Pacers at Hawks
A three-game winning streak and multiple offensive options have the Indiana Pacers eyeing a climb in the Eastern Conference standings. The Pacers travel to Atlanta on Sunday to play the Hawks, who lead Indiana by 1 ½ games for the sixth seed, one day after seven players scored in double figures to extend the winning streak with a 112-105 victory at Dallas — Indiana’s first game following a four-day layoff.
“We had some great practices and down the stretch it showed,” guard Monta Ellis told reporters after scoring 17 points with seven assists, helping to facilitate an offense that got 34 points from its bench and shot 27-of-29 from the free-throw line. Atlanta has endured an up-and-down season but appears to be on the upswing again, winning six of its past eight after a 95-83 victory over Memphis on Saturday. Jeff Teague’s four 3-pointers sparked the Hawks, who sit a half-game behind Charlotte for the fifth seed, and Paul Millsap and Al Horford combined for 40 points on 16-of-28 shooting from the field. Atlanta trails fourth-place Miami by one game and third-place Boston by two games in the tightly bunched East.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, NBA TV, FSN Indiana, FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE PACERS (35-30): Paul George recorded his 14th double-double of the season Saturday with team highs in points (20) and rebounds (10), and Indiana’s leading scorer (23.6 points per game) acknowledged to the media afterward, “We’re playing good ball.” George Hill made three critical 3-pointers in the final seven minutes en route to 16 points, a byproduct of Indiana’s efficiency that has led to its longest winning streak since December. Newly acquired point guard Ty Lawson, who sprained his left foot in his Indiana debut Monday against San Antonio, practiced Friday but did not play Saturday.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (37-29): Atlanta’s defense has been outstanding all season — the Hawks scored 24 points off turnovers Saturday in holding Memphis to 34.7 percent shooting from the field — and the team has won its past seven games when limiting the opposition to less than 100 points. Teague recorded seven assists, his seventh consecutive game dishing out at least six, while Horford is 21-of-33 from the field in his past three games while averaging 16.7 points during that stretch. Millsap made eight shots from the field for the third time in the past four games, and the All-Star is leading Atlanta in scoring at 17.4 points per game.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Hawks have won 15 of the past 16 regular-season home matchups with Indiana dating to the 2006-07 season.
2. Indiana has won just once in eight road contests coming in the second half of a back-to-back.
3. Atlanta F Thabo Sefolosha played one of his best games of the season Saturday, scoring 13 points off the bench with a season-best 11 rebounds and two blocked shots.