Hawks move above .500 for first time since December with 132-123 win over Pacers

The Atlanta Hawks were on the road this evening to take on the Indiana Pacers. Similar to the past few games, the Hawks were without some of their keys players, and this time it was Danilo Gallinari and De’Andre Hunter, who was a late scratch. Facing a short-handed Pacers team, the Hawks were able to win 132-123 and get over .500.

Kevin Huerter had it going early for the Hawks, hitting three three-pointers in the first quarter.

Huerter wasn’t the only one feeling it from the perimeter, as Trae Young, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot all hit a pair of threes in the first quarter. Lou Williams also joined the fun as well.

With the depth at forward cut short, Jalen Johnson was able to get early minutes and made the most of them.

The Hawks scored 44 points to the Pacers' 30 going into the second quarter, and the Hawks continued to pile on the points. Johnson had four early points in the second.

The Hawks as a team dominated the Pacers on offense and got stops on defense too as they led by as much as 18 points in the first half. The Pacers didn’t go away and cut their deficit to nine points down the stretch in the half.

Clint Capela was a man amongst boys in the first half, finishing around the rim and grabbing rebounds, and finished with 16 points and 10 boards going into halftime as the Hawks led 74-63.

The Pacers came out in the second half with better energy and cut their deficit to seven points early in the third. TLC had a solid game replacing Hunter in the starting lineup.

Though the Hawks had an answer every time the Pacers scored, that didn’t stop them from continuing to cut the lead down to six points late in the third quarter. The Hawks were able to bare down and gain some momentum going into the fourth quarter as they brought their lead back to 12 points.

Onyeka Okongwu went coast to coast early in the fourth.

Johnson continued his strong play and finished with 12 points in the game, which was a career-high for him.

Like throughout most of the game when they were down, the Pacers were able to cut their deficit to single digits again, but it didn’t last for long. Young didn’t carry the offense on the scoring end this game, but he found a way to affect the game with his playmaking.

The Hawks were able to make a few key plays down the stretch to get themselves a win in Indiana. Bogdanovic finished with 29 points, Huerter and Capela finished with 22 points each, and Young finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

The Hawks will be in Oklahoma City on Wednesday to take on the Thunder.

Stay tuned.