Georges Niang came off the bench to score a team-high 24 points, helping the Atlanta Hawks earn a 124-118 win over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Thursday.
Trae Young added 22 points and 16 assists while Onyeka Okongwu collected 20 points and 13 rebounds as the Hawks won their second game in three tries. Dyson Daniels chipped in 17 points, Terance Mann had 12 and Zaccharie Risacher put up 11 as Atlanta won for the first time in six meetings with Indiana.
Pascal Siakam had 35 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, while Aaron Nesmith scored 21 and Myles Turner had 17 points and nine boards. Andrew Nembhard finished with 15 points and 10 assists as Indiana had its two-game winning streak snapped.
After seeing a seven-point halftime deficit get pushed to 10, Atlanta went on a 9-0 run to cut the gap to 66-65 with 9:04 left in the third quarter. Siakam and Nembhard’s consecutive triples pushed Indiana’s lead back to seven before Young’s three-point play later pulled the Hawks within one at the 4:59 mark.
The Pacers ended the third on a 12-4 run — including Siakam’s personal 7-0 spree — to take a 94-86 advantage into the fourth quarter. From there, Clint Capela’s dunk and Daniels’ floater capped a 12-4 Hawks run that tied the game with just under eight minutes left.
Niang knocked down consecutive treys to give Atlanta a 107-102 lead with 5:03 left. After Daniels’ only 3-pointer of the night gave the Hawks a 112-106 edge, Nesmith answered with a trey. Okongwu’s putback layup and Niang’s basket pushed Atlanta’s lead to 116-109 with 1:07 left. The Hawks then made all six of their free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
The Pacers led 31-21 after the first quarter before Atlanta began the second quarter on a 19-7 run — including a 12-0 spurt — to take a 40-38 lead.
Back-to-back Turner layups put the Pacers up 44-42 before Daniels’ floater stamped an 11-5 Atlanta run that gave the Hawks a four-point advantage. T.J. McConnell’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer finished a 14-3 Pacers spree to finish the first half and give Indiana a 63-56 halftime-lead.
–Field Level Media
