The Indiana Pacers destroyed the Atlanta Hawks, 150-116, on Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. This game was over by the start of the second-half, with the Pacers at one point holding a 48-point lead. With trade rumors swirling around the roster, with the exception of Trae Young and Jalen Johnson, it seemed like the Hawks were not locked into the contest.
Saddiq Bey and Dejounte Murray started this game with back-to-back three’s, but the Hawks’ 6-0 advantage vanished quickly. Indiana responded with a 9-0 run fueled by transition buckets. The Pacers extended their run from 13-4 to 24-15. The Hawks never recovered from this point. Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner operated the pick-and-roll/pop to perfection. Turner found many teammates on cuts to the basket or open corner threes off the short roll to give Indiana a 38-24 lead after the first quarter. The Hawks shot 28% in the first frame, while the Pacers shot 68% from the field.
Atlanta had one of its worst offensive stretches in the entire season, starting from the middle of the first to the second quarter. Murray scored 13 early to lead the Hawks, but the Pacers started their rampage and shot the ball at an unbelievable clip. Indiana ballooned the lead to 78-54 heading into halftime. This was after Murray completed a four-point play. The Hawks looked stunned and entered the locker room looking defeated. Murray totaled 17 for Atlanta, but he was the only player in double-digit’s. Indiana had four players score over 10 points. They racked up 16 fast-break points and shot 9-16 from deep, while the Hawks shot 5-20 from downtown.
Unfortunately for Hawks fans, the second-half did not yield better results. At one point between the second and third frame, the Pacers scored on 18 of 20 possessions, including 15 straight before Obi Toppin missed a wing three. Indiana put up 112 points to end the third quarter with a 31-point lead.
The Hawks began the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, but Buddy Hield and Bennedict Mathurin made sure Atlanta could not complete a massive comeback. They hit back-to-back three’s to extend the lead to 126-92. With such a large spread, Head Coach, Quin Snyder, emptied his bench with 7 minutes remaining, and both teams’ reserves finished the game as the Pacers cruised to victory.
Murray was the only bright spot for Atlanta, totaling 30 points on 13-19 shooting. Young struggled to find a rhythm for 13 points (4-18 FG) and 1-11 from downtown. Johnson ended with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Bogdan Bogdanović shot 9-10 from the charity stripe, but shot just 3-14 from the field for 16 points.
For Indiana, Haliburton only scored 10 points but dished out 18 assists. Turner totaled 27 points and five boards, and Mathurin dropped 18 off the bench. Bruce Brown shot 8-9 from the field, finishing with 17 points. The Pacers had eight players score in double-digit’s and shot a whopping 63% from the field. They racked up 50 assists- three shy of tying the NBA-record mark of 53.
It is safe to say the Hawks must flush this painful loss out against the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center on Sunday. Atlanta needs to focus on what they can control to bounce back with a win against a quality opponent. They are now 14-20 heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Magic.
