Second quarter dooms Pacers
TYLER SMITH
ISL Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS — After a big Game 4 victory on the road, the Pacers and their fans felt relieved that they had once again gained home-court advantage and control of the first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks.
Game 5 was an opportunity to take a lead in the series for the first time. Instead, the Pacers trailed by as many as 30 points and suffered another embarrassing home loss, 107-97. The Hawks now lead the series 3-2 and have a chance to put away the once-thought-of title-contending Pacers.
In all five games of this series, the Hawks have had a double-digit lead. That says a lot about both teams, and the series as a whole. Atlanta has controlled the pace, the style of play and, quite frankly, every game except for a few big quarters for Indiana.
The Pacers got off to a good start in this one, leading 12-7 in the first five minutes. Every Pacer starter had at least one assist during that mini-run. The Pacers took a 21-20 lead after the first quarter.
And then, the second quarter happened.
Atlanta scored 41 points in that period alone, totaling more points than the Pacers had the entire first half. Mike Scott nailed five 3s in the quarter, and the Hawks shot an incredible 66 percent from the field in the first half. They took a 61-40 lead into halftime and a chorus of boos flooded Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
A big start to the third quarter is what the Pacers needed to get back in the game. Instead, the Hawks went on a 19-10 run to open the second half which proved to be too much for the Pacers to overcome.
I’ve been calling for Chris Copeland to get some playing time all season long, and he finally got an opportunity (though the Pacers were down 27 when he got a chance). He missed his first several shots, but ended up making two from behind the arc, blocking three shots and doing what he does best: spreading the floor for his team.
The Pacers’ small lineup went on a huge run and even cut the lead to nine at one point in the fourth quarter. It proved to be too little, too late.
It’s time for coach Frank Vogel to insert Copeland into the rotation in Game 6, when the season will be on the line.
“We’ll consider everything at this point,” Vogel said.
The scariest part of this game was that Jeff Teague wasn’t much of a factor. He was a minus-10 on the night and barely played in the big second-quarter run.
“It’s a long series,” Paul George said after the game. “We can’t worry about Game 7 or anything else. All of our focus has got to be on Game 6.”
It may be a long series, but that’s old news at this point. The Pacers have to win two straight games against a team that has controlled the series, or their season will come to an abrupt end.
“We did it two days ago,” Vogel responded about winning in Atlanta. “We’ve got to do it again.”
Maybe the fourth-quarter run will give the Pacers some confidence to go win another game in Atlanta on Thursday night.
It’s hard to believe Bankers Life Fieldhouse may be closed for the season. We keep waiting for the Pacers to right the ship. Time has officially run out.
Follow Tyler Smith on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sports_TYs_20.
