After putting up a valiant effort in the first half without the injured Al Horford, the Atlanta Hawks had no answers for the Indiana Pacers in the second half falling 96-84 in a game that was physical throughout.
Atlanta came out of halftime struggling offensively and were outscored 27-9 in the quarter. Larry Drew pulled the plug on the starters early in the fourth and the Hawks reserves were able to make the score respectable at the end.
Josh Smith led the Hawks with 16 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Joe Johnson scored all 15 of his points in the first half. Zaza Pachulia got the majority of minutes at the center position with Horford out and finished with 11 points. Wille Green also chipped in 10 points off the bench. In the game, Atlanta hit just 37 percent of its shots and committed 18 turnovers.
Danny Granger snapped out of a shooting slump to score a game-high 24 points on 9-16 shooting. David West, Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson all scored 12 points for Indy.
For more on this game Hawks fans should head over to Peachtree Hoops and Pacers fans should check out Indy Cornrows. For more NBA news and analysis check out SB Nation's NBA Hub.