The Sports Xchange
Dec 20, 2017
ATLANTA -- Guard Victor Oladipo scored 23 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 105-95 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night at Philips Arena.
Oladipo scored 13 points in the second half and his 3-pointer midway in the final quarter gave the Pacers a 15-point lead and put the game away. Oladipo was 8-for-15 from the floor, 4-for-5 from the line and added five rebounds and two assists.
Forward Bojan Bogdanovic, who made the errant pass that cost the Pacers a victory against Boston on Monday, bounced back with 19 points. Myles Turner added 20 points, went 7-for-7 from the line, and had five rebounds for the Pacers (18-14). Darren Collison and Cory Joseph each scored 11 points.
Atlanta (7-24) got only 49 points from its starting lineup. The Hawks were led by rookie John Collins with 18 points and nine rebounds. Marco Belinelli and Kent Bazemore each scored 13.
The Hawks were trying to win back-to-back games for the first time.
Atlanta led by as many as nine points, taking an 18-9 lead on a basket by Collins with 6:04 left in the first quarter. The Pacers began to peck away and tied it at 24 on a hoop from Domantas Sabonis and took a 28-27 lead on Joseph's jumper with 33 seconds remaining.
The back-and-forth second quarter featured six ties, with neither team leading by more than four points and the Pacers taking a 53-51 lead into halftime.
Indiana began to pull away in the third quarter, stretching their lead to as many as nine points when Collison hit a 3-pointer late in the shot clock for a 72-63 lead. Indiana led 78-71 at the end of three quarters.
NOTES: Both teams were deadly from the free-throw line. Indiana made 18 of 19 and Atlanta sank 17 of 20. ... Atlanta and Indiana won't play again until Feb. 23, then they play three times within two weeks. ... Atlanta C Miles Plumlee had four dunks, three in the first half, the first a two-handed dunk, the second a reverse two-handed dunk. He finished with a season-high 10 points. ... Inactive for Atlanta were F Mike Muscala and G Tyler Dorsey, who were both sent to the Erie Bayhawks for a G League assignment, G Josh Magette and C Dewayne Dedmon. Muscala has missed 22 games with a left ankle injury. Atlanta inactives were G Edmond Sumner (left knee surgery), F Glenn Robinson III (ankle surgery), C Ike Anigbogu and F T.J. Leaf.