The Hawks narrowly escaped with a victory against the Indiana Pacers on the road Friday night. With the game tied at 111 and the shot clock turned off, Atlanta had an opportunity to send Pacers fans home unhappy. With five seconds left on the clock, Trae Young took a three which bounced off the rim right to Dejounte Murray. As Murray put up the mid-ranger with two seconds left, John Collins fought inside for great rebounding positioning and hit a clutch, game-winning tip-in with .07 seconds left on the clock. The Hawks defended perfectly and broke up a lob to seal a much-needed win at the GainBridge Fieldhouse.
In contrast to the game against Milwaukee, Atlanta got out to a quick 9-2 start with Onyeka Okongwu and Young finding open looks off the pick-and-roll. Okongwu put up 4 points, 4 rebounds and a block in just the first two minutes of the contest. However, the Pacers would counter with a run of their own, coming off T.J. McConnell’s sneaky steals and Isaiah Jackson’s emphatic blocks. The Hawks struggled from the free-throw line, shooting 1-5 to begin the game but still worked the pick-and-roll to perfection for easy buckets. They capped off an 11-0 run to end the first quarter with a 36-27 lead. Okongwu dominated with a 14-point, 8-rebound opening frame.
As Young went to the bench to start the second, the Hawks’ offense struggled to generate open, efficient looks. This allowed Indiana to push the pace and get easy buckets in transition. Rookie scorer, Bennedict Mathurin, seemed to get right to the front of the rim at will, as Atlanta’s point-of-attack defense struggled to keep guys in front of them. As the half-time buzzer sounded, Indiana already had a whopping 18 fast-break points. They average 19 such points per game. The Pacers also racked up 40 points in the paint at the half. Nonetheless, the Hawks kept the game close behind Okogwu’s 18-point, 13-rebound double-double, and the teams headed to their locker rooms with Indiana leading 58-55.
In the third quarter, De’Andre Hunter and Murray led the charge for Atlanta, combining for 24 points. The Hawks knocked down their first four three’s of the frame to take a 69-62 lead. However, it would not last long as the Pacers completed a swift 7-0 run to tie the game. Buddy Hield sent Pacers fans into a frenzy when he knocked down a buzzer-beating three to give Indiana an 89-84 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Pacers opened up the fourth on fire to create a 99-90 lead, but the Hawks would counter with a 13-2 run to put an end to Indiana’s momentum and hush the crowd. With just over two minutes left, Okongwu swatted an Andrew Nembhard floater that led to a Murray fast-break jam to take a 108-107 lead. Young hit a clutch 28-foot step-back three to put the Hawks up 111-109, but Hield would knock down two free throw’s the next possession to tie the game. This set the scene for Collins’ game-winning tip-in to ultimately seal the victory for Atlanta.
Young totaled 26 points and 11 assists and knocked down 6-10 from beyond the arc. Hunter caught fire in the second half and continued his strong form with 25 points and also hit six three’s. Okongwu dominated the paint, grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds and adding 18 points, 4 blocks, 4 assists and 2 steals. Murray ended with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists after a rough first half.
For Indiana, Mathurin led the way with 26 points as he hurt the Hawks in the paint. Jackson almost put up a triple-double as he finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks. Hield struggled from the field going 5-15 from the field for 18 points, as did Nembhard shooting only 2-16. Oshae Brissett, McConnell and Jalen Smith had 17, 13 and 14 points off the bench, respectively.
Atlanta will fly to Toronto tonight, as they look to start a much-needed win streak Saturday night against Pascal Siakam and the Raptors.
