Hawks fall to the Pacers again

The Hawks played way too lackadaisical, like giving up back-to-back layups to Pacers guard Buddy Hield with 6:51 to play in the game.

But the Hawks had allowed the Pacers, who were playing without the injured Tyrese Haliburton, to get comfortable in the game. In the opening frame, the Pacers shot 84.2% from the field, missing just three of their 19 overall attempts. That continued throughout the night, with the Pacers making at least 55% of their field goals in every quarter.

“That was not the game we wanted on a lot of levels,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “The most glaring thing was just the amount of points we give up in the paint for a lot of different reasons but when you do that, that’s why the field-goal percentage is what it is. It’s shots that they’re gonna make a high percentage.”

2. Despite the Pacers missing All-Star point guard Haliburton due to a hamstring injury, the Hawks just could not stop their ball movement.

The Pacers continued to share the ball, with eight different players ending the night with double-digit scoring. Without Haliburton, the Pacers guards continued to slice and dice the Hawks, doling out 41 assists on 53 made field goals.

Though the Hawks recovered a few times throughout the game, the Pacers went on several runs.

Halfway through the first quarter, Indiana went on a five-minute 19-7 run that got them out to a 24-16 lead with 4:47 to play in the frame after the Hawks led 9-5. They exploded again just a few minutes later with a seven-minute 29-8 run between the end of the first period and opening four minutes of the second quarter.

The Hawks adjusted, going into drop coverage and found some success to trail just 68-62 at the end of the first half. But the Pacers’ ball movement continued to cut the Hawks up in the second half and they never recovered.

3. Thanks to their 3-point shooting the Hawks stayed within three possessions, after going 7-of-18 in the first half.

They Hawks found their shooters with four of their five starters hitting the bottom of the net from distance, as well as Bogdan Bogdanovic hitting a pair of 3s off the bench.

Bogdanovic, along with Trae Young, each made their 1,000th career 3 on Friday night. They became the first teammates to reach 1,000 3-pointers in the same game.

4. Though Young reached the milestone, he had a rough outing, ending the night 4-of-17 overall and 2-of-5 from 3, with 13 points and six assists.

Young’s night comes on the heels of a cold stretch to open the month of January. In the four games leading up to Friday’s outing, he shot 36.8% overall and made 18.9% of his 3-points attempts per game.

The drought comes after Young put up a career month in December, where he averaged 30.4 points and 12.2 assists.

The Hawks guard has dealt with a few bumps and bruises and has been playing through right shoulder soreness. With 5.8 seconds left in the first half, Young fell out of bounds after hitting a jumper and drawing the foul.

He remained in the game until 5:32 remained.

“They’re very physical, particularly with him,” Sndyer said. “And he was here three, four hours early getting treatment to get ready to play and he’s a gamer. He posts (available) for every game and I know when he came out he obviously got hit again.”

5. This season, the Hawks allowed the Pacers to shoot 63.6% (170-for-267) overall and 50.9% (52-for-102) from deep. They’ve been outscored 433-376 over the three games the teams have played this season.

The Hawks won’t face the Pacers again until April 14.

Stat to know

20 -- Dejounte Murray has scored 20-or-more points in six straight games, the fourth-longest such scoring streak of his career.

Quotable

“They drive you and they’re pretty relentless with that, if one guy can’t drive or they’re trying to move you and then the next guy is driving and so it requires you to really defend throughout the entire possession.” -- Quin Snyder on Indiana’s attacking of the rim.

Up next

The Hawks return to the court on Saturday to host the Wizards in their final meeting of the season.