Pacers can’t rebound against the Hawks
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
(Photo by Pacers Sports and Entertainment)
INDIANAPOLIS — When the Pacers play at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and Paul George is on the court, good things have happened this season. George returned to the lineup on Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks, but this time, it wasn’t enough to lead the Pacers to victory. Atlanta defeated the Pacers by a final score of 96-85 on the eve of Thanksgiving. It was Indiana’s first home loss of the season (6-1) when George played in the game.
It was a game of runs, as the Hawks led by 17 points in the first half. The Pacers cut the lead to 65-64 in the third quarter, but it was a 17-2 Atlanta run that put the game away after that.
Rebounding was the main story in this one. The Hawks pulled down 17 of the game’s first 21 rebounds. For the game, they out-rebounded the Pacers 56-37. They scored 19 second-chance points on 17 offensive boards. Dwight Howard had already recorded a double-double with five minutes left in the first half. He finished with 23 points and 20 rebounds on the night.
“We knew that Howard was a monster on the boards,” Coach Nate McMillan said. “It’s going to take all five guys on the floor. We’ve got to get our guards to help smash on elite rebounders like that.”
Rebounding wasn’t the only issue. The second unit really struggled, as C.J. Miles remained sidelined. All five Pacer starters were in the positive in the plus/minus stat on the night, while every player that came off the bench was in the minus. Rodney Stuckey was minus-25 in his 17 minutes of action.
Thad Young led the Pacers with a season-high 24 points. He made 10-of-13 from the field. The rest of the team shot a combined 24-of-71 (34%).
“It’s a process,” said Jeff Teague. “We’re just now getting some guys back. We’ve got to try and figure it out.”
Nate McMillan added: “When we cut the lead to one, we made some mistakes. We gambled, and made some turnovers. Those are the things that can’t happen. We fought our way back and then the momentum shifted right back to those guys.”
The energy and effort has been questioned at times this season. “Are we playing hard enough?” McMillan asked. “We could play harder. We’re going to have to play harder.”
The Pacers, now at 7-9 on the season, will look to get things back on track with their traditional Black Friday home game against the Brooklyn Nets.
