Pacers at Hawks
The Indiana Pacers know they have lost most of their margin for error in the Eastern Conference playoff race, and look to break a 2-8 skid when they visit the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday in the fourth stop of a five-game road trip. The Pacers did upend Houston on Monday and had chances in the final seconds Wednesday before falling at San Antonio, but entered Saturday just two games ahead of Detroit for seventh place in the East.
Forward Paul George is mired in a shooting slump, hitting just 31.4 percent of his shots from the field in the past five games while averaging 13.6 points in that stretch – 8.1 points below his season average. The Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak with two impressive wins over Boston and Dallas, but were ripped for 135 points and an NBA single-game record 25 3-pointers in a five-point defeat to Cleveland on Friday. Atlanta has slipped to fifth in the East and is just slightly better at home (17-13) than on the road (17-14). Guard Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a career-high 36 points in the defeat and is averaging 16.4 points on 40.6 percent shooting from 3-point range in his past five contests.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE PACERS (31-30): George has struggled during the road trip, from being ejected from the Feb. 26 game in Miami to scoring only two points in the final five minutes and missing a buzzer-beating jumper against the Spurs. Thaddeus Young continues to suffer from a left wrist injury sustained in February, averaging just six points and 4.3 rebounds in his past four games. Indiana came into Saturday second in the NBA in free-throw shooting (81.3 percent).
ABOUT THE HAWKS (34-27): Atlanta gave up a season-worst 77 points in the first half Friday as Cleveland finished 25-of-46 from beyond the arc, but the Hawks rallied to within one point late in the game thanks to a 42-point fourth quarter. Dwight Howard is fourth in the NBA in rebounds per game (12.8) and field-goal percentage (63.8 percent). The Hawks have allowed 120 points or more eight times in 61 games, seven of those games concluding in regulation.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Former Atlanta G Jeff Teague is sixth in the NBA in assists per game (8.1) in his first season with the Pacers.
2. Atlanta leads the season series 1-0, getting 23 points and 21 rebounds from Howard in a 96-85 victory on Nov. 23 in Indianapolis.
3. Hawks G-F Mike Dunleavy missed his fourth straight game Friday with a right ankle injury, and his return is uncertain.