Indiana @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 23, 2018 ) Atlanta 93, Indiana 116

The Indiana Pacers suffered an odd letdown on Monday at the lowly Dallas Mavericks to snap a four-game winning streak. The Pacers had no trouble with the Hawks at home in their previous game and will try to pick on the Eastern Conference's worst team again when they visit Atlanta on Wednesday.

Indiana, which is among a pack of teams jockeying for position in the top eight of the East, fell to 13-15 on the road with Monday's setback, in which they allowed 41 fourth-quarter points to the Mavericks. "Defensively, we didn't do a good job of keeping it in front of us," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan told reporters. "They did a good job of moving the ball from side to side and getting downhill on us pretty much all night. And in the fourth quarter they just had a huge quarter." Indiana was sharper on the defensive end in Friday's 116-93 win over the Hawks, forcing 22 turnovers and limiting Atlanta to 22.6 percent from 3-point range. The Hawks continued their swoon with another lopsided on Monday, dropping a 123-104 decision to the Los Angeles Lakers in the opener of a four-game homestand.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Indiana, FS Southeast (Atlanta)

ABOUT THE PACERS (34-26): Indiana All-Star Victor Oladipo was limited to 23 minutes on Monday due to foul trouble and finished with 21 points. "I don't think it affected my rhythm, I just didn't play a lot," Oladipo told reporters of the foul trouble. "It's crazy how they (the referees) didn't miss none of mine. It just felt like every time I tried to do something, it was a foul. So, it was just one of those nights." Oladipo was only needed for 28 minutes on Friday against Atlanta, when he managed 14 points and nine assists.

ABOUT THE HAWKS (18-43): The rest of the season is all about development for Atlanta, which waived veteran power forward Ersan Ilyasova on Monday and let veteran Marco Belinelli go recently in part to open up minutes for young players. Taurean Prince is taking some of the minutes that went to Ilyasova and led the team with 24 points in Monday's setback. Guard Isaiah Taylor has seen his role increase in Belinelli's absence and is averaging 15.3 points on 18-of-29 shooting in the last three games, raising his season scoring average to 5.1 points.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Hawks SF DeAndre' Bembry (abdominal strain) sat out Monday and is day-to-day.

2. Pacers C Myles Turner recorded a double-double in two of the last three games.

3. Indiana took the last four in the series, including a 105-95 win at Atlanta on Dec. 20.

PREDICTION: Pacers 113, Hawks 96