Game Recap
Once again, the Pacers came close but fell just short, losing to the Atlanta Hawks, 102-96, on the road in the Philips Arena.
The Hawks led by five with just over a minute to play, but the Pacers wouldn’t go down without a fight. After drawing contact, Paul George swished an off balance, one-handed three. He didn’t get the foul call he was looking for but did cut the lead to two.
Indiana couldn't get the stop they needed though as Jeff Teague converted a jumper of his own to push the lead back to four at 97-93. From there, Atlanta iced the game at the free-throw line.
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The game belonged to the Hawks in the early going, as the home team led 14-9 with just under seven minutes to play. Until the end of the quarter, the Pacers would outscore Atlanta 20-12, taking the lead with under a minute to play, thanks to back-to-back jump shots from George. He finished the quarter with 12 points, and Indiana led 29-26.
In the second, Atlanta struck first. The Hawks regained the lead, 38-36, with 8:41 to play in the half. A Tim Hardaway Jr. 3-pointer, followed by an alley-oop to Kent Bazemore put the Hawks in front and forced a Frank Vogel timeout.
The Pacers got the better of the Hawks to close the half. A George Hill triple cut Atlanta's lead to one with under three minutes to play. Indiana followed up a pair of Teague free throws with back-to-back baskets to take a one-point lead into the locker room.
In the third, a 9-0 Pacers run put the visitors up three, but a Paul Millsap baseline floater cut the lead to one with 5:38 to go in the quarter. Indiana’s offense responded with 3-pointers from George and Monta Ellis and physical three-point play from Lavoy Allen to lead by five with two minutes left.
But by the end of the period, the momentum belonged to Atlanta, as they finished the quarter with an 8-1 run, highlighted by two huge Al Horford dunks, to lead 73-72 heading into the fourth.
The Hawks grew their lead to five thanks to a Kyle Korver triple with 6:02 to go, but Indiana responded quickly. The Pacers put together a 7-0 run in a matter of moments and led 86-84 with 4:49 to play.
Out of a Hawks timeout, they went on a 7-1 run of their own to seize a 91-87 lead with 3:23 remaining. Millsap got an easy layup to push the lead to 93-87, and Ellis answered with a 3-pointer cut the lead to just three with 2:12 left, but the Hawks wouldn't relinquish their lead.
George finished the game with 31 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Off the bench, Lavoy Allen contributed 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Atlanta was led by Paul Millsap's 24 points. Al Horford added 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Inside the Numbers
Al Horford's +/- rating of +23 was the game's best.
Atlanta had 20 free-throw attempts to Indiana's nine.
After averaging only 10 points per game in his first two meetings against the Hawks this season, Paul George scored 31 on 11-of-21 shooting. George was 7-of-12 from beyond the arc.
You Can Quote Me On That
"We're a good defensive team. Just because you get a rebound doesn't mean you're going to automatically score. You have to try to score against a good defensive team again. Obviously we'd like to be better, but I think just because you give up a rebound doesn't mean automatically that they're going to score two points." -Hawks Head Coach Mike Budenholzer
"We just kept pushing the pace of the game, playing fast. It wasn't one of our best efforts on the boards, but we just did enough to win." -Hawks forward Al Horford
"We're evolving and improving. I'm encouraged about what we're going to be like in terms of our identity in the second half of the season. I'm very encouraged." -Pacers Head Coach Frank Vogel
"I thought our defense was pretty good. Our activity was good. We turned them over a lot. That led to some points for us. But we know that we can't normally win when we get outrebounded by 20." -Hawks Guard Kyle Korver
Noteworthy
- Lavoy Allen's 14 rebounds are the most he's had in a game this season. Tonight was also his third double-double of the season
- The Pacers outrebounded the Hawks 53-32, including 19-3 on the offensive glass
- Indiana shot 13-of-17 in the first quarter, the best the Pacers have shot in any quarter this season
Stat of the Night
For the first time in team history (dating back to when the stat was recorded in 1983-84), the Pacers outrebounded a team by 20 or more and lost the game (via Basketball-Reference.com).
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