The Hawks needed this one.
After losing twice to the Pacers in Indiana, the Hawks defended their home court with a back-and-forth 102-96 victory in a nationally televised game Friday night at Philips Arena.
The Hawks got seven fourth-quarter points from Al Horford, including a jumper with 1:19 left that gave the team a five-point lead, 95-90.
The Hawks (30-22) have won three straight games and kept a hold on third place in the Eastern Conference.
The Pacers (26-24) lost for the first time in franchise history when they outrebounded an opponent by 20 or more.
Here are the key players and five observations on the game:
Three key players
Al Horford: The Hawks center finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Paul Millsap: The All-Star forward had a Hawks-high 24 points but just two rebounds.
Paul George: The All-Star forward led the Pacers with a game-high 31 points.
Five observations
1. Second chances
The Pacers ended with a 53-32 rebounding advantage, including 19-3 on the offensive glass. That led to a 21-0 advantage in second-chance points. It was how the Pacers erased several deficits. Each time the Hawks appeared to take control, the Pacers answered.
2. All Hawks late third/early fourth
The Hawks took a six-point lead in the third quarter – and lost it. It was the third separate occasion they had such a lead and watched as the Pacers quickly erased it. The Pacers took a six-point lead of their own, 71-65, but the Hawks closed with an 8-1 run to take a 73-72 lead into the final quarter. Dennis Schroder hit back-to-back jumpers and Horford delivered back-to-back dunks, including one in the face of Solomon Hill. Schroder would score the first five points of the fourth quarter for a 13-1 Hawks run in which the Pacers missed 11 straight shots.
3. Checking Ellis
Pacers shooting guard Monta Ellis killed in the Hawks in the first two meetings as he combined for 51 points. The Hawks held him in check for the first half. He scored just three points on 1 of 4 shooting, including a 3-pointer. Ellis entered the game shooting .302 (49 of 162) from 3-point range - .563 (9 of 16) against the Hawks and .279 (40 of 146) against the rest of league. Ellis finished with 11 points on 4 of 13 shooting (3 of 7 from downtown).
4. Millsap starts early
The Hawks got a hot start from Millsap. The All-Star scored 14 first-quarter points on 6 of 7 shooting, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range. The Hawks had two six-point leads in the first quarter on the strength of Millsap. The Pacers ended the period on a 16-7 run to take a 29-26 lead after the opening quarter. George had 12 first-quarter points for the Pacers, who shot 76.5 percent (13 of 17) in the period. George had more points in the first quarter than he had in the entire games in the first two meetings (9 and 11).
5. Points in the paint
The Hawks started strong by getting to the basket. All six of their field goals to start the game were layups. The finished the first half with 26 of their 50 points in the paint.
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