Atlanta Hawks vs Indiana Pacers: Final Score Predictions For Tonight's Game

Can the Hawks snap their losing streak against the Pacers tonight on the road?

Rohan Raman | Feb 1, 2025

Jan 12, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) is defended by Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield (7) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are back in action against the Pacers tonight and they need a win in the worst way. This is their first matchup against Indiana this year, so it's a great chance for the Hawks to show they are beginning to find some stability after their seven-game free fall.

Conversely to the Hawks, the Pacers have won four of their last five games and went 10-2 in the month of January. They struggled to start the year but they have found their offensive form of late, averaging 134.5 points in its last two wins. Indiana is currently the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference and could catch up to the Bucks if they slip this season.

In their last game against the Cavs, the Hawks were blown out, 137-115, and looked generally uncompetitive outside of a 30-point game from Zaccharie Risacher and 25 points off the bench from DeAndre Hunter. Jalen Johnson's season-ending injury puts a damper on the season, but things will have to be better tonight if Atlanta wants to get a win.

By his lofty standards, Trae Young had a fairly quite night against the Cavs. He only scored 15 points on 5-16 shooting. He did have 10 assists, but the Hawks really need his scoring and he couldn't get it going against Cleveland. I'd expect things to be much better against the Pacers. T.J McConnell is a solid defender, but Young is coming into this matchup with extra motivation after being snubbed as an All-Star. He needs to have a big scoring game tonight.

Zaccharie Risacher hasn't been the most consistent scorer this year, but he looked fantastic against an elite Cavs defense. He had 30 points on an efficient 11-14 night shooting from the field and 5-6 from three in 25 minutes. When his threes are falling, Risacher can be the second or third best player on the court for Atlanta. The problem is that he hasn't been able to string multiple good games from three-point range over an extended run. Fortunately, his defensive instincts have translated rather immediately. He'll have a tough matchup against Pacers forward Pascal Siakam, who was named to the All-Star team after averaging 20.2 points per game on an efficient 52.6% from the floor and a career-best 41.3% from deep.

DeAndre Hunter's consistency off the bench have been much appreciated throughout the season and the team will need that from him again tonight. His two-way presence is invaluable to Atlanta in wake of Johnson's absence. While he'll draw Siakam on a few possessions, there will also be plenty of possessions where he's on Ben Sheppard or Bennedict Mathurin. Sheppard hit four of six attempts from deep against Detroit and shown significant growth as a shooter from his rookie year. Mathurin can score in bunches and is shooting a career-best 58.2 TS%.

This is a big matchup to watch for Onyeka Okongwu's development. After feasting against the Raptors, he struggled against the big lineups of Minnesota and Houston before turning in a solid performance against the double bigs lineup of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. If he can have a good game against Pacers center Myles Turner, that would go a long way towards Okongwu finding the form he had earlier in the month. Okongwu's defense has been good - Turner's three-point shooting is a facet of the Pacers' offense that his defense is going to be sorely needed against.

Dyson Daniels' ability to turn ball-handlers over is going to be crucial when it comes to slowing down Tyrese Haliburton. If Andrew Nembhard sits after he missed the Pacers' most recent game against Detroit, there will be less complementary ball-handlers to take pressure off Haliburton. Daniels has done well against Haliburton in the past, so it'll be interesting to see if he can continue his strong performance in this one.

Prediction

While the Hawks have won games as double-digit underdogs this season, I think this is a tougher matchup then it appears. They looked very exploitable on defense against the Cavaliers and the Pacers can really punish them with the combo of Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner. Add that to all the attention that Tyrese Haliburton draws and it's just not a matchup that I see as being feasible for a porous Atlanta defense. I do think Haliburton will have a muted game and their defense has looked better in recent games, but I think this might be too much for them without Johnson. I feel confident Trae Young will have a statement scoring game after being snubbed from the All-Star team and Indiana's defense is going to struggle with him. If Hunter can continue to deliver off the bench and Risacher can step up, perhaps this game gets close. Ultimately, Indiana's offense will be too much to handle as the Hawks drop their eighth-straight game.

Final Score: Pacers 130, Hawks 115

Prediction

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