The Indiana Pacers have not been playing the best basketball as of late, losing six of their last nine heading into the postseason. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks came into the playoffs with a 38-44 record.
Something had to give. Were the Pacers going to continue their downward spiral or was the worst team (record wise) in the playoffs going to get swept out?
We got immediate answers on Saturday night as the No. 8 seed Hawks went into Indiana and pretty much had their way with the Pacers.
Atlanta pretty much led from the outset, putting up a six-point advantage after one quarter. Indiana was able to come back and tie the game before the half. It was, however, the third quarter that ended up being Indiana’s undoing. Atlanta outscored the home-standing Pacers 30-16 in the third stanza to roll to a 101-93 victory.
Paul Millsap completely outplayed Pacers power forward David West throughout the game. He put up 25 points and eight boards while shooting 9-of-11 from the free throw line. West responded by shooting just 4-of-10 from the field in route to an eight-point performance.
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Atlanta won with balanced scoring and dominating defense. Jeff Teague led all Hawks with 28 points and, much like Millsap, was money from the line. He shot 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. The Hawks put up a ridiculous 30 three-point attempts, making 11 of them. They were, however, bailed out by a 24-of-29 performance from the free throw line.
It was ugly all around for the Pacers. Paul George led the team in scoring with 24, but only hot 6-of-18 from the field. It was, however, the performance of Indiana’s big men that left a lot to be desired. Roy Hibbert, David West and Luis Scola combined for just 18 points and 13 rebounds on 8-of-25 from the field. That trio also turned the ball over a total of seven times.
While many didn’t give Atlanta much of a chance to win this series, Game 1 was an indication that its not going to go quietly into the night. For the Pacers, they are now in must-win mode heading into Game 2 of the series which will take place at Bankers Life Field House in Indiana on Tuesday night.
Photo: Brian Spurlock, USA Today