Game Rewind: Pacers 112, Hawks 87

Just four minutes into the second half, the Pacers made it clear there would be no Atlanta comeback in the works.

After the Hawks went on a short-lived 6-0 run in the early moments of the third quarter, the Pacers responded with a haymaker, using an alley-oop from Bojan Bogdanovic to the soaring Victor Oladipo, who pounded it home over his defender to put the Pacers back up by 21. From there, Indiana cruised to the 112-87 victory on Friday night, closing their three-game homestand with an emphatic victory.

"We lost to them a week ago on their court," said Bogdanovic, who posted a team-best 21 points in the win. "So we knew we had to start in a different way and take care of business from the tip. And I think we did a good job, especially in the first half."

Oladipo's highlight-reel dunk was just a flash of the Pacers' 18-4 run in the third quarter; a run that also featured a powerful one-handed slam from Myles Turner, a full-speed dunk in transition from Thaddeus Young, and an and-one from Oladipo.

By the end of the third quarter, Indiana (38-28) had outscored the visiting Hawks 34-26, bringing a towering 24-point lead into the fourth quarter.

The win featured yet another strong outing from Turner, who followed up his 24-point performance on Wednesday with a 17-point, 12-rebound effort on Friday.

Also of note during the #PacersWin was the performance of Darren Collison, returning to action following arthroscopic knee surgery that has sidelined him since February 2nd. Collison scored 17 points on the night, making 7-of-10 shots while coming off of the bench as he eases his way back into the lineup.

"To see him play as well as he did, that's great," said Turner of Collison's return. "That's great for everybody's confidence. He knows that we need him and we are grateful to have him back."

For Atlanta, Tyler Dorsey was seemingly the only source of offense, notching 18 points for the Hawks (20-46) but shooting just 6-of-15 from the field.

From the opening moments of the game, the Pacers were in full control, outscoring the Hawks 25-10 as Turner swished two early 3-pointers. When the Pacers signaled for their first timeout of the night with 3:10 left in the first quarter, they had made 10-of-15 shots as a team.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: Track the Pacers' Playoff Push »

With the first quarter drawing to a close, the Pacers inbounded the ball to Collison, who dribbled down and hit a turnaround 3-pointer from the wing at the buzzer, bolstering Indiana's 34-15 lead after 12 minutes. Collison looked like he hadn't missed a beat, scoring 10 points off the bench in the first half alone.

"It feels pretty good right now," said Collison of his knee after the game. "It didn't have the same pain that I had been feeling at the beginning of this season. It really felt good just to go out there and not worry about pain."

When the second quarter got underway, the Pacers bench picked up right where the starters left off, extending the lead to a 42-21 advantage when Lance Stephenson connected on a contorted layup that went high off the glass.

After the Pacers got their lead to 21 points, the Hawks made a brief run, scoring six unanswered points to chip away at the deficit. But the Pacers stayed in control for the remainder of the half, carrying a 53-37 lead into the halftime locker room.

In the third quarter, Indiana broke the game wide open, using a battering 18-4 run to sieze full control of the contest with a series of 3-pointers and dunks that brought the crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse to its feet.

As the fourth quarter got underway, Domantas Sabonis beat the shot clock, draining a 3-pointer from dead center to put Indiana up by 27, effectively ending the night for Atlanta.

From there, Indiana had no problems closing out the game, finishing the night shooting 49.5 percent from the floor and connecting on 14-of-28 3-pointers.

The victory was critical for the Blue & Gold, who now play four teams currently in playoff position in the Eastern Conference, three of which come on the road.

"Take it one game at a time, stay in the moment, and control what we can control," explained Oladipo of the challenging final stretch. "I think those are the biggest things."

After shooting just 3-for-23 from 3-point range in Wednesday's loss to Utah, the Pacers made 5-of-6 3-point tries in the first quarter and finished the night 14-for-28 from long distance.

Indiana is now 12-3 at home since the beginning of January, and now holds a 22-12 record at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Myles Turner finished with 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. He has now posted four double-doubles in the last nine games.

The Pacers outscored the Hawks 25-6 in fast break points.

"Our stretch here is tough with the road games but as I told the team, I'm looking forward to the challenge because we do have everybody healthy. We're going into this stretch with a healthy team and we don't have to pace ourselves. We have a lot of guys that can play and that want to play. Give all you have the time that you spend on the floor and we have guys that we can sub in." -Pacers head coach Nate McMillan

"It's important. I think every game from here on out is going to be extremely important. We just have to take it one game at a time. We're going into a hostile environment on Sunday, Boston is going to be ready. These other games we have to win. We've gotta finish strong if we want to make a playoff run." -Collison on the importance of Friday's win

"A lot of credit to Indiana tonight. We have been talking about (being) the more aggressive team, no matter who you are playing. A lot of nights I have liked our aggressiveness, where it's been. Tonight, credit to Indiana. Hopefully we'll learn from it, see it, feel it … there's nothing like playing in a game where a team is ultra-aggressive, and you have to respond, fight fire with fire and I thought tonight we didn't do that." -Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer

For the fifth time this season, the Pacers made 14 or more 3-pointers and shot 50 percent or better from long range. Indiana is now 18-5 on the season when making more 3-pointers than its opponent.

The Pacers travel to Boston to face Kyrie Irving and the Celtics on Sunday night at 7:30 PM ET. Game Preview »

Following two games on the road, the Pacers return home to face DeMar DeRozan and the East-leading Raptors on Thursday night at 7 PM ET Find Tickets »

Indy Flex-Fit Hat - $15. The Game Night Special can be purchased at the Pacers Team Store on game day, as well as online from 10:00 AM-Midnight. Order Online »