Hawks 102, Pacers 96
ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks needed a spark. Forward Al Horford provided it.
Horford had back-to-back momentum-shifting dunks late in the third quarter and stayed hot in the fourth quarter, fueling the Hawks' 102-96 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday at Philips Arena.
Atlanta All-Star forward Paul Millsap had 24 points, and Horford finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. He scored seven in the fourth quarter, but it was his pair of dunks late in the third quarter that sparked the Hawks.
Trailing 72-69 late in the third quarter, Horford ripped off back-to-back dunks that flipped the momentum and helped lead the Hawks to their third straight win. On the first jam, Horford pump-faked at the elbow of the free-throw line, took dribble to his right and threw a dunk down a one-handed facial on Indiana center Solomon Hill.
On the second dunk, Horford snuck behind the Pacers' defense on the next possession, and point guard Dennis Schroder found him for a two-handed jam that gave the Hawks a 73-72 heading into the fourth quarter.
Schroder hit an early 3-pointer and jumper early in the fourth quarter, and point guard Jeff Teague converted a traditional three-point play that put Atlanta head 81-76 with 6:39 to play.
Indiana guard Paul George led the Pacers with 31 points. The All-Star hit two three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, including one from the left wing that gave Indiana an 86-84 lead with 4:49 to play.
Horford answered with a jumper with the shot-clock running down and his only 3-pointer of that game to put the Hawks back in front.
Indiana guard C.J. Miles came off the bench to score 13 points, including a contested 3-pointer midway through fourth quarter to keep Indiana close. Forward Lavoy Allen scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, leading the Pacers' dominating performance on the glass. Indiana out-rebounded the Hawks 52-32, but also turned it over 20 times.
The Pacers led 51-50, after a back-and-forth first half that featured seven lead changes. Millsap had 16 points in the first half. Georgia had 14, 12 coming in the first quarter.
Both teams entered February in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. The Hawks (30-22) began the night in third place. The Pacers (26-24) began the night in seventh. Only two games separated the third through seventh place in the conference, heading into the weekend.
NOTES: Indiana C Ian Mahinmi (lower back) and guard Rodney Stuckey (ankle) were inactive. ... Atlanta C Tiago Splitter (hip) was inactive. ... Hawks F Paul Millsap has been named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team as a coach's selection. ... Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt attended the Hawks' pregame shootaround.