Atlanta Hawks Lose Heartbreaker To Pacers

A Good Start

Things got off to a good start against the Pacers early on, with Dwight Howard scoring the first five points. The Hawks built a 23-12 lead and looked to have put the last loss behind them. There were opportunities to break the game wide open and build the lead further, but Atlanta let Indiana erase the deficit.

The problems defending the three-point arc continued in this one, as Indiana was 7-for-15 from deep at the conclusion of the first half. The Hawks, meanwhile couldn’t find the mark, going 4-for-13 from long range in the first half.

The biggest concern was trying to slow down Paul George, who made 6 of their 7 first half three- pointers. He was 6-for-7 from three-point territory in the half, and the one he missed was a heave near mid court as the half ended. He had 24 points at halftime.

Atlanta’s coaching staff tried everything, with Kent Bazemore, Thabo Sefolosha and Tim Hardaway Jr all logging time defending the star forward. Judging by the amount of space that he had for his attempts from the perimeter, however, it was hard to tell who was guarding him. The teams went into the half knotted up in a 50- 50 tie.