Atlanta Hawks rally late to stun Indiana Pacers 89-86: NBA Recap
Atlanta Hawks, paced by back to back three pointers by Kyle Korver, kicked off an 18-0 run late in the game as they came back from behind to snatch a 89-86 victory against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night here at Philips Arena.
Indiana led by 83-69 at one stage when Atlanta constituted the comeback and before Pacers knew what had hit them; Hawks were up 87-83 with less than a minute on the clock.
The score was tied 10 times in the game as the proceedings started with Pacers going 9-7 before a Zaza Pachulia tip shot evened it out. Smith’s hook shot tied the score again at 16. Paul George nailed a three pointer as Pacers
went up 19-16.
A few moments later, Devin Harris jump shot made it 20-21 for the Hawks before Ian Mahinmi fouled gifting two points to Hawks. Pacers scored a quick brace near the end of the period to go up by 25-22.
Hawks started the second quarter strongly; a three pointer by Lou Williams kicked off an 8 point run that put them up 30-25. In the passage that followed, a 7-0 spree capped off by a layup by Williams had them leading 37-27. Later
on, Indiana cut the lead to 34-39 when Green threw one in from downtown. A 6-0 response had the Hawks leading 45-34 before Pacers came back with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to only one at 44-45. Hawks maintained their single point advantage going into halftime
51-50.
Hawks grabbed five straight points at the start of the second half to go up 56-51; led 62-56 at one stage before Pacers pulled off an 18-0 run to go 74-62. Stevenson flew in a three pointer and George Hill replied in similar fashion
as Pacers closed the third quarter leading 77-65.
Gerald Green jump shot further cemented Pacers’ authority at the start of the final quarter as they led 79-65 and many would have predicted them to go on to win the game at that stage.
But, it was not going to be their night.
Few moments later, Jeff Teague knocked down a jumper to shave off the deficit to 69-79 before a Tyler Hansbrough dunk shot and George Hill’s running layup had the Pacers leading by 83-69.
The play of the match begun moments after as Hawks went wild when they pulled off an 18-0 run, inspired by eight straight points from Korver. This burst put them up 87-83 with only 30 seconds remaining. Lance Stephenson pulled
back a three but a Williams’ dunk shot finished off the exciting encounter at 89-86 for the Hawks.
David West and George Hill shared the top scoring honors at 20 points each while Paul George chipped in with 13. From the Hawks camp, Al Horford scored 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds while Jeff Teague finished with 15 points
and 6 assists.
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