The Pacers may have the NBA’s best record - but the Hawks still have their number in Atlanta.
The Hawks built a 25-point lead and held on for a 97-87 victory, their 12th straight regular-season home win over the Pacers, at Philips Arena Wednesday night.
It was the Hawks signature win at this point in the season. More importantly, the Hawks (19-17) snapped a three-game losing streak.
Kyle Korver led the Hawks with 17 points. They also got double-figures from Pero Antic (16), Jeff Teague (15), Mike Scott (15) and DeMarre Carroll (11). Making the win more impressive was the fact that Paul Millsap had just four points.
Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 105 games with a 3-pointer.
The Pacers (28-7) had a three-game win streak snapped and lost for just the second time in 10 games.
Paul George led the Pacers with a game-high 28 points and 12 rebounds. The Pacers played without starter Lance Stephenson (knee) and Danny Granger started in his place, his first assignment since April 21, 2012.
The Hawks took a commanding 17-point lead, 49-32, into halftime.
The sizeable advantage started in the first quarter as the Pacers struggled from the beginning. They missed their first five shots on the way to a 1-of-13 start that included five turnovers. The Pacers finished the first quarter shooting 23.8 percent (5 of 21). The Hawks led 25-12 after the opening period represented the Pacers’ lowest first-quarter output of the season.
Antic scored eight of the Hawks first 10 points, including two 3-pointers. He finished with 12 first-half points. The Hawks shot 50 percent (20 of 40) with just four turnovers in the first half. The Pacers shot 32.5 percent (13 of 40) with 11 turnovers.
The Hawks pushed their lead to 25 points, 65-40, in the third quarter. The Pacers answered with a 15-4 run to close the gap to 11 points before the Hawks took a 79-66 lead into the final quarter.
The Pacers came into the game with the NBA’s best record. And the Hawks knew it.
“They are so good on both ends of the court,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game. “They are particularly good defensively. They are elite. They’ve got length, toughness, just everything defensively, all the ingredients that go into being a great defensive team. Offensively, they execute. They have a couple guys who can create their own shot and present matchup problems.”
The Hawks next host the Rockets on Friday.
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