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NBA -- Pacers pound Hawks for 3-2 lead
By Michael Medina
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 03 May 2013
INDIANAPOLIS -- After getting embarrassed in Atlanta in Games 3 and 4, the Indiana Pacers returned to their true form Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks in a 106-83 blowout.
The Pacers weathered an early first quarter surge by the Hawks, and controlled the entire game with their physicality, utilizing their size advantage in outrebounding the Hawks 51-28.
David West stepped up big for the Pacers, throwing his body around and imposing his will against the Hawks? frontcourt in a his stellar 24-point performance.
Roy Hibbert also bounced back from his forgettable outings in Atlanta with 18 points, accompanied by 9 rebounds as he outplayed the Hawks? tandem of Al Horford and Johan Petro at the center slot.
All-Star guard Paul George continued his brilliant performance in the postseason and finished the game with a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The Pacers overcame a turnover-happy first half by containing the Hawks? offense with their defense and rebounding, while capitalizing on their fastbreak opportunities.
The Hawks were never able to get back in the game and struggled throughout after being limited to only 33.3% shooting from the field, and an abysmal 21.4% from beyond the arc.
Pacers head coach Frank Vogel tweaked his matchups in reponse to Hawks coach Larry Drew?s move in putting Josh Smith on George. Vogelo resorted to a bigger line-up that saw Roy Hibbert, Tyler Handsbrough, and even reserve Jeff Pendergraph together in the frontline to allow George to swing to the shooting guard slot.
The scheme worked as George relished in his matchup against Kyle Korver, while the sharpshooting Hawks guard was hardly a factor in the game compared to his explosions in the previous two games.
Horford, together with Jeff Teague, combined for only 21 points off of 8-of-32 shooting for a Hawks team that struggled to find their rhythms all game long.
The win gave the Pacers a commanding 3-2 lead in the series and have a chance to finish off the series on Friday at the Philips Arena where they have lost 13 games consecutively. (MM)
Photo: Leading the Hawks 3-2, Paul George and Indiana Pacers move a game closer to the second round.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Michael Medina.
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