Atlanta Hawks defeat Pacers; Haliburton out with hip issue
ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young had 22 points and 16 assists, Onyeka Okongwu added 20 points and 13 rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Indiana Pacers 124-118 on Thursday night to open a two-game set.
Georges Niang scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter for the Hawks, who had lost five in a row against Indiana since the 2022-23 season. His layup with 1:07 left put Atlanta up 116-109.
Pascal Siakam had 35 points for the Pacers, who were playing without two-time All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton for only the second time this season. Haliburton was out with a hip issue.
The Pacers had a 92-82 lead late in the third quarter after a 11-0 run when Siakam hit three 3-pointers. Atlanta outscored them 38-24 in the fourth quarter.
Aaron Nesmith added 21 points for the Pacers, while Andrew Nembhard had 15 points and 10 assists.
Tyrese Haliburton misses game
Haliburton, a two-time All-Star, missed only his second game this season. He had been listed as questionable with a left hip flexor strain, and was on the bench in street clothes.
The Pacers were also without Bennedict Mathurin, who missed his fourth game in a row with a sprained right wrist.
In seven games since the All-Star break, Haliburton has averaged 23.9 points and 12.0 assists a game while shooting 54.5% on 3-pointers. He had 28 points and 15 assists in a 115-102 win over Houston on Tuesday night, and is averaging 18.5 points and 8.9 assists in his 59 games this season.
Coach Rick Carlisle said before the game that Haliburton has been dealing with soreness in his left leg, and that the team would approach things on a game-to-game basis.
Takeaways
Pacers: The No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference hadn’t lost to Atlanta since March 25, 2023.
Hawks: Atlanta won for only the third time in its last nine games. Coach Quin Snyder was back on the bench after missing Tuesday night’s game with flu-like symptoms.
Key moment
The Hawks went ahead to stay when Niang hit consecutive 3-pointers over a 45-second span, the second of those with 5:03 left to make it 107-102.
Key stat
Atlanta made 12 of 18 shots from the field in the fourth quarter.
Up next
The Pacers and Hawks play again in Atlanta on Saturday night.
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
