The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Indiana Pacers, 132-123, Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Hawks completed the season-sweep against the Pacers, going 4-0 against the club and will not see Indiana till next season. After what has felt like an eternity for Hawks fans, the club is back above .500 for the first time since early-December.
Atlanta is heating up at the right time, as they are 7-3 in their last 10 games and just one game back from securing at least a one game of home-court advantage for the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. They seem to be getting back into their form with two quality wins against the Pacers and Golden State Warriors, after two ugly losses to the lowly-Detroit Pistons and the short-handed-New Orleans Pelicans last week.
The Hawks came out firing in the first quarter, and Trae Young was spearheading the potent offensive attack by keeping all of his teammates involved, finishing with eight assists in the first frame alone. Atlanta also was scorching from beyond the arc, hitting 10 three’s in the first 12 minutes, on route to a 44-point first quarter.
The second quarter started with a thunderous alley-hoop dunk from rookie, Jalen Johnson, who received decent minutes for the second time in three games. With John Collins still sidelined by injury, and both Danilo Gallinari and De’Andre Hunter ruled out for the game on Monday, Johnson was a breath of fresh air for the Hawks. His ability to create highlight plays in transition and energy, is something Atlanta’s veteran bench needed. He finished with the highest plus/minus on the team with +16 and 12 points in 17 minutes of action.
Clint Capela helped baby the Hawks’ lead all night, finishing around the rim at will, on his way to a 22-point and 15-rebound double-double. The pick-and-roll action was almost unstoppable for Atlanta, as Indiana had no answer or shot-blocking around the rim. The Pacers tried to keep up with Atlanta behind the play of Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield, whom each finished with 25 points and 26 points respectively, but the Hawks never lost control of this game.
Bogdan Bogdanovic almost had his third 30-point game outing in the last five games, finishing with 29 points on the night and an efficient 5-of-7 from three-point range. ‘Bogi’ got hot in this game from the start and shot the ball lights out down the stretch. Young finished with another double-double of 14 points and 16 assists. ‘Ice Trae’ was met with numerous defensive looks all night from Indiana, but luckily, Trae’s playmaking ability allowed him to impact the game without scoring.
Atlanta still has a ways to go with only seven games remaining on the schedule. The young Hawks are showing their resiliency by keeping themselves in contention while missing key players to injuries. The Hawks will hope to continue this run in Oklahoma City against the Thunder on Wednesday night. This is the first-half of a back-to-back set, as the Hawks return home Thursday to host the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that is only four games ahead of the Hawks in the standings and win column.
Tip-off for Wednesday’s game at OKC will be at 8:00 p.m. eastern standard time.
