• SO MUCH FOR DEFENSE: The Hawks couldn't have picked a worse night to forget all their defensive sets. How else to explain the 67 points they surrendered to Indiana by halftime Tuesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The Pacers shot a blistering 60.5 percent (26-for-43) from the floor. They kept it up after halftime, stretching their lead to as many as 29 points in the third quarter.

Time after time the Hawks got lost on their defensive coverages, turning a routine defensive set into an episode of Chase-The-Pacers.

While the Hawks were busy trying to recover, the Pacers were busy taking and making loads of wide-open shots. The Pacers shot 41-for-80 on the night, their best effort since shooting 41-for-79 in a Jan. 21 in Philadelphia.

"That's an inexcusable defensive effort," Joe Johnson said. "I don't think we realize what it was going to take [defensively] and it showed in the way we played."

• BIBBY'S STRUGGLES: Hawks point guard Mike Bibby saw his shooting woes continue for the third straight game.

He was 0-for-8 from the floor Tuesday, and is 5-for-32 from the floor in his past three outings. He has made three of 15 shots from beyond the 3-point line in that same stretch. He had just two free throws, four rebounds, two assists and a turnover on his stat line.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson sat him for most of the second half, choosing to go with Salim Stoudamire, who finished with six points in his nearly 14 minutes of action.

"I just sat him," Woodson said. "He didn't have it going and I elected to go with Stoudamire."

• BOW ON TOP: The Hawks will have an interesting gift waiting for them Saturday when they arrive home from their current three-game, eight-day road trip.

The league-leading Boston Celtics will arrive in town about the same time the Hawks make it back from Friday's game in New York.

"It doesn't matter where we are," Josh Smith said. "We have to win games. That's the bottom line."

— Sekou Smith