Pacers top Hawks, clinch No. 7 seed in East
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[April 13, 2017]
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana
Pacers certainly didn't make it easy on themselves, but they found a
way to qualify for the NBA Playoffs for the sixth time in the past
seven seasons and for the 24th time in franchise history.
Paul George had 32 points and 11 rebounds, and Jeff Teague added 19
points and seven assists before rolling his left ankle late in the
fourth quarter Wednesday night, leading Indiana to a 104-86
playoff-clinching victory against the Atlanta Hawks.
Indiana earns the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and will open
against the No. 2 seed Cleveland Cavaliers. Game 1 is set for 3 p.m.
Saturday in Cleveland.
"I'm excited about the opportunity," said George, who made 12 of 21
field goal attempts against the Hawks. "I guess that's because we're
doing everything right. When our back is against the wall, we figure
things out. It just showed the character of this team, that we knew
all along that we should have been a playoff team. We just had to
figure out how to play the right way."
Teague went directly to the locker room after being injured with
2:06 to play but did return to the court for the postgame
celebration.
Sitting at 37-40 with five games to play, Indiana rode George's
scoring to a five-game, season-ending winning streak and a playoff
berth. George has scored 20 points or more in 12 consecutive games.
"We got in," Indiana coach Nate McMillan said. "We had an uphill
climb. It wasn't an easy game tonight with all those Atlanta players
sitting out. I thought we were a little hesitant, a little tight in
the first half. In the second half, we started to relax. It's both a
relief and excitement to go into a new season now."
Having clinched the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs
with a Tuesday night victory against Charlotte, Atlanta (43-39)
rested guard Kent Bazemore, guard Tim Hardaway, Jr., center Dwight
Howard, forward Paul Millsap and guard Dennis Schroder against
Indiana.
Atlanta will begin the playoffs against No. 4 seed Washington on
Sunday afternoon.
"I am proud of the way our guys competed tonight," Atlanta coach
Mike Budenholzer said. "I thought they really got after it. But
credit Indiana. They came out to get into us defensively and applied
a lot of pressure."
Without those five double-figure scorers, Indiana (42-40) steadily
pulled away to qualify for the playoffs for a second consecutive
season and for the 22nd time in the past 28 seasons. Myles Turner
added 18 points and eight rebounds for Indiana.
The Hawks were led by Ersan Ilyasova's 15 points.
Jose Calderon added 12 and Taurean Prince added 11. Atlanta made 11
shots from 3-point range but shot only 41.7 percent and turned the
ball over 18 times, producing 25 Pacers' points.
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Pacers guard Lance Stephenson (6) brings the ball up court against
the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit:
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
"It was good for our other guys to get a lot of minutes and get
their confidence up and get ready for the playoffs," Calderon said.
"The (starters) were able to get healthy. We played hard to the end
but a few guys ran out of gas."
The Pacers got a 14-point third quarter from Teague and made 11 of
17 field goal attempts in the pivotal period, expanding a
seven-point halftime lead to 84-68 through 36 minutes.
Atlanta turned the ball over six times in the third quarter, leading
to eight Pacers points.
George scored 14 first-half points, including four 3-pointers, and
added seven rebounds, and Turner added 10 points and six rebounds
during the first 24 minutes to help the Pacers lead 50-43 at
intermission.
Indiana, which shot 42.2 percent in the first half, made eight
3-pointers before halftime, including 3 of 5 from Miles. The Pacers
led by as many as 11 in the opening half.
Ilyasova had eight first-half points for Atlanta, and DeAndre Bembry
added seven.
The Hawks shot 43.2 percent in the opening half.
NOTES: For the second time in three seasons, Indiana's playoff hopes
were determined in Game 82. The Pacers lost at Memphis on the final
night of the 2015 season and were denied a playoff berth. ...
Indiana played without C Al Jefferson (sprained left ankle) and G
Glenn Robinson III (sore left calf). ... Atlanta had its four-game
winning streak snapped. ... Indiana G Jeff Teague -- an Indianapolis
native -- played the first seven seasons of his NBA career with the
Hawks, helping the team qualify for the playoffs in each of those
seven seasons. ... Indiana is the NBA's second-best free throw
shooting team at 81 percent ... Atlanta ranks second in opponent's
turnovers with 15.5. [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
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