INDIANAPOLIS — It was going to be tough for the Hawks to score against the Pacers even with all of their scorers on the floor.
With three of them unavailable because of injuries, the Hawks couldn’t muster enough points to keep up with Indiana.
The diminishing depth, Indiana’s physical defense and the relentless schedule all tested the Hawks’ resolve Wednesday night. They tried to overcome all of that, but eventually faded to a 96-84 defeat at Indiana.
The Hawks left Marvin Williams (ankle) back in Atlanta for the two-game trip. They lost forward Tracy McGrady (back) just before the game, and Al Horford (shoulder) left in the first quarter.
Horford is the Hawks’ No. 3 scorer and leader in field-goal percentage, Williams ranks fifth in scoring and McGrady is the top scorer off the bench. Without those three, the Hawks failed to break 90 points in regulation for just the third time in 11 games.
“We kind of limped into tonight,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “The guys hung in there. I thought they played as well as we could, particularly in the first half. But in that third quarter, we just couldn’t do anything right.”
The Pacers improved to 4-0 at home and snapped the Hawks’ three-game winning streak by dominating the third quarter.
The Hawks trailed by three points at halftime, but then scored only nine in the third quarter, one more than the franchise-low for a period. The Pacers poured in 27 points in the third quarter to pull away to just their second victory in their past 11 meetings with the Hawks.
Indiana’s inside-outside combination of Roy Hibbert and Danny Granger took over in the third quarter. Granger scored 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Hibbert totaled six points during Indiana’s 18-4 run to open the half.
The Hawks had more turnovers (six) than field goals (four) in the third quarter while Indiana made 10 of 19 shots, including four 3-pointers.
“We just couldn’t make shots,” Hawks guard Jeff Teague said. “There was a lid on the basket. When you don’t make shots, it makes it tougher to play defense. I know that don’t sound right but, as a player, being realistic, when you are missing easy chippies, it’s tough on the other end when they are making everything.”
The Hawks’ offense had been humming this season. Some of its big scoring games came against weaker defensive teams, such as Washington and New Jersey, but the Hawks’ offense also overwhelmed Miami and Chicago’s elite defensive units in victories.
The Hawks tried to play through Indiana’s bruising defense and find a way to score points even without Williams, Horford and McGrady. They couldn’t do it, though they gave it a shot in the second quarter.
Joe Johnson scored 10 points, Josh Smith six and Zaza Pachulia five as the Hawks cut a 32-21 deficit, but the Hawks couldn’t sustain it. They shot 37.5 percent from the field for the game and also continued their woes at the free-throw line, where they missed seven of 18 attempts through three quarters.
Drew said the Hawks won’t know the status of Horford, Williams and McGrady for Thursday’s home game against Charlotte until the team returns to Atlanta.
The physical game boiled over when Indiana’s Lou Amundson broke NBA protocol by trying to score with the shot clock off and Indiana up 95-84. Hawks center Jason Collins took exception and gave Amundson a hard foul, earning a Flagrant 2 and an ejection.
“You dribble the clock out in that situation if you are a true professional,” Collins said. “That was not a Flagrant 2. I gave him a hard foul, that’s all I did.”
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