RECAP: Atlanta Hawks Keep Up with Pacers, But Run Out of Steam Late In 132-127 Loss

The Hawks' losing streak extends to eight after a hard-fought game that they narrowly drop in heartbreaking fashion.

Rohan Raman | Feb 1, 2025

Feb 1, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) dribbles the ball against Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Hawks

It goes without saying that the Atlanta Hawks have gone through a ton of adversity this year. Two talented young pieces in Kobe Bufkin and Jalen Johnson were ruled out for the season. Trae Young has dealt with a nagging injury for practically the entire season. Bogdan Bogdanovic missed large chunks of the season due to injury. However, they've been able to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff race due to their grit. That was on full display tonight. After a dismal first quarter, they got things back on track over the next two quarters to give themselves a chance in the fourth. Unfortunately, sloppy play down the stretch and a dismal performance from their bench ended up in dropping a winnable game against Indiana, 132-127.

Trae Young was largely excellent tonight, finishing with 31 points and 16 assists, while Dyson Daniels poured in 23. All five of Atlanta's starters finished with double-digit points - Okongwu had 10 and Risacher had 17 points on 3-5 shooting from deep. Dominick Barlow dropped 10 points in his first start as a Hawk. Mathews had 14 off the bench, but the rest of Atlanta's bench was quiet. They combined for a total of 17 points.

In contrast to Atlanta, the Pacers got 29 points off the bench from Obi Toppin (18 points) and Aaron Nesmith (11 points) alone. Pascal Siakam led the way with 20 points for the Pacers while Andrew Nembhard had 19 and Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points to go with nine assists. All five of their starters finished in double-digits.

Atlanta started off well on offense with a 9-4 run. Daniels got things going with a massive dunk off a pass from Onyeka Okongwu and Barlow scored his first points as a Hawks starter on a feed from none other than Young. However, the Pacers went on a 12-point run fueled by excellent passing from Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton. They went on to bury 7 threes in 10 minutes, which put the Hawks in a deep hole. Daniels hit two threes in the first quarter, but not much else went right for Atlanta early. The Hawks went from being down, 12-16, at the six-minute mark to being down 24-40 by the end of the quarter. Atlanta shot 45.5% from the field and an ice-cold 22.2% from deep. It paled in comparison to the Pacers shooting 61.5% from the field and 50% from deep.

The Hawks entered the second quarter in real danger of being run off the floor. Fortunately, they were able to put some things together on offense. Obi Toppin opened the quarter off with a dunk of his own before Mathews scored five straight points to make it a 29-42 deficit. Mathurin stopped Atlanta's momentum with a dunk, but Vit Krejci got things rolling for Atlanta again by hitting a deep three courtesy of a Young dime. From there, the Hawks kept the lead from ballooning before Larry Nance threw down a dunk and forced Indiana to call a timeout. Barlow checked back in for his second stint of the game and immediately made an impact by scoring Atlanta's next two baskets. Now with only a ten-point deficit, it seemed like Indiana was in some trouble. However, Siakam found Myles Turner for a three to get Indiana's lead back up to 13. Siakam did not score a single basket until five minutes before the end of the first half, but graded out as a +12 because of his passing and strong defense.

While Indiana keyed in on stopping Trae Young, Daniels stepped up as a scorer when the Hawks needed him in the first half. He finished well around the rim and showed some touch on a nice floater. He played a critical role in cutting Atlanta's deficit to eight points before Siakam answered with a jumper of his own. Fortunately, that sparked Atlanta's best stretch of the game. Hunter blocked another Siakam jumper before Garrison Mathews got fouled by Siakam. The call was determined to be a flagrant, giving Mathews three free throws that he promptly drained. Young picked off a bad pass from Turner and got it to Hunter on the perimeter, who buried the jumper. Only up by six, the Pacers turned a block on Young into a good look from Siakam. However, he missed it and Mathews took advantage with a massive three-pointer to cut Atlanta's deficit to three.

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, Okongwu, Onyeka Okongwu, Pacers, Indiana Pacers

Feb 1, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) shoots the ball against Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Okongwu followed it up with a jumper of his own and suddenly, all the pressure fell on Indiana. Haliburton drew a foul to give them some breathing room, but Young forced Nembhard to foul him and nailed both of his free throws. Nembhard scored before half to make it a 68-64 game, but the Hawks deserve a tremendous amount of credit for battling back and getting themselves back into it. They were down by 18 at one point in the game and cut it to four while only shooting 47.9% from the field and 30% from three-point range in the half. They scored 40 in the quarter while holding Indiana to only one three-pointer after they made seven in the first quarter. Young racked up ten assists as a facilitator while Mathews chipped in 14 points off the bench. Simply put, it was one of the better quarters the Hawks have played all season.

The third quarter was all Trae. Atlanta went on a 14-5 run out of halftime largely due to him. He found Barlow on an assist to open up the quarter before the young big man took it in for a dunk on the next play. Young then either scored or assisted the next four buckets for Atlanta, burying a three-pointer to give Atlanta a 73-71 lead. Indiana took a timeout after Young found Okongwu on a cut to the basket. Even though he didn't get an All-Star nod, performances like these are a reminder of how incredible Trae can be as a facilitator. However, the Pacers' adjustements proved difficult for Atlanta to handle. Siakam and Turner cut the lead to three before Toppin took the lead for Indiana after getting fouled while going up for the bucket. Risacher and Young both hit threes during Indiana's strech to limit the deficit, but it became clear that the Hawks were going to need to win a shootout if they had any hopes of taking this one. Toppin continued to give Atlanta problems in the paint before Quin Snyder called a timeout to get things sorted. Unfortunately, Indiana once again used the timeout effectively to go on a 19-7 run to end the half. Young managed to cut the deficit to four on a last-second jumper to make it a 95-99 game heading into a pivotal fourth quarter.

The Hawks opened the fourth quarter with one of their most aethestically pleasing forms of offense - a Trae Young floater. Risacher hit his second three of the night to make it a one-point game before taking the lead on a jumper of his own. It brought him up to 11 points on the night and gave the Hawks their fourth starter with double-digit points. Mathurin stormed back to retake the lead, but Risacher silenced the Indiana crowd with a beautiful, no-dip three to make it a 105-106 game. Shots like those are a clear indication of what he can be as a fully realized player - it's good that he is able to find those shots despite his young age. Daniels found him for a layup to give Atlanta the lead before Mathurin once again wrestled the lead back on a jumper. He led the Pacers in scoring and it seemed like his buckets kept falling when Indiana needed them to. From there, it was a back-and-forth affair. Young connected on two successive threes to give Atlanta a 118-116 lead, but Nembhardt had a three-point play to make it a tie game at 119. Siakam and Nesmith then hit threes in quick succession to give Indiana a six-point lead.

Risacher made it a five-point game after hitting a free throw before Young cut the deficit to three by sinking both of his free throws following a Nembhardt blocking foul. Siakam hit a jumper to give the Pacers some breathing room, but Hunter intercepted a pass from Haliburton to limit the damage. With only 27 seconds left in the game, Atlanta wasn't able to get a good shot up until Risacher got the offensive rebound and found Young for a massive three. Only down two, the Hawks had to foul and put Haliburton on the line. He hit both free throws before Young found Okongwu for a massive dunk to make it a two-point game again. Daniels purposely fouled again to send Nesmith to the line, but he hit both his attempts to make it a four-point game for Atlanta.

Snyder called a timeout to give Atlanta one final chance to draw something up, but it would be hard to muster anything with only twelve seconds on the clock. Young missed the three-pointer and Atlanta's losing streak extended to eight games. They deserve a ton of credit for their resilience, but couldn't come up with the win.

The Hawks are back in action against the Pistons on Monday, February 3rd before taking on the Spurs on Wednesday in their last game before the trade deadline.

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