Pacers at Hawks
THE STORY: Now that the Indiana Pacers have finally figured out how to beat the Atlanta Hawks, they'll be looking to buck another trend Wednesday night as the two teams face off at Philips Arena. The Pacers have won the last two meetings with the Hawks after Atlanta had dominated the head-to-head series, winning eight straight encounters. Next on Indiana's list: winning at Philips Arena, where they've dropped eight consecutive games. The Pacers' last victory in Atlanta came back on Dec. 22, 2006. The Pacers come in on a high after hanging on to defeat the visiting Utah Jazz 104-99 Tuesday night. Darren Collison led the way with 25 points while Danny Granger poured in 12 of his 16 points in the pivotal fourth quarter. The Hawks would be more than happy to extend Indiana's misery in Georgia as they look to avoid an 0-4 homestand. Atlanta opened the season 8-1 in its own building, but consecutive losses to Memphis, Philadelphia and Phoenix have the Hawks on the verge of their longest home losing skid since 2007.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Indiana
ABOUT THE PACERS (17-7): Granger remains the lynchpin of the Pacer offense, averaging a team-best 18.1 points, but he's getting plenty of help. All five Indiana starters average at least 11.5 points, while the club's top two bench options - forward Tyler Hansbrough and guard George Hill - are at 9.3 points apiece. While the Pacers sit in the middle of the pack in points, the balanced scoring makes them a more dangerous offensive team than the statistics would indicate.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (16-9): Atlanta head coach Larry Drew believes his players have had problems bouncing back after teams go on scoring runs against them. "This is the NBA," Drew said. "It's about runs. Teams make runs all the time. It just seems to let the wind out of our sails when a team makes a run against us, particularly when there's a lot of basketball to be played." The offense has also stagnated of late, averaging just 84.7 points during the three-game skid.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Granger is averaging 21.8 points in four games so far in February.
2. The Pacers are a perfect 16-0 when they reach the 90-point plateau - and just 1-7 when they don't.
3. Indiana is 4-2 in the second games of back-to-backs, while the Hawks are 10-7 on one day's rest.