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Pacers 89, Hawks 85

Alan Draper profile picture
Sports Editor
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ATLANTA — Indiana forwards Paul George and David West combined for 40 points and sparked a third-quarter uprising that enabled the Pacers to beat the Atlanta Hawks 89-85 on Tuesday night for their third straight win.

George scored nine of his 18 points and West had eight of his 22 points in the third quarter when the Pacers erased a one-point halftime deficit and posted their first regular-season win over the Hawks in Atlanta since 2006.

The Pacers (38-10) rallied for eight straight points to break open a 47-47 tie in the third quarter.

Indiana led by as many 16 with 8:10 left in the game and withstood an Atlanta comeback that trimmed the margin to two points on a 3-pointer from forward Cartier Martin with 14 seconds remaining. Pacers forward Danny Granger iced the game by making two free throws with 3.9 seconds left.

Atlanta (25-22) had its two-game winning streak broken. The Hawks’ top two scorers came off the bench. Forward Mike Scott scored 15 points and center Elton Brand added 12. Martin, who was re-signed to a 10-day contract on Feb. 1, scored all eight of his points during Atlanta’s failed fourth-quarter comeback.

Indiana forward Lance Stephenson was shaken up midway in the third quarter on a drive to the basket. Stephenson was fouled by Atlanta forward Paul Millsap as he attempted to split two defenders and landed on his back when he fell. He remained in the game to shoot the free throw but left with a sore back and did not return. He finished with 10 points.

The game was much different than the last meeting in Atlanta on Jan. 8 when the Hawks won 97-87. Atlanta started that game with a 12-0 lead and held Indiana to a season-low 12 points in the first quarter and 32 in the first half.

The first half was tight. Atlanta led 15-11 with four minutes left in the first quarter on a jumper by Brand. But the Pacers scored the final eight points of the quarter for a 19-15 lead and stretched it to 22-15 before Atlanta scored on a 3-pointer by guard Lou Williams with 9:32 left in the half.

Atlanta clawed back and took the lead at 32-31 on a steal and layup by Millsap, his first points of the night, with 3:17 left, and led by as many as six when guard Jeff Teague drained a 3-pointer with 1:06 left.

The Pacers cut the lead to 43-42 when West made a 3-pointer at the horn, giving him a team-best nine points in the first half.

NOTES: Indiana C Andrew Bynum, signed as a free agent on Saturday, was inactive. … Atlanta G Kyle Korver extended his NBA-record streak for games with a 3-point basket to 116. Korver knocked down his first attempt with 9:11 left in the first quarter against the Pacers. … Atlanta G John Jenkins had lower back surgery on Monday and will miss the remainder of the season. The second-year player from Vanderbilt, the team’s first-round draft choice in 2012, had been limited to 13 games this season. Jenkins has not played since Dec. 26 when the injury flared up. He was averaging 3.1 points and 1.7 rebounds in 12.2 minutes. … Atlanta assigned G Jared Cunningham to the Bakersfield Jam of the Development League. He had appeared in five games for the Hawks. … Atlanta plays again Wednesday at New Orleans and has four of its next five games on the road. Indiana hosts Portland on Friday and plays four of its next five at home.

Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.

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