Josh Smith leads Atlanta Hawks past Indiana Pacers
Josh Smith had a superb performance as he led the Atlanta Hawks to a 102-92 win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday 16 November at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Smith, who was rumoured to be on the trading block two weeks ago, racked up 25 points, eight rebounds, and seven blocks, while veteran point guard Mike Bibby had 16 points and seven assists
for the Hawks, who overcome the lacklustre performance of Joe Johnson.
Johnson, who is the team’s leading-scorer with his 19.2 points per game average, struggled to find his usual rhythm, scoring only 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting from the field in 31 minutes
of playing time.
“Everybody knows that Joe's the key guy on the offensive end because he's such a potent scorer,” said Atlanta head coach Larry Drew on Johnson. “When other guys are touching the ball and
when other guys are getting looks, it makes you tough to defend. When we play like that and defend on the other end, we become pretty hard to beat.”
Indiana played well in the first half and they managed to stay within striking distance, 50-49, heading into the second half. However, Smith started to torch the Pacers, as the high-flying
forward erupted for 17 points in the entire second half and was 5-for-8 from the field.
“In the first half, I wasn't stepping into it, I was fading,” said Smith, who shot 9-for-16 from the field. “I made some corrections, and my teammates were able to find me, and I was able
to knock down shots more.”
Indiana unleashed rallies down the stretch and they managed to pull within five points, 83-78, with 7:28 left in the game, but the Hawks responded with a 7-0 blast to extend to their lead
back to 12 points, 90-78, and they never looked back, escaping with their eighth win of the season.
“We got the stops,” said Bibby, who converted three of his five three-point attempts. “We were kind of going back and forth in the first half. Then, we started getting stops and rebounding
better, and we scored at the other end.”
Danny Granger finished with 22 points and six rebounds, Roy Hibbert had a big night with his 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Mike Dunleavy added 14 points for the Pacers, who absorbed their
fifth defeat this season.
“We lost to a very good basketball team,” said Indiana head coach Jim O’Brien, whose team out-rebounded the Hawks 42-30. “They have a lot of weapons. They played together and they're well-coached.”
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