Hawks finally hop off rollercoaster and outpace Indiana, 124-118

Clutch moments down the stretch to win.

The Hawks rolled out the same starting lineup as that game against the Bucks on Tuesday, Young- Daniels-Risacher-Gueye-Okongwu. But their opponent, the Indiana Pacers, were down their two-time All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton for this contest.

Early on, Mouhamed Gueye made an impact on both ends, and this particular possession he combines with Zaccharie Risacher for a big highlight in the first quarter:

But then the Hawks’ struggles at the free throw line and finishing at the rim made reappearances. After blowing some close-range bunnies, Indiana was able to go the other way in transition and find easy buckets.

The lead ballooned to double digits by the end of the first quarter, and the Hawks had yet another hole to dig out of. It was 31-21 by the time the first buzzer sounded, and it could have been a lot worse.

The Hawks came out an executed on offense much better in the second quarter to their credit. This Trae bomb from outside the I-285 perimeter cut the lead to four:

They took the lead after another burst, and from there it was a seesaw affair with the lead exchanging hands multiple times.

The Hawks had their patented poor end to the first half, surrendering scores on the Pacers final five possessions including a buzzer-beating leaner from TJ McConnell.

Georges Niang was a big boost off the bench in the first half, scoring 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting.

After halftime, the Hawks once again came out with fire in their eyes. This Trae to Onyeka feed was a work of beauty:

This Risacher relocation corner three was fantastique:

Indiana has a lot of firepower even without Haliburton, and Pascal Siakam continually stepped up with big buckets. But Dyson Daniels largely matched him, and his contributions were especially needed when Trae Young hit the bench.

Towards the end of the third quarter, however, the Hawks faded and let Indiana take control of the game.

The Hawks trailed 94-86 after three quarters and needed a big push to find a win tonight.

Once again, the good guys clawed back into proceedings with an early quarter run to tie the game up. Things got a bit dicey in the middle of the quarter, but then Zacch attacked:

Georges Niang AKA the Minivan AKA the G-Wagon chipped in as well:

After that bucket, the crowd was hyped and Atlanta looked to ride that wave until the clock struck zeroes.

Atlanta kept Indiana largely at bay from them on, responding every time the Pacers made things tight. Dyson Daniels buried a corner three set up by Trae Young with under three minutes left to play:

Then Atlanta calmly — with the exception of a Daniels inbounds pass gone awry — handled business to close out a big win at home, 124-118.

Niang led the way with 24 points and six rebounds. Both Trae Young and Onyeka Okongwu added double-doubles, with 22 points and 16 assists for the former and 20 points and 13 points for the latter.

Atlanta faces the same opponent at home on Saturday evening.