Indiana 112, Atlanta 97
Al Awesome Against Atlanta
INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 23 -- With the way Al Harrington is playing, Jermaine O'Neal need not rush back from his knee injury.
Harrington exceeded his career high by halftime en route to a 40-point night as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 112-97 Monday for their 13th win in 14 home games.
The Pacers had lost three of their previous four games, splitting two since O'Neal sprained his left knee against Houston on Wednesday. But Harrington, whose previous career best was 26 points, scored 11 in the first quarter and 16 in the second to give Indiana a 64-54 halftime edge.
"He started fast and didn't slow up," Hawks coach Lon Kruger said. "I thought Indiana played with great emotion early on and put us on our heels."
The Hawks climbed within 70-65 on a hook shot by Shareef Abdur-Rahim with 8:17 left in the third quarter, but the Pacers scored the next seven points and closed the period on a 22-11 run.
Atlanta, which lost its eighth straight road contest, got no closer than nine points in the final 12 minutes.
With Harrington stuck on 38 points late in the fourth quarter, the Conseco Fieldhouse crowd chanted, "Al, Al!" and cheered loudly when he capped the scoring with a layup with 33 seconds left.
"It was great to hear the crowd chanting my name," Harrington said. "My little brother got that going for me."
"(Al) wanted to get 40 badly and I said, 'If you want to get 40, don't try to score 40, let the game come to you,'" Pacers coach Isiah Thomas said. "He got the last basket by not going 1-on-1 but staying within the offense. Al did a good job the last couple of days getting into the habits that got him this far."
Ron Artest chipped in 24 points and Brad Miller added 22 and 11 rebounds for Indiana, which was 2-8 without O'Neal last season. Miller has recorded double-doubles in each of his last four games.
"With guys being in and out with different injuries, it's great to see how different guys step it up on different nights when we need it," Miller said. "Tonight the ball was just zipping around and we had their defense just running around a lot. We had a lot of good looks and everyone was really looking for the open man."
The Pacers tied a season high with 30 assists and committed a season-low 10 turnovers.
"It all starts with the point guard," Artest said. "Everybody feeds off of (Jamaal Tinsley). We kind of had a letdown Saturday against the Bulls, but tonight I think after that happened, we stayed really focused and stuck to our offensive game plan."
Tinsley scored just four points but dished out 14 assists.
Jason Terry contributed 25 points and 10 assists, Abdur-Rahim scored 19 points and Glenn Robinson 16 for the Hawks, who have lost six straight in Indiana.
"I thought all the Pacers had it going tonight, not just (Harrington)," Terry said. "We didn't play any defense, and anytime we score 97 points and don't win the game, you know you've got problems on defense."
Both teams shot 49 percent but the Pacers dominated the glass, outrebounding the Hawks, 45-31, and outscoring them on second chances, 20-5.
"Overall, the offense was great tonight," Harrington said. "Our team concept, I think, is really coming together. We just have to keep working hard."
"We just have to play with who we've got right now," Tinsley added. "We just hope we can step up until everyone gets healthy."
damn big al threw down....for real folks
Al Awesome Against Atlanta
INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 23 -- With the way Al Harrington is playing, Jermaine O'Neal need not rush back from his knee injury.
Harrington exceeded his career high by halftime en route to a 40-point night as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 112-97 Monday for their 13th win in 14 home games.
The Pacers had lost three of their previous four games, splitting two since O'Neal sprained his left knee against Houston on Wednesday. But Harrington, whose previous career best was 26 points, scored 11 in the first quarter and 16 in the second to give Indiana a 64-54 halftime edge.
"He started fast and didn't slow up," Hawks coach Lon Kruger said. "I thought Indiana played with great emotion early on and put us on our heels."
The Hawks climbed within 70-65 on a hook shot by Shareef Abdur-Rahim with 8:17 left in the third quarter, but the Pacers scored the next seven points and closed the period on a 22-11 run.
Atlanta, which lost its eighth straight road contest, got no closer than nine points in the final 12 minutes.
With Harrington stuck on 38 points late in the fourth quarter, the Conseco Fieldhouse crowd chanted, "Al, Al!" and cheered loudly when he capped the scoring with a layup with 33 seconds left.
"It was great to hear the crowd chanting my name," Harrington said. "My little brother got that going for me."
"(Al) wanted to get 40 badly and I said, 'If you want to get 40, don't try to score 40, let the game come to you,'" Pacers coach Isiah Thomas said. "He got the last basket by not going 1-on-1 but staying within the offense. Al did a good job the last couple of days getting into the habits that got him this far."
Ron Artest chipped in 24 points and Brad Miller added 22 and 11 rebounds for Indiana, which was 2-8 without O'Neal last season. Miller has recorded double-doubles in each of his last four games.
"With guys being in and out with different injuries, it's great to see how different guys step it up on different nights when we need it," Miller said. "Tonight the ball was just zipping around and we had their defense just running around a lot. We had a lot of good looks and everyone was really looking for the open man."
The Pacers tied a season high with 30 assists and committed a season-low 10 turnovers.
"It all starts with the point guard," Artest said. "Everybody feeds off of (Jamaal Tinsley). We kind of had a letdown Saturday against the Bulls, but tonight I think after that happened, we stayed really focused and stuck to our offensive game plan."
Tinsley scored just four points but dished out 14 assists.
Jason Terry contributed 25 points and 10 assists, Abdur-Rahim scored 19 points and Glenn Robinson 16 for the Hawks, who have lost six straight in Indiana.
"I thought all the Pacers had it going tonight, not just (Harrington)," Terry said. "We didn't play any defense, and anytime we score 97 points and don't win the game, you know you've got problems on defense."
Both teams shot 49 percent but the Pacers dominated the glass, outrebounding the Hawks, 45-31, and outscoring them on second chances, 20-5.
"Overall, the offense was great tonight," Harrington said. "Our team concept, I think, is really coming together. We just have to keep working hard."
"We just have to play with who we've got right now," Tinsley added. "We just hope we can step up until everyone gets healthy."
damn big al threw down....for real folks