Hawks at Pacers
The Indiana Pacers look to turn things around Sunday against visiting Atlanta in a game that has an impact on two separate Eastern Conference playoff races. The Pacers have dropped six of their last eight games and now sit percentage points back of the Miami Heat in the race for the No. 1 seed in the conference. Atlanta is coming off an impressive 117-98 victory over Cleveland and sits a game up on the Knicks for eighth place in the East.
With the Knicks visiting Miami on Sunday afternoon, the meeting between the Pacers and Hawks takes on added significance. And for Indiana to prevail, it will need to figure out how end a funk that has seen it fail to score 95 points in seven of its previous eight games. The Hawks have won two of three since reeling off six consecutive defeats, and has a friendly schedule the rest of the way; four of six final games will be played at Philips Arena.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, NBA TV, SportSouth (Atlanta), FSN Indiana
ABOUT THE HAWKS (33-42): The stakes are high, and every play takes on extra significance with just seven games left on the schedule. But Atlanta head coach Mike Budenholzer wants his players to savor the experience, no matter what happens. "Just enjoy it," guard Jeff Teague told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution when asked about Budenholzer's message to his players. "It's a fun moment. You are in a playoff race. It's fun. There is a lot of opportunity for everyone. He told us to go out and enjoy it."
ABOUT THE PACERS (53-24): The enjoyment factor is waning in Indianapolis, where reports of tension between Pacers players has the organization scrambling to keep things in-house. The situation is just as dire on the court, where the Pacers fell to a Raptors team missing point guard Kyle Lowry and forward Amir Johnson. "That is a playoff team," swingman Paul George said following the defeat. "If you give a playoff team another look or an opportunity they are going to knock you down."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Indiana leads the season series 2-1 and has won four of the past five meetings overall.
2. George is averaging 26.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and five assists over his past two games.
3. Atlanta has lost 13 of its last 15 road games.