Game Rewind: Pacers 91, Hawks 110

Game Recap

The Pacers ran into a buzzsaw on Wednesday night in Atlanta. The Hawks (35-8) never trailed en route to their 14th straight win, rolling past Indiana (15-29), 110-91.

The Pacers and Hawks are headed in entirely different directions. Atlanta tied a franchise record for most consecutive wins on Wednesday. Indiana, meanwhile, dropped its sixth straight game for the third time this season.

"We have not been playing very well," Pacers forward Luis Scola said. "And then you come up against this very hot team that is playing very well, and this is what happens."

The Hawks scored the first five points, took an early 12-4 lead and stretched the margin to as many as 10 points in the first quarter. The Pacers managed to claw back within three with 10:57 left in the second quarter, only for the Hawks to reel off an 11-0 run to take their largest lead of the half.

The home team put the game away early in the second half, opening the third quarter with a 13-4 run that stretched their lead to 20 points. Atlanta scored 36 points in the third quarter, led by as many as 27, and cruised to their 28th victory in their last 30 games.

The Hawks were firing on all cylinders offensively. Six players scored in double figures for the hosts, including all five starters. Atlanta shot 50 percent from the field and knocked down 13-of-29 attempts from 3-point range.

"That’s their game," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "That’s why they’ve been so effective for the last 30 games. They have great ball movement, great shooting and great attacking."

On the other end, turnovers continued to be a problem for the Blue & Gold on Wednesday. The Pacers coughed up the ball 39 times in their past two games and had another 18 turnovers against Atlanta.

C.J. Miles led the Pacers with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting. C.J. Watson added 13 points, Rodney Stuckey had 12, and Scola finished with 10.

Pike High School alum Jeff Teague led the way for the Hawks, scoring 17 points and dishing out 11 assists. DeMarre Carroll also had 17 points for Atlanta.

The Pacers' longest road trip of the season continues on Friday night in Miami, where they'll look to get back in the win column against the Heat. Indiana has already beaten Miami twice this season.

Inside the Numbers

The Hawks' 14-game win streak matches their franchise record previously set from Nov. 16 - Dec. 14, 1993. Atlanta hasn't lost since falling to Milwaukee on Dec. 26.

Atlanta's 36 points in the third quarter match the most by a Pacers opponent in that period this season. Indiana also allowed 36 points to the Pistons in the third quarter of their loss in Detroit on Dec. 26.

One bright spot for the Pacers was at the free throw line. They made 24-of-26 shots from the charity stripe, a 92-percent clip.

After scoring just 11 points on 5-of-23 shooting in losses to Detroit and Charlotte, Miles has bounced back. The Pacers' sixth man has totaled 41 points on 16-of-33 shooting in Indiana's last two games.

Pacers rookie forward Shayne Whittington logged 7:50 off the bench, his most extensive playing time since he saw a career-high 12 minutes of action against Denver on Nov. 14. Whittington finished with six points (one shy of his career high), knocking down 2-of-4 shots. He also had a rebound and an assist.

You Can Quote Me On That

"The Hawks were the better team tonight. They got it going pretty early and then they made a big run in the third quarter." -Frank Vogel

"It’s been tough. We can’t seem to find a rhythm. We don’t seem to find a way to play the right way, and we don’t seem to get any wins. We have a good opportunity to make the playoffs, but we have some good teams ahead of us right now. If we continue to lose games it’s going to be very tough." -Scola

"I think the group has continued to play with a little bit of an edge defensively, a lot of unselfishness with 30 assists on 39 field goals. If we can continue to just work each day and take it day-by-day, game-by-game, all the clichés, that’s what we’re mostly concerned about." -Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer

"We’re just playing basketball. We don’t think about records. We just play basketball. Coach Bud has a good system, and good players follow the system by playing unselfish basketball, finding the open guy and knocking down some shots." -Hawks center Pero Antic

"We’ve been playing well defensively, had active hands on the defensive end – that’s really been our key to the streak." -Hawks point guard Jeff Teague

Stat of the Game

The Hawks outscored Indiana by 24 points from beyond the 3-point arc. Atlanta went 13-for-29 from long range, while the Pacers were just 5-for-25. DeMarre Carroll and Pero Antic both made 3-of-5 3-pointers, while sharpshooter Kyle Korver went 2-for-4.

Noteworthy

• With the win, Atlanta swept the regular season series with the Pacers for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The Hawks also defeated the Pacers this year on Nov. 1 in Atlanta and on Dec. 8 in Indianapolis.
• With the loss, the Pacers fall to 3-16 when allowing 100 or more points.
• With the win, the Hawks clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference by Feb. 1, meaning that Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer and his staff will coach the East in the 2015 All-Star Game. Pacers head coach Frank Vogel and his staff had that honor last season.
• The Hawks are now 27 games over .500 for the first time since they finished the 1996-97 season with a 56-26 record.

Up Next

The Pacers head to Miami, where they'll take on the Heat on Friday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 PM ET.