Hawks edge narrow victory against six-man Pacers

The Atlanta Hawks continued their mini road-trip on Monday night, picking up a 108-104 victory against the Indiana Pacers. Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 34 points, tying a career-best nine three-pointers in the process. Lu Dort added 14 points for Atlanta. For the Pacers, Jay Huff led with 22 points with Quenton Jackson adding 20 points.

The big story of this game could only be the injuries/absences. The following players were either injured or rested last night for the Pacers (who were on the second night of a back-to-back): Tyrese Haliburton, Paskal Siakam, Ivica Zubac, Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, Obi Toppin, Kelly Oubre, and TJ McConnell, to name but a few, leaving the Pacers with just six available bodies.

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NBA dot com’s summary of this game paints quite a picture when it comes to the Pacers absences and who was available:

“The players who sat out have a combined salary of about $193 million, while those on the court make about $15 million.”

For the Hawks, Jalen Johnson was sidelined in this game after the ankle tweak in New Orleans, while Jock Landale also missed out. In Johnson’s place, Lu Dort would start. Kingston Flemings was also absent due to a one game league suspension following an elbow in New Orleans.

If one is to be realistic about the situation that presented itself for Atlanta last night, it’s hard to conceive any situation where the Hawks should have work excessively hard or be in any position where this game is realistic doubt. But that’s exactly where the Hawks found themselves when it came to clutch time.

At several points in this game the Hawks established secure double-digit leads — 14 points, 15 points — in the second and third quarters. And in both instances, the Pacers pegged them back. A lack of size inside meant that when the Pacers found Huff, they also found a recipe that worked inside and led to consecutive baskets which wiped the lead in the second quarter for a spell.

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In the third quarter, the Hawks shot 28% from the field, and then went on a nearly four minute field goal drought in the fourth quarter down the stretch, with Onyeka Okongwu’s hook…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/hawks-edge-narrow-victory-against-133000654.html

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Publish date : 2026-11-03 13:30:00

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