INDIANAPOLIS, March 17 (Ticker) -- The Indiana Pacers appear to be getting hot at the right time.

The Pacers turned in their best defensive effort of the season, routing the Atlanta Hawks, 85-68, for their fourth straight victory and sixth in eight games.

Austin Croshere scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for Indiana, which opened a 16-point halftime lead after allowing a season-low 28 points in the opening 24 minutes. The Pacers twice led by as many as 21 in the fourth period.

"I love the way we're challenging every shot, defending and executing," Indiana coach Isiah Thomas said. "It's making it very difficult for the other team to get off a shot. We're playing good basketball at that time you need to in this league, March, April and going into the playoffs."

NBA TV highlights from Hawks-Pacers: 56k | 300k Jermaine O'Neal battles hard with Shareef Abdur-Rahim in an easy Indiana victory. Ron Hoskins NBAE/Getty Images

The 28 points also were a franchise low for the Hawks since they moved to Atlanta, while the 68 points represented a season low.

Prior to Sunday, the Pacers had held only one opponent under 80 points this season, and that came in an 81-79 victory over the Chicago Bulls in early January.

But Indiana appears to be jelling, especially on defense, with the players acquired from the Chicago Bulls in a pre-deadline deal starting to mesh.

"I thought defense was really good tonight," Croshere said. "When we play this tough defense, I think we can beat anybody."

A strong finish is nothing new for the Pacers as they went 14-5 down the stretch last season just to finish .500 and secure the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Indiana is in a better position this season as Sunday's win left the Pacers just one-half game behind Philadelphia for sixth place in the East.

"We're getting to feel more comfortable with them (new guys) and they're getting more comfortable with us and learning our game and being very helpful," Croshere said.

"We have the players to execute the defensive screen we want to run and they're putting the energy and effort into it," Thomas added.

Nazr Mohammed was the only player in double figures for Atlanta with 15 points. Jason Terry and Shareef Abdur-Rahim were held to nine points apiece. The Hawks, who had a three-game winning streak snapped, shot under 36 percent (28-of-78) from the field.

"We never got going in this one today," Terry said. "You can look for every excuse in the book, but there are no excuses for the way we played. Our shots were not falling and they were hitting theirs."

The Pacers opened a 23-17 lead after the first quarter, then allowed only 11 points in the second period. Indiana took a 61-44 lead into the final period.

"It was a good effort on everyone's part," Indiana forward Jeff Foster said. "This is certainly a good time to start a streak in the direction that we have started it. We can't look back. We've got to build on this and until the end of the year."

Atlanta's only lead came when Addur-Rahim hit a jumper to make it 3-2. The Pacers opened a 20-11 lead on Brad Miller's short jumper with four minutes left in the first period and never looked back.

"We looked very good on defense and I think we did a good job of keeping the offense spread and hitting the open shot," Indiana guard Jamaal Tinsley said. "When we are playing hard and tough and playing to win, we don't really care what color the opponent's uniform is or where they're from."

Jermaine O'Neal chipped in with 11 points and Tinsley added 10 for the Pacers, who also held the Hawks to just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc.