NBA Match Recap: Atlanta Hawks 97 defeat Indiana Pacers 83
Atlanta Hawks made it eight in a row against Indiana Pacers by beating them 97- 83 at Philips Arena. 14,131 basketball fans witnessed this victory of home team. Pacers lost their fourth straight road game.
High-Flying Players
Jamal Crawford scored game-high 25 points off the bench, Al Horford scored 16 with 16 rebounds and a career-high eight assists, while Josh Smith scored 21 in the success of Hawks.
When Horford was asked about nearing a triple-double, he said, "It started creeping into my mind when I saw I had eight assists. But I wasn't really caught up in that; I was just happy that we won."
Mike Dunleavy tried his level best and led Indiana with 16 points in the defeat. Danny Granger and Brandon Rush posted 14 apiece.
Game Story
Atlanta Hawks proved themselves to be the best at home against Indiana Pacers as it was their sixth consecutive home victory against them. Maybe the encouragement and support of home crowd fuels their impressive home run. From the starting buzzer till the
end, the host team grabbed every available opportunity.
Indiana players are aware of their lack of success against the Hawks. "It takes a toll on us always losing to Atlanta. They always seem to have our number. They're a difficult team for us to match up against," Dunleavy said.
Pacers were coming off a home win over Charlotte Bobcats but even then, good luck seemed to be out of their reach as two of their leading scorers on the season, Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert each made just 3 of 14 shots. While on the other hand, Crawford
and Smith combined to make 18 of 21 free throws for Hawks.
After a slow-moving opening 12 minutes of first quarter, Hawks limped to a 16-14 lead, heading into second. Smith missed each of his four attempts in the first.
Atlanta got going early in the second, scoring 15 of the first 17 points. With Jeff Teague's three-point play a little later, the margin slowly reached as high as 22 and Atlanta cruised into the break ahead, 48-35.
Both teams caught fire in the third quarter and as a result it remained a double-digit game the entire third quarter. Pacers tried their level best to make the score a respectable one and slowly chipped away at their 75-60 deficit going into the fourth.
With 3:10 to go, A.J. Price's three-point play was quiet helpful in cutting down Pacers' deficit to 88-81.
Smith answered at Hawks' end with his second consecutive bucket while being fouled. He hit the free throw for a 10-point lead. Crawford joined hands with him and made two more from the stripe inside the two-minute mark, and Horford sealed it with a jumper
two possessions later.
Indiana missed their last five shots from the field, and Atlanta stamped their sixteenth victory of the season.
Climax of the Game
The first four-plus minutes of the second quarter finished the Pacers. Both teams appeared gassed in the first quarter, combining to make 11 of 41 shots after playing the night before. Then, Hawks out-scored the Pacers 17-3 to start the second period, as
Teague had a bucket, three rebounds and two assists.
Josh Powell’s Injury
Hawks' reserve forward Josh Powell left the game with 8:37 left to go upon re-spraining his right knee. He said he thinks he'll be able to play Tuesday at Detroit. "I think God was just testing me," Powell said.
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