Hawks vs Pacers: Game 2 Thread (Starters, Injury Report, Series Notes, etc.)
By David Menze
Indiana Pacers’ David West, left, and Atlanta Hawks’ Jeff Teague battle for a loose ball during the second half of Game 1 in the first round of the NBA basketball playoffs, Sunday, April 21, 2013, in Indianapolis. Indiana won 107-90. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
The Hawks and Pacers square off in Indiana for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals as Atlanta looks to even the series with a win Wednesday after dropping Game 1 on Sunday.
Paul George powered the Pacers to a 107-90 victory while posting his first career playoff triple-double with 23 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. He only shot 3-of-13 from the field, but made 17-of-18 foul shots. The other four Indiana starters were also in double-figures.
The Hawks were led by Jeff Teague’s 21-point performance. He shot 7-of-14 overall and finished with seven assists, one rebound and one steal. Al Horford and Josh Smith combined for 29 points and 14 rebounds. Horford got into foul trouble early and only registered 28 minutes of action in Game 1.
Indiana dominated Atlanta on the boards by a 48-32 margin and won the game on the foul-line as they had 20 more free-throw attempts overall — they won by 17. The Hawks shot 50 percent overall as a team. Prior to the game, the Pacers were 0-7 against teams that shot 50 percent or better.
Check out the keys to victory for both teams here.
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Quick Facts
Who?: #6 Atlanta Hawks (0-1) at #3 Indiana Pacers (1-0)
What?: Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 2
Where?: Bankers Life Fieldhouse
When?: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 – 7:30 PM (ET)
How?: NBA TV
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Projected Starting Lineups
Atlanta Hawks: PG: Jeff Teague | SG: Devin Harris | SF: Kyle Korver | PF: Josh Smith | C: Al Horford
Indiana Pacers: PG: George Hill | SG: Lance Stephenson | SF: Paul George | PF: David West | C: Roy Hibbert
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Injury/Inactive Players Report
Atlanta Hawks: Josh Smith (sprained right ankle) is a game-time decision. Zaza Pachulia (Achilles surgery) and Lou Williams (torn right ACL) are out.
Indiana Pacers: Danny Granger (left knee surgery) is out. _________________________________________________________________________________
Regular-Season Records/Streaks
Records: Atlanta Hawks (44-38) … Indiana Pacers (49-32)
Streaks: Atlanta Hawks –> OVERALL: Lost 2 / HOME: Lost 1 / ROAD: Lost 1 … Indiana Pacers –> OVERALL: Lost 3 / HOME: Lost 2 / ROAD: Lost 2
Home/Away Records: Hawks are (19-22) away … Pacers are (30-11) at home. _________________________________________________________________________________
All-Time Post-Season Notes
Atlanta and Indiana square off in a first round playoff series after splitting four games in the regular season. This will mark the fifth time Atlanta and Indiana have met in the postseason (previously three times in the first round and once in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals). The Hawks have taken two-of-the-three first round series’, winning 3-1 in 1987 and 3-2 in 1996, while falling in 1995 (3-0). The Pacers posted 4-2 quarterfinals series triumph in 1994. The Hawks are 8-11 all-time against the Pacers in the postseason (5-3 at home and 3-8 on the road). Indiana won the last postseason meeting in Atlanta on 5/2/96 (83-75).
2012-13 Post-Season Game Recaps (Pacers lead series 1-0)
GAME 1 — PACERS 107, HAWKS 90 — BANKERS LIFE FIELDHOUSE — 4/21/13
Paul George tallied his first playoff triple-double despite shooting 3-of-13 overall as the Indiana Pacers won 107-90 at home to take a 1-0 series lead over the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
George finished with 23 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. He went to the foul-line a whopping 18 times thanks to whistle-happy refs and sank 17 free-throws. George Hill got off to a hot start hitting his first five shots and scoring 13 of his 18 points in the first quarter. However, he cooled down as the game went on and finished 7-of-10 shooting overall. Roy Hibbert scored 16 points on 17 shot attempts but was huge on the glass grabbing six offensive rebounds. He finished with eight boards total, two blocks and one steal. All of Hibbert’s rebounds came in the second half, he had zero at halftime. Lance Stephenson and David West each scored 13 points. Stephenson added five rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block, while shooting five-of-nine overall in 41 minutes. West contributed with nine boards and two helpers. Gerald Green (11) was also in double-figures.
Indiana led Atlanta 58-50 at halftime and extended the advantage to 84-69 after the third period. They cruised in the last 12 minutes for the 17-point victory. The Hawks had cut the deficit to 89-81 on DeShawn Stevenson’s 3-point make at the 7:22 mark in the fourth quarter, but the Pacers responded with an 12-5 spurt to widen the gap. George hit a free-throw, Hibbert got an easy lay-up, and Green nailed a 3-point dagger down the stretch to clinch the victory.
Atlanta was led by Jeff Teague’s 21-point performance. He shot 7-of-14 overall and finished with seven assists, one rebound and one steal. Al Horford and Josh Smith combined for 29 points on 14-of-29 shooting. Smith finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Horford had 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal. He only played 28 minutes in the game and was on the bench for a crucial nine-minute stretch from the end of the third quarter to the 6:37 mark in the fourth. However, Atlanta did trim eight points off the deficit without Horford during the span. Ivan Johnson had a nice game off the bench with 10 points, five boards, one assist, one steal and one block, while shooting five-of-eight overall in 23 minutes of action.
Indiana dominated Atlanta on the boards by a 48-32 margin and won the game on the foul-line as they had 20 more free-throw attempts overall — they won by 17. The Hawks shot 50 percent overall as a team. Prior to the game, the Pacers were 0-7 against teams that shot 50 percent or better.
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Common Threads
Dahntay Jones was with the Pacers from 2009-12. Jeff Teague is a native of Indianapolis (Pike High School). Lester Conner was an assistant coach with the Pacers from 2007-10. Shelvin Mack played his college ball at Butler. Gerald Green was teammates with Johan Petro and DeShawn Stevenson last year in New Jersey. Anthony Tolliver and George Hill teamed together in San Antonio in 2008-09. Stevenson and Ian Mahinmi were both with the Mavericks in 2010-11. Tolliver and Jeff Pendergraph both played for Portland in 2009-10. Lou Williams and Sam Young were teammates in Philadelphia for part of last season.
Information was used from the Hawks and Pacers official gamenotes