of luck along the way, too. Im not too proud to admit that to do something like that, youve got to get lucky. "I went into the season a career .271 hitter. So to be in a position like this, I never would have thunk it," Cuddyer added. "I never thought that when the season ends, Id be on top. Ive never been in that position before, so I was never assuming that I was going to be there. "Obviously when you get into September and youre in contention, you keep plugging away for it. And fortunately, Ive had a good September. But I never tried to get ahead of myself." The 34-year-old right fielder is the sixth player in Rockies history to win a batting crown, joining Andres Galarraga, Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Carlos Gonzalez and three-time winner Larry Walker. Cuddyer is hitting .313 outside of Denver, so hes not just benefiting from playing half of his games at Coors Field. "To lead the league in hitting you have to hit well at home and on the road -- unless you hit like .400 at home," he said. "Ive been in this organization only two years, so Ive never really taken that home-road thing to heart, as far as Coors Field is concerned." Juan Nicasio outdueled Zack Greinke for his first victory in six starts and Nolan Arenado had an RBI double for the Rockies. Nicasio (9-9) allowed three hits over 5 1-3 innings and struck out seven while winning for the first time since Aug. 26 against San Francisco. The last time the 27-year-old right-hander faced the Dodgers on July 12 in Los Angeles, he outpitched Clayton Kershaw with seven scoreless innings for the victory. "Thats the thing about Juan. He can step up and have a performance like that," Roockies manager Walt Weiss said.dddddddddddd. "He was trying to find consistency after being out for much of the time over the last two years. Weve seen that from him earlier this year when he matched up with Kershaw and threw much like that." Adam Octavio followed Josh Outman out of the bullpen in the sixth, retiring Juan Uribe on a foul pop and Scott Van Slyke on a fly ball with the bases loaded. Rex Brothers, the sixth Rockies pitcher, got four outs for his 18th save in 20 chances. It was only the fifth shutout win for the Rockies. "Its just good to go out there and play a competitive game like that and end up winning a really tough game against a really good team," Weiss said. "Im proud of the way our guys have played down the stretch. We fight until the last out, and were going to fight until the last out of the season." Greinke (15-4) allowed a run and four hits through six innings. The right-hander struck out seven and did not allow a walk in his 300th major league game. Troy Tulowitzki doubled with one out in the fourth and scored on Arenados two-out double to left-centre. Greinke lost for the first time in eight decisions since July 25 and finished his first regular season as a Dodger with a 2.63 ERA in 28 starts. He is scheduled to start Game 2 of the Division Series. With Andre Ethiers status for the playoffs in doubt because of shin splints, three other high-profile Dodger outfielders also were missing from the lineup. Centre fielder Matt Kemp was a late scratch because of left ankle soreness, and Carl Crawford was rested by manager Don Mattingly. Rookie Yasiel Puig, who fouled a pitch hard off his left shin and left Fridays game after five innings, pinch-hit in the seventh and struck out. "He was begging to get out there tonight once Matt couldnt go," Mattingly said of Puig. "But I felt like there was no reason for it, being that last second. We didnt know about Matt till five minutes before the game." NOTES: Greinke is averaging 1.86 walks per nine innings in his past 16 starts, after tying a career worst with seven bases on balls at Colorado on July 3. He finished with 19 hits, the most by a Dodgers pitcher since 1993, when Orel Hershiser was 26 for 73. ... Kershaw was presented with the teams eighth annual Roy Campanella Award by former manager Tommy Lasorda before the game. ' ' '