INDIANAPOLIS -- The Hawks could not hit shots on Friday night, while allowing the Pacers to get wherever they wanted. They fell 150-116 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Here are five observations:
1. The Hawks simply could not get anything going early in the second of four matchups between the two teams. The Pacers bested the Hawks yet again after they essentially got whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.
The Pacers outscored the Hawks in just about everything with seemingly little resistance inside or outside the paint.
They moved the ball well, taking advantage of the Hawks’ sluggishness to contest shots from 3. They also sliced them up inside when the Hawks moved out to the perimeter and took advantage of their players cutting to the basket.
The Pacers set a franchise record on Friday, doling out 50 assists, with 18 of them coming from Tyrese Haliburton, to 60 made field goals. Nineteen of those shots came from deep.
After the Hawks opened Friday’s game on a 9-6 run, the Pacers went on a 24-9 run and they never let up. The Hawks also couldn’t match pace.
Indiana ranks second in the NBA in pace and the Hawks just could not slow them down. Roughly 18.1% of the Pacers plays came in transition, averaging 136.8 points per 100 possessions.
“I always hesitate to talk about lack of effort,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “We need to run back harder even early in the game. That urgency that you need against these guys in transition, that started early, where you don’t have a man. You just have to find someone pushing the ball the way they were.”
2. Not only did the Hawks struggle to stop the Pacers, they also had trouble getting their offense going after their early lead. They ended the first half down 24 after shooting 38% from the floor, 25% from 3 and making 73% of their free throws.
The Pacers were quick to stifle both Trae Young, who scored 13 points and had six assists, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, who shot a combined 3-of-18 overall in the first half. If the Pacers weren’t contesting shots on the perimeter, they packed the paint to shut down Clint Capela holding him to three offensive rebounds in the first half, while allowing him to score just five points.
Coming out of the half, the Hawks still couldn’t shake the fog, with the team’s four starters other than Dejounte Murray combining for 17 points.
With Bogdanovic, who had 16 points, limited by the Pacers, the Hawks got little help from the bench. The remaining three players in the nine-man rotation combined for just 15 points.
3. As the Hawks’ offense remaining cold, Murray looked to warm it as much as he could. He scored 30 points, for the second time in three games.
The Hawks guard, whose name has popped up in trade rumors over the last couple of weeks, put up an efficient night. He made 13 of his 19 overall field-goal attempts as he tried to attack the Pacers’ defense with his speed.
He scored a pair of 3s, one of which kickstarted the Hawks’ early run.
But Murray’s night meant little to him after the whole team couldn’t get its offense or defense going.
“I mean, I ain’t done nothing,” Murray said following the game. “You know, I was just trying to compete. We lost, though. So, I ain’t done nothing. We win as a group. We lose as a group and tonight we got our (butt) kicked as a group.”
4. With the Hawks down 34 at the end of the third quarter, both teams eventually emptied their benches.
After missing games over the last three weeks, sophomore wing AJ Griffin checked into the game for the Hawks with 7:02 left to play. He scored his first triple since Nov. 25 but that’s not where his mind was.
“I don’t really think about the shots going in or not, just really out there trying to get better,” Griffin said.
5. The Hawks have put up some competitive games this season despite their record (14-20). The Hawks entered Friday’s game with just one loss this season by more than 11 points. The Hawks fell to the Cavaliers 128-105 on Nov. 28.
Stat to know
150 -- The Pacers have scored 150 or more points three times this season, with two of them coming against the Hawks.
Quotable
“I mean, they’re a dangerous team. They’re all willing to pass. They all play the game the right way.” Dejounte Murray on what made it hard to slow the Pacers.
Up next
The Hawks take on the Magic at the KIA Center in Orlando on Sunday.
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