Hawks defeat Pacers 109-100

There was no need for a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback this time.

The Hawks jumped out early and cruised to a 109-100 victory over the Pacers Saturday night at Philips Arena. The Hawks had to erase a big deficit for a victory over the Pacers on Nov. 7.

That was not the case on this night – thanks in large part to Zaza Pachulia. The center stepped in for the short-handed Hawks and delivered with a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds.

The Hawks (19-9) played without leading scorer Josh Smith, Anthony Morrow and Devin Harris due to injury. Still, they led by as many as 18 points for their fourth straight victory. The Hawks, third in the Eastern Conference have won four straight and 11 in a row at Philips Arena against the Pacers.

Lou Williams had a career-high 12 assists to go with 21 points for his first ever double-double. The Hawks also got double-digit scoring from Al Horford (20), Kyle Kover (16), Jeff Teague (15) and rookie John Jenkins (career-high 10). Ten of Teague’s points came late in the fourth quarter.

The Pacers (17-13), fourth in the East, had a four-game win streak snapped and lost for only the second time in nine games. David West led the way with a game-high 29 points.

The Pacers used an 18-8 run to start the fourth quarter to cut the lead to three points, 91-88. But the Hawks answered with a 10-2 run to gain some breathing room.

Pachulia got the start in place of Smith to counter the Pacers’ 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert. The Hawks limited the big man to no points and one rebound.

“Roy Hibbert,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said before the game about starting a big lineup. “We went back and forth about going with the lineup that we have been using our last three wins (with Williams at shooting guard). We’ve been going with a smaller lineup and had success with it. I had to make the decision to change it and match up with them. Now, with Josh out, it made my decision a little easier.”

The Hawks led 55-48 at halftime after shooting 61.5 percent from the field (24 of 39). They led by as many as 11 points, late in the second quarter, but took control of the first half in the opening period.

The Hawks used an 11-2 first-quarter run to open up a nine-point lead. In a key sequence, rookie John Jenkins fed Horford for a layup and after an immediate steal buried a 3-pointer for a 29-20 lead.

Horford finished with 14 first-half points but the Hawks got major contributions from their bench. Jenkins tied his career high of eight points in the opening half. Pachulia, who did start at center, had eight points and seven rebounds. Even Johan Petro chipped in with four points in the first 24 minutes.