A big night for the bench, led by Georges Niang, guides the Hawks to victory
The Atlanta Hawks won the first game of their double-header against the Indiana Pacers behind a strong fourth quarter to take a 124-118 victory at State Farm Arena on Thursday night. Trae Young led the way with 22 points and 16 assists, while Georges Niang scored a team-high 24 points. For the Pacers, Paskal Siakam scored 34 points, and Aaron Nesmith added 21 points.
The Pacers are set for a top-6 seed in the East, which would normally have made them favorites in this spot despite being on the road, however Tyrese Haliburton was forced to miss this game due to injury. With his absence, the Hawks were considered marginal favorites, echoing a sentiment that this would indeed be a close game.
In the first quarter, it didn’t look as though this may be the case as the Pacers opened up a double-digit lead behind a 31-21 first quarter. The Hawks made a comeback in the second quarter to take a lead, but an 11-0 run towards the end of the second quarter allowed the Pacers to re-establish superiority in this game and into halftime. Again, the Hawks were able to overcome this deficit to re-take the lead in the third quarter before another 11-0 Pacers run restored their double-digit lead.
The Pacers began the final quarter with an eight-point lead but the Hawks, once again, battled back. After a missed shot from T.J. McConnell, the Hawks took a timeout with 6:23 remaining in the quarter trailing 100-98. The crucial stage of this game unfolded following this timeout, as the Hawks’ second unit rallied to take a decisive lead with Young on the bench.
Out of the timeout, Caris LeVert drives, collapses the defense, and when his dribble is halted, he turns around and finds Zaccharie Risacher for a three-pointer to take the lead:
LeVert did well here to draw so much attention in the paint, leaving Risacher a generous look for three.
After two made free throws for Myles Turner after an Onyeka Okongwu foul, the Hawks are quick into action, with Dyson Daniels finding Niang for a quick reply three:
From a free throw, this is poor from the Pacers to allow an easy three like this; Niang will happily walk into an opportunity like this all day.
Following an open miss from Andrew Nembhard, LeVert again completely collapses the Indiana defense and kicks the ball out to Niang for another three-pointer:
Brilliant work from LeVert to draw four Indiana defenders, and by the time he was ready to kick out to the perimeter he could have chosen either Risacher or Niang in the end. The Pacers call for timeout at this point, now down five points having entered the fourth quarter with an eight-point lead. Young would return after this timeout and help keep the Pacers at bay for the remainder of the game as the sides exchanged baskets.
The Hawks outscored the Pacers 38-24 in the final period, shooting 66% and 50% from three to go along with 10 assists. The Pacers, meanwhile, shot 2-of-10 from three in the final frame.
“We kept moving the ball, we kept moving fast, we got some stops,” said Young. “[Siakam] hit a lot of tough shots, you’ve got to give them credit. We kept playing, didn’t stop fighting and played a full 48 minutes.”
The Hawks’ offensive efficiency shot up from 47% in the first half to 60.5% in the second half, with Hawks head coach Quin Snyder offering an explanation as to the progress the Hawks made in the second half, believing the Hawks got their eyes out and created better shots for themselves.
“I didn’t think we started the game with the level of aggression that we needed to have,” said Snyder postgame. “Not that we weren’t competing but there’s another level, particularly as physical as they were in their starting lineup. As the game progressed, we got better defensively. Earlier in the game we were in the lane, and we were taking some really tough shots. Some you’d make but if we had our eyes out and got better shots, and when that happens it’s really hard to get matched up. […] In the second half, there’s one play in particular where Caris got into the lane and kept his feet and found Georges. Plays like that, not only do we get a better shot but it’s easier for us to defend; I thought that was really important.”
Snyder was asked specifically about the fourth quarter stretch where the Hawks took the lead with Young resting on the bench and cited the play of Dyson Daniels as key, praising the Australian.
“Dyson’s aggressiveness and confidence are just really good, I have so much confidence in him,” praised Snyder. “He was one of the main guys whose decision making [was good] in the second half when he did get in the paint. He had a shot and there were times where he kicked it out. We had some really good offensive possessions during that stretch, and Trae gets to come back in with a breather.”
Daniels’ work with the ball and off the dribble — and his overall offensive growth — has been one of the more enjoyable aspects of the Hawks this season. He’s gotten better at getting to the rim, his floater has improved, his playmaking has progressed — this is all added to his defense, he’s been fantastic.
Daniels shot 8-of-12 from the field and the Pacers did not have an answer for him inside the paint.
His off-ball movement created problems for the Pacers, and he cuts on this play and finishes with his off-hand at the rim:
Next, Daniels jinks to his left to offset his man before cutting into the lane, receiving the ball and dunks all alone at the rim:
In the second half, Daniels catches his man napping, cuts into the paint, and when he receives the ball, he hits the quick turnaround floater:
Dainels’ floater last night was excellent; basically any time he went to it, he hit it.
On the drive from above the break, Daniels drives, spins and hits the runner in the lane:
Handling the ball on this possession, Daniels utilized the Okongwu slip to get downhill, and with the defense back-pedaling he goes to his floater and connects:
On the handoff from Niang, Daniels gets into the lane and again gets to his floater and hits:
Defended by McConnell out front, and with the defense deeply rooted in the paint, Daniels has room to manipulate McConnell, and he gets into the paint and hits his floater again:
Daniels’ contributions offensively were greatly impactful, as were those of Georges Niang. Niang scores a team-high 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 4-of-8 from three-point range.
Niang combined outside shooting with inside prowess, using his threat from the outside to open opportunities for himself inside the arc, whilst benefitting from the drive-and-kick opportunities his teammates created for him. In addition to this, Niang has been studying film and is selecting higher quality shots, rather than hunting shots for the sake of shots.
“I think over the course of the last couple of games I’ve been able to watch film with a couple of coaches I work with — Ryan Schmidt — and just deferring to taking good threes rather than ones you can just get off,” said Niang. “It allowed me to read closeouts better and get into the lane. I think all of us started getting into the lane. Dyson did a phenomenal job, Trae, Caris, Terance. Once we did that, it was really breaking their defense and allowing us to stay in the game.”
Niang scored 12 of his 24 points in the final quarter, and he was particularly key in that stretch where Young rested. He wasn’t the only trade-deadline acquisition who played well last night — they all had their moments. Caris LeVert may have only shot 4-of-11 from the field and 0-of-4 from three, but he was impactful in the second quarter and his ability to get into the lane and find his teammates was important, as Snyder alluded to. Terance Mann, meanwhile, scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in an efficient performance.
All three contributed in their own manner and were part of a huge bench scoring effort, one which the Hawks won 50-22. When asked about their performances, Young discussed their growing chemistry.
“You definitely see the moments and feel the connectivity on the court with each other when we play,” said Young. “It’s not going to be perfect right now, luckily, we have some games to go to find a rhythm with each other and string some wins in a row together. We’ve been playing pretty well with each and starting to really find a rhythm, especially Caris, Georges and even Terance, the way he was knocking down shots tonight was big for us. We’ve got a long ways to go, but we’re right there.”
In the grand scheme of things, without Jalen Johnson, it’s probably fair to say this Atlanta Hawks’ season has a limit on what can be achieved. However, what can still be done right now is what Young alluded to: those three additions can get acclimated with how the Hawks and Young play and the Hawks can get accustomed to what situations and lineups LeVert, Niang, and Mann operate best in. From this perspective, this can still be a productive season for the Hawks as it lays the groundwork for next season when the Hawks return to full-strength.
Young, of course, was very strong too — 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting but most impressively 16 assists while committing just one turnover is an excellent night’s work from the All-Star guard.
For the game itself, the Hawks played really well here. Obviously not having Haliburton in the equation limits the Pacers’ ceiling but Siakam — who Young praised often postgame — was extremely proficient from the field scoring 35 points on 12-of-18 from the field.
The Pacers, still a playoff team, offered stiff opposition and opened this game out to double-digit on multiple occasions. Each time, the Hawks were able to find a response to close the gap and take a small lead before the Pacers would re-take the lead. For the Hawks to rally as they did with that unit in the fourth quarter with Young on the bench was very impressive.
32 assists with just eight turnovers on the game on 50% shooting from the field, 74 points in the paint (far outscoring Indiana’s 46), in addition to 17 second chance points — just a very productive night’s work from the Atlanta Hawks. However, it may not be as easy in the rematch on Saturday and the Hawks know it.
“They’re a really good team and playing without Tyrese who has been on a tear,” said Snyder. “Good for us to get this one, we know we have our work cut out for us the day after tomorrow.”
The Hawks (29-34) are back in action on Saturday when they will take on the Pacers (35-26) back in State Farm Arena.
Until next time!