Bogdanovic, Huerter rain threes as Atlanta Hawks get over .500

If we are going to come down on the Atlanta Hawks (38-37) for relying on the three-ball when it isn’t falling, then we have to praise them when it’s on as it was against the Indiana Pacers. The win gets them above .500 for the first time since mid-December and will look to stack another win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

This game stood out in large part because Trae Young dished out a season-high 16 assists as he took what the Pacers defense was giving him, which wasn’t much. He finished with 14 points, three rebounds, and a pair of steals with just two turnovers.

Young was a plus-nine, the highest mark of any Hawks starter, but someone had to knock down the shots to turn those passes into assists.

The Atlanta Hawks were on fire from beyond the arc versus the Pacers

Much of Young’s attention went to Clint Capela who had 22 points and 15 boards for his 31st double-double of the season. However, the Hawks also knocked down 17 threes for the fifth time this season. They hit 10 in the first quarter alone and 20 assists in the first half finishing the night with 32 dimes.

When it wasn’t Capela, it was most often Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter who combined for 51 points and went 11-of-17 from downtown. They got it going early going 5-of-7 in the opening frame.

Things slowed down a bit in the middle quarters, but still hit 4-of-9 threes between the second and third quarters.

Bogdanovic came into the evening as a game-time decision due to lingering knee soreness after missing the last game. The Hawks were without Danilo Gallinari who said his elbow got dinged up after Friday’s win over the Warriors. And De’Andre Hunter was also a late scratch with knee soreness. Nate McMillan was non-committal to Hunter’s availability for Thursday.

The Hawks have been without John Collins for the last eight games and 15 of their last 19.

That has made Bogdanovic’s fourth-quarter heroics of late that much more impactful. He was at it again versus Indiana with 12 points in the final 12 minutes as he played the entire fourth quarter knocking down just one three but 5-of-7 free throws.

Huerter got things going with six of the Hawks first eight points and has now put up back-to-back 20-point outings for the first time this season.

It’s also his third double-digit scoring performance in the last four tries which, hopefully, signals he is out of the slump that had plagued him in three of the last five coming in. It interrupted what was a very strong start to the month so a stronger finish is very much welcome. They are going to need his sweet shooting in the playoffs just as they did last year.

After the game, Bogdanovic enjoyed hearing the Hawks are above even and emphasized the Hawks staying locked in.

These are the kinds of games they dropped earlier in the year as the Pacers mounted a late sure but were held off. That is as good of a sign as any as we get closer to the postseason.