ATLANTA — Against a depleted Pacers (19-37) team, the Hawks (26-28) dominated in a 133-112 win Tuesday at State Farm Arena.
Next up, the Hawks will host the Spurs Friday.
Below are some takeaways from the win:
1. The Pacers were extremely short-handed in this game. With the trade deadline approaching 3 p.m. Thursday, Indiana’s roster looked much different than normal, having dealt Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb and Justin Holiday to the Kings, getting Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson in the deal. Those three weren’t available to play though, since the trade is still pending. In addition, Ricky Rubio (left knee ACL tear), Myles Turner (left foot stress reaction), T.J. Warren (left foot navicular), Malcolm Brogdon (sore right Achilles) and T.J. McConnell (right wrist ligament surgery) are out injured. So, they started a lineup of Chris Duarte, Torrey Craig, Goga Bitadze, Lance Stephenson and Keifer Sykes.
2. Unsurprisingly, given the state of the Pacers’ roster, this was a blowout from the get-go. The Hawks put up 40 points in the first quarter and led by 26 at halftime. Their lead briefly dipped to 18 with 4:13 to play in the third, but then they responded with a 17-4 run and entered the fourth quarter up by 31. Starters didn’t really play the fourth quarter, with the exception of Kevin Huerter playing 5:35.
3. Trae Young and John Collins dominated on offense, with Young tallying a game-high 34 points and 11 assists in just 29 minutes and Collins adding 20 points in 20 minutes.
4. With minimal resistance, the Hawks moved the ball effortlessly and tallied a season-high 36 assists (previous season-high was 34 in a 134-122 win vs. the Timberwolves Jan. 19). Young led the way with 11 assists, Delon Wright added five, De’Andre Hunter and Huerter each added four, Clint Capela and Danilo Gallinari had three, Bogdan Bogdanovic had two and John Collins, Onyeka Okongwu, Kevin Knox and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot had one each.
“Twenty-two assists at the half was just unbelievable, and then 36 for the game, we can create ball movement like that when we are moving the ball,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. “We have shooters that can knock down the shots. And those shots are shots that they practice every day. So we want to try to get that ball moving.”
5. After two games of uncharacteristically struggling from the 3-point line (9-for-29 in Friday’s loss to the Raptors and 5-for-25 in Sunday’s loss to the Mavericks), the Hawks went 7-for-9 from beyond the arc in the first quarter alone. Overall, they shot a season-high 51.5% from 3-point range, with Young (6-for-9) accounting for the bulk of that. Some of that may be Indiana lacking its usual defenders, but it’s good for Atlanta to find a shooting groove nonetheless.
“Coming out, guys were locked in, guys were focused on making some shots and it was good,” Young said. “I missed my last 10 before this game and so to come out and hit my first couple, it was good to see it go through, and everybody was making shots. It was great.”
Stat of the game: 51.5% (or 17-for-33, what the Hawks shot from 3-point range, a new season-high)
Star of the game: Young (had a game-high 34 points, adding 11 assists for a double-double, finishing as a plus-23)
Quotable: “I believe in the basketball gods. If you go out there and you mess with the game, it’ll come back to haunt you and our guys didn’t take that approach. They were all business all night long tonight.” (McMillan on the Hawks not taking this game lightly)
