Despite an injury to Al Horford and foul trouble to Josh Smith, the Atlanta Hawks have come up with a gutsy effort in the first half and only trail the Indiana Pacers by a score of 53-50 at Halftime.
Horford left just six minutes into the game with a shoulder injury and will not return after scoring five points in the early going. Joe Johnson kept the Hawks in it with a big second quarter scoring 15 points in the half and hitting 3-4 from beyond-the-arc. Josh Smith scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds before picking up his third foul with around six minutes remaining in the half. Zaza Pachulia replaced Horford in the Atlanta lineup and scored six points in the first half.
David West and Danny Granger scored 12 points each to lead the Pacers who shot just over 51 percent in the first half. Indiana led by as many as 11 points before the Hawks countered with a run in the second quarter to close the gap.
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