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Pacers hold on for blowout win against Hawks
This was the type of game people complain about when they complain about the NBA. The Pacers played their B unit and still won because the Hawks were on the second night of back-to-back games, on the road, in the snow, and their starters didn't really seem too interested.
Indiana was up by 22 at the end of the third quarter, then the bottom five guys on the Hawks bench blitzed them back into the game because they were the only players with energy. The Pacers won by six, 100-94.
The Hawks started the game by posting forward Josh Smith on the right block four straight times. Defended by Pacers' Paul George, whom Smith outweighs by about 30 pounds, the Smith scored on the first two, then kicked the ball out for an open three-pointer on the next.
The Pacers had three starters miss the game with various mild injuries -- point guard George Hill, shooting guard Lance Stephenson and forward David West -- and George said he knew he had to stay out of foul trouble so he could make up for the lost minutes.
"I knew I was going to have to play a long game, so to start the game off I wasn't trying to get into any type of foul trouble," George said. "Once the first half got out, I was able to be a little bit more aggressive guarding him in the post."
This strategy should have worked all night because, again, Smith outweighs George by 30 pounds*. Smith got the ball on the right block twice more for the entire game, both times in the first half, and sat out the entire fourth. George finished with four fouls.
(* Smith is listed at 225, and Paul George is listed at 221. Those estimates are not an accurate reflection.)
The Pacers came out aggressive and were clearly trying to put the game away before Atlanta had a reason to try, and that's pretty much what happened.
Jeff Pendergraph was repeatedly left open from outside and repeatedly scored. He eventually got to a season-high 14, as did rookie Orlando Johnson (15).
This was the least competitive Pacers game I've been to this year, but it might have been the most entertaining. When others see flaws in an NBA game, I see moments of entertaining basketball, both the positives and the negatives.
Shelvin Mack, playing on a 10-day contract for the Hawks, had four steals in 19 minutes and was key to the Hawks' fourth-quarter rally.
Gerald Green, starting at shooting guard, had 19 points and made six-of-10 shots. The box score says he plays well, but the eyes maybe not.
While the Pacers were clinging to a swiftly-disappearing four-point lead with 40 seconds left, DJ Augustin got a steal in the open court and pushed the ball up to Green. He was in a position to run time of the clock, then draw a foul. Instead he jacked up a three-pointer from the corner with nobody around him, or under the basket, with 22 seconds on the shot clock.
The crowd yelled, "No." Pacers coach Frank Vogel's eyes bulged out. Then the shot went in and Atlanta had to call a timeout.
"It wasn't a game winner, but it was a shot that I felt like, if I make it, it can kind of guarantee us a win," Green said. "I work on shooting all the time and that's the first spot I always start from."
It's not a bad shot if it goes in, Vogel said after. But that doesn't make it good.
Before the game Vogel said Green is at his best when he plays under control, and given their health, the Pacers will likely need Green at his best. That was not his best, but it may have been appropriate given the season.
The shot reminded me of Ali Farokhmanesh of Northern Iowa launching a crazy three as the team was on the verge of beating Kansas in the 2010 NCAA tournament.
"It definitely was a questionable shot, I would have to agree," Green said. "Honestly, I think that if it would have happened again I probably wouldn't take that shot, but I like to take big shots. ... I want that type of challenge."
The Pacers should have won by a blowout on Monday, instead they held out for a tight victory. They were missing three starters (four if you count Danny Granger), but somehow it didn't feel like an upset. The NBA is like that.