Pacers 93, Hawks 87
INDIANAPOLIS -- Guard Monta Ellis scored a season-best 26 points, and the Indiana Pacers snapped Atlanta's six-game winning streak 93-87 on Monday night in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Pacers center Ian Mahinmi, who scored 13 points, tipped in a missed Ellis shot with 16.3 seconds remaining to give Indiana a 92-87 lead.
Solomon Hill and Chase Budinger each added 10 for Indiana (18-12). Paul Milsap led the Hawks (20-13) with 24 points, Indianapolis native Jeff Teague added 18, Thabo Sefolosha scored 14 and Al Horford had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Indiana shot 43.7 percent, and Atlanta shot 41.9 percent.
Solomon Hill's driving layup with 6:21 to play pushed the Indiana lead back to nine at 86-77.
After the Hawks sliced the Pacers' lead to 76-73, Budinger and Hill scored consecutive field goals to give Indiana an 80-73 advantage with 8:46 remaining.
Indiana finished the third quarter on a 10-4 run to lead 74-68 with 12 minutes to go, Ellis had five of those 10 points and had 26 through three periods.
Atlanta began the third quarter on a 13-4 run, pulling to within 56-53 on a Horford layup with 7:20 on the clock. The Hawks pulled even at 60 and again at 62 before Hill's basket gave the Pacers a 64-62 lead with 3:42 remaining in the quarter.
The Pacers finished the half on a 14-2 run, including seven points from Mahinmi, to seize a 52-40 lead through 24 minutes. A George Hill 3-pointer snapped a tie at 38, and Mahinmi scored the next seven points to lead 48-38 lead with 1:02 remaining in the second quarter.
Indiana outscored Atlanta 31-13 in the second quarter, shooting 50 percent from the field during the period.
Through two quarters, Ellis had 15 Pacers points, and George had eight. Teague had 10 first-half points to lead the Hawks, who were guilty of 13 turnovers before intermission. Atlanta out rebounded Indiana 21-19 during the first two quarters.
Indiana's nonstarters outscored Atlanta's reserves 14-10 in the opening 24 minutes.
NOTES: The Hawks were without F/C Tiago Splitter (right calf sprain). ... Atlanta came into Monday night's game with a six-game winning streak and a half-game lead on Miami in the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division. ... Indiana entered Monday's game 2 1/2 games behind Cleveland in the Central Division. ... With a victory on Saturday at Minnesota, the Pacers snapped a three-game losing streak. ... Beginning with a Dec. 3 loss at Portland, Indiana is 5-7. ... Pacers F Paul George entered Monday's game ranked sixth in NBA scoring (24.8) and second in 3-point field goals made (88). ... Atlanta came in ranked in the top five in five statistical categories -- second in assists per game (25.3), third in steals per game (9.4), third in opponents turnovers per game (16.9), fifth in field-goal percentage (46.2) and fifth in free-throw percentage (79.8). ... The Pacers are fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (37.2). ... Entering Monday's game, the Hawks have won the past four regular-season games against Indiana.