Hawks at Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are starting to look like one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and are riding a four-game winning streak after opening a two-game homestand with a 125-88 drubbing of the Detroit Pistons on Friday. The Pacers will try to make it five in a row and sweep the two-game stand when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
Indiana, which earned a 129-121 win at Atlanta on Wednesday, shot 60.2 percent from the floor against Detroit while handing out 33 assists on 53 made field goals and placing seven scorers in double figures. "We're playing with high confidence," Pacers point guard Darren Collison told reporters. "The best thing about it is everybody is contributing. It's not just one or two or three guys. ... That's what's going to make us a special team down the road." The Hawks are also picking up their level of play with five wins in the last six games - the lone loss coming against Indiana. Rookie point guard Trae Young is leading the way, but Atlanta is getting strong play from all over the roster as the rebuilding plan begins to take shape.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), FS Indiana
ABOUT THE HAWKS (11-24): The 20-year-old Young collected 21 points and nine assists in a 111-108 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday and scored in double figures in each of the last seven games while posting three double-doubles in that span. Fellow youngster John Collins, 21, is piling up double-doubles as well with 10 in 11 games this month and is averaging 21.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in December. Atlanta's youth is getting some help from veteran Vince Carter, 41, who matched Young with 21 points in Saturday's triumph.
ABOUT THE PACERS (24-12): Collison matched the team high with 19 points on Friday while shooting 7-of-7 from the floor, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. "I just felt like every shot was going in, every time I took a shot," Collison told reporters. "I don't really look to score all the time. As you guys know, I look to get my guys involved. The ball just happened to find me in the right places and I was aggressive." Collison is averaging 9.2 points but scored in double figures in each of the last three games and is 6-of-11 from 3-point range in that span.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pacers reserve PF Domantas Sabonis is averaging 17.5 points over the last four games with a pair of double-doubles in that span.
2. Atlanta SG Kent Bazemore (ankle) left Saturday's game and is questionable for Monday.
3. Indiana took the last three and seven of eight in the series.