WASHINGTON - Five months from now, if the Washington Wizards get into the playoffs, they may not be so bothered about last night's 88-84 loss to the Indiana Pacers, but only if the setback yields lasting dividends.

Sleepwalking through three quarters against the Eastern Conference's best team, the Wizards were awakened by Juan Dixon's fearless fourth quarter, in which the former Maryland and Calvert Hall star set a club record with six steals in the period.

Dixon contributed career highs of 15 points, five rebounds and four assists, as well as the steals, as Washington sliced a 19-point third-quarter lead all the way to one late before the Pacers (11-2) held on.

Dixon proved as elusive afterward as he did against Indiana, leaving MCI Center without addressing the media.

"He cut out on you guys? We're going to have to beat him down for that," Michael Jordan said. "He came with unbelievable energy, and we needed that. We were walking around in a fog for a while there, and he just got the crowd in, just by going in the game, and he made some big shots."

Washington coach Doug Collins rolled the dice in the fourth, going with Dixon, Jordan, Jerry Stackhouse, Jared Jeffries and Etan Thomas, and they responded, pulling Washington (6-8) within 77-76 with 2:43 to go, before the Pacers boosted the lead to five on a pair of free throws and a foul-line jumper, both from Brad Miller.

"One thing I've always done in my career is when in doubt, go with your competitors," Collins said. "I think when you looked out there at the end of the game, we had some of our best competitors on the floor. And that's why we got back in the game."

The Wizards, who have dropped four straight, again got a poor shooting night from Stackhouse, who went 2-for-16 in scoring six points.

Combine his performance with that of Tyronn Lue (1-for-9), who was starting at the point in place of Larry Hughes (strained right wrist), and it's a wonder the Wizards were actually in position to win.

"We were shooting cold, and with everything that happened, we still had an opportunity to win the game," Stackhouse said. "You give a lot of the credit to those guys. Juan and Jared and Etan came in and gave us a big lift. You hit those stretches where the rim seems small and the ball won't go in. But I'm going to come back pulling the same way Friday. I can't stop."

Jordan had a season-high 28 points in 34 minutes, and center Brendan Haywood chipped in 11 points in his best game of the season.

But the talk was about the unheralded players like Dixon and Thomas, who has sputtered throughout the year to come back from an Achilles' strain that has hampered his play.

"I don't know what it is," Thomas said. "I just know that some of the guys who don't get a lot of minutes are eager to get out there and show what they can do. When we're put in the game, we're really eager and really excited. Mistakes are mistakes, but they are aggressive mistakes. We just want to go in and give a spark."

Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal had 26 points and career-high 21 rebounds, while Reggie Miller, in his first game of the season after missing the first 12 with a sprained right ankle, had 13 points, including seven in the fourth period.

Next for Wizards

Opponent: Indiana Pacers

Site: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis

When: Friday, 8 p.m.

TV/Radio: CN8, Ch. 50/WTEM (980 AM)