NBA Playoffs 2013, Pacers vs. Hawks: Indiana hangs on for Game 6 victory, series win

The league increases the penalties for flopping during the playoffs. A first offense in the regular-season only netted players a warning, but in the postseason it results in a fine. After an initial offense, repeat violators face increased fines of $10,000, $20,000 and $30,000. A fifth offense warrants possible suspension, plus an additional fine.

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It’s probably a welcomed change for a majority of Hawks fans.

Smith, while immensely talented, has been an enigma throughout his entire career. He’s capable of scoring the ball from just about any spot on the offensive end, although he’s made it a habit of settling for outside jumpers. This was the case in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, and it really hurt Atlanta’s chances of advancing as Smith continued to chuck up ill-fated shot attempts throughout most of the series.

The Pacers held a comfortable lead throughout much of the game, taking a 15-point advantage into the fourth quarter. Atlanta finally got from the field midway through the fourth, though, cutting the deficit to five with 4:30 left to play.

Indiana got the job done in Game 6 the way they have all season long: defense, defense and more defense. They held the Hawks to just 34 percent shooting from the field, including a 3-of-19 mark from behind the arc. The Pacers also did a terrific job in transition, holding Atlanta to just four fast break points.

The first half was about as ugly as it can get during the playoffs. There were multiple scoring droughts for both teams, with Indiana and Atlanta going more than four minutes midway through the second quarter without scoring a point. The Pacers are shooting 37 percent from the field, while the Hawks have been held to 24 percent.

The two teams have combined to turn the ball over 13 times. They have a total of two fast break points.

The home team is undefeated in this opening-round series between the Atlanta Hawks and the Indiana Pacers, and every game has been decided by double-digits, so the biggest drama in the matchup has developed over time. The Pacers hold a 3-2 series lead, meaning the Hawks are up against the wall and on the brink of elimination from the 2013 NBA Playoffs. For some reason, it just feels right to have Atlanta take things to a do-or-die Game 7. Here are three issues to consider heading into Game 6.

Indiana spent the regular season suppressing opposing offenses and limiting good opportunities in the paint, but the Hawks have periodically found ways to break through the Pacers’ top defensive unit in this series. The Pacers made adjustments in Game 5 and hit their stride again, and that is the focus over at Indy Cornrows heading into the game:

I am supposed to love all pro basketball. I am not remotely attracted to Hawks vs. Pacers. What is wrong with me?

If I spoke to a therapist, the therapist would surely say that I need to put my happiness first. I need to love myself before I love all pro basketball generally, and Hawks-Pacers specifically. And so long as I feel guilt at not loving Hawks-Pacers, I am not loving my sense of self. So I need to learn that it’s okay to not love Hawks-Pacers.

More specifically, Drew said he was worried about the Hawks losing their composure. Atlanta did just that, especially during a rough stretch in the third quarter.

“There were two words I used going into this game tonight that I thought would be two areas of my biggest concern,” Drew said. “One was composure. In the fifth game of the playoffs, it was going to be a situation where we had to go out and earn this win. In order to do that, we’d have to maintain our composure throughout the game. We did not do that. The other word I used was smart. We would have to play smart, and we didn’t do that either.”

West really got things going in the second quarter when Josh Smith went to the bench with foul trouble, scoring 10 straight at one point and 12 overall for the quarter. That dominant stretch helped vault the Pacers to a seven-point halftime lead, and they would cruise the rest of the way.

“We’re at our best when he’s going like he was going,” Vogel said. “We talked yesterday about how to get him some better looks. He kind of waved me off and said ‘Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.’ So I didn’t have a lot of doubt that he was going to have a big game.”

West scored 24 points on 11-16 shooting and Hibbert had 18 points, with the two big men combining for 30 in the first half alone. Hibbert did a lot of his damage from the free-throw line, making 12-14 from the charity stripe. George had 21 points on 7-8 shooting while also grabbing 10 rebounds. The Pacers shot 50.7 percent from the field and also dominated the glass, winning the rebounding battle 51-28.

Both teams actually got off to strong offensive starts, with the Pacers coming out of the gates especially hot. Indiana made seven of their first eight shots from the field, and George was on triple-double watch with five points, three rebounds and three assists midway through the first quarter.

The Hawks led 22-21 after the first quarter, but the Pacers’ offense kicked into gear in the second quarter after some early sloppiness. West was able to find his rhythm and helped Indiana close the half on a 22-12 run.

Before the game, Satchel Price took a look at three key questions heading into this pivotal Game 5.

Returning to Indianapolis for Game 5, the Hawks have found their rhythm, dominated the Pacers in back-to-back games and tied up the series at two games apiece. After losing the first two games by an average of 16 points, Atlanta has asserted itself as the team to beat in this series.

With a third straight win Wednesday, the Hawks would head back to Atlanta capable of ending the series in front of their home fans. Considering how they played in the first two games of at the series at Philips Arena, one has to imagine the Pacers will come out firing in Game 5 to avoid that fate.

While Indiana’s defense is their strength, that doesn’t mean it can mail it in on the offensive side of the ball. The Pacers’ lack of perimeter shooters has been exposed, while they’ve ignored the most efficient player through the series, Roy Hibbert. Their shot distribution chart shows an alarming reliance on outside shooting, as they’ve taken 27.8 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. Of the 330 shots they’ve taken in the series, 164 have been from mid-range or beyond.

Indiana Pacers playoff shot distribution

Just a quick glance to the recaps of each game in the series and it really looks like the Hawks firmly have the Pacers back peddling as Game 5 rolls around with the series even at 2-2.

The Pacers won Games 1 and 2 in a convincing fashion, winning the two games by 17 and 15 points. But the Hawks fired back with a 21 point beatdown in Game 3 that included an 18-0 run to put the game seemingly out of reach for the Pacers before halftime even rolled around.

The Hawks outscored the Pacers 35-19 in the second quarter to take a 17-point lead at half, and seemed well on their way to an easy victory. After a shaky third quarter, the Hawks regrouped in the fourth to even the series and send the Pacers to their 13th straight loss in Atlanta.

The Pacers limited Al Horford to a certain degree after his 26-point, 12-rebound effort in Game 3. Horford watched much of the third quarter from the bench because of foul trouble, and he finished the night with 18 points and five rebounds.

Roy Hibbert started the game hot early, but he cooled off along with the rest of the team. The Hawks haven’t necessarily abused the Pacers inside, although they do have a 18-16 edge on points in the paint. With as easily as all of the Hawks shots have been falling, they haven’t had to go inside too much. On defense, the Hawks have collapsed every time the Pacers have tried to find any room in the post.

Horford hasn’t had much trouble in dealing with the Pacers. He is lighting up the stat sheet with six points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Horford dragged the Hawks to victory in Game 3, but they haven’t needed to see as much of him. Josh Smith has been lights out from the floor and the Hawks made six straight three-pointers at one point during the first half.

What will the outcome of Game 4 hinge upon?

The Pacers will likely see another heavy dose of Horford on the block on Monday, and the trick now will be deciding how to handle him. Do they send double-teams his way considering he’s a smart and willing passer? Do they mix up coverages to get Horford thinking?

While Indiana has looked great thus far, it has lost 11 straight games at Philips Arena. The Hawks have been a much better home team all season, so they are hoping to receive a boost from playing in front of their fans. But in order for Atlanta to get back in this series, a lot is going to have to change on the court.

Just over two minutes into Game 2, Josh Smith picked up his second foul and had to head to the bench. Smith’s whole night was marred by foul trouble, as he was only able to play 20 minutes. The Pacers shot 29 free throws to just 20 for the Hawks, this coming after a 34-14 margin in Game 1. If Atlanta is going to compete in this series, its best players need to stay on the floor, and it has to limit the amount of free throw opportunities for Indiana.

Sure enough, Smith was hounded by foul trouble all night, and the Hawks were blown out again to fall behind 2-0 in their first-round series against the Pacers. Smith managed to scored 16 points in just 20 minutes, and his presence would have helped immensely on both offense and defense.

“That did throw a little bit of a monkey wrench into things when he picked up two quick fouls,” Drew said. “We had to make some adjustments in terms of our substitution pattern.”

The Indiana bench outscored the Atlanta bench, 38-27, and the only reason the margin was that close was because of a string of points in garbage time. In the first half, the Pacers’ bench had 24 points to just six for the Hawks’ subs.

“Gerald really got it going,” Vogel said. “He’s a guy who’s capable of that offensive burst. When he has it like that, you want to get him as many shots as possible. He gave us a big lift.”

After getting blown out in Game 1, it initially looked like the Hawks were going to be a bit more competitive on Wednesday night. Atlanta scored the first five points of the game, but Indiana quickly struck back and the game settled into a back-and-forth affair before the Pacers took control toward the end of the quarter. The Hawks started hot from the field, but cooled off and found themselves once again in foul trouble.

George picked up right where he left off, scoring 11 points in the opening frame. Hibbert also got off to an excellent start, scoring seven points and handing out some nifty assists. The Pacers ended the quarter on a spurt, going on an 8-2 run to take a 25-19 lead.

The Pacers shot 48.8 percent from the field and led by as many as 11 points in the half. The Hawks shot well themselves, but they committed 10 turnovers and just could not get many stops. Atlanta’s bench also has just six points, compared to 24 for Indiana.

Before the game, Satchel Price took a look at three key questions heading into the contest.

Stephenson is coming off a solid performance in Game 1, where he scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 41 minutes. He also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals in the 107-90 victory.

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This is a persistent issue with some coaches, but Drew might be the league’s top offender, with Horford as the victim. It makes no sense on so many levels! Horford is not remotely foul prone -- he averaged 2.2 per game while playing 37 minutes a night this season. Drew has been his coach all year. He has seen first-hand that Horford can defend really well without fouling.

Drew pulled Horford with five minutes left in the second quarter, so there were 29 minutes of game left. Even if Horford had three fouls at that point, his performance all season long indicates he would pick up two or fewer fouls the rest of the way, even if he played all 29 minutes remaining plus a five-minute overtime period. At two fouls, which is where Horford was when yanked, he would have had to pick up fouls at more than double his normal rate while playing the entire second half and one overtime to foul out.

Indiana shot 34 free throws for the evening, eclipsing the Hawks’ total by 20. George made 17 of his 18 attempts, more than double the amount Atlanta made (seven). Having struggled coming into the playoffs, both George individually and the Pacers as a team found their groove once again.

Despite going 3-for-13 from the floor, George said he was taking everything one play at a time. He really pressured himself to have an attacking mentality.

It backfired.

Indiana looked comfortable on the break and overall dominated the Hawks with an aggressive, attacking offense. It wasn’t always pretty with the Pacers shooting 45 percent from the field, but a 34-14 advantage on free throw attempts powered Indiana’s offense.