NBA: Pacers dominate Hawks anew, go up 2-0

The Indiana Pacers showed off their mettle against the Atlanta Hawks once again, slowly building their advantage through the second to fourth quarters, en route to a 113-98 victory at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time).

[Related: Paul George's triple-double leads Pacers past Hawks]

The Hawks were similarly dominated in their first encounter, 107-90, last Monday, as the Pacers took a 2-0 series lead with this win.

Off a 17-all tie, the Pacers finished out the first quarter on an 8-2 run, going up 25-19 after the game's initial 12 minutes.

A thunderous dunk by Gerald Green in the second period then gave the home team their first double-digit lead, 45-35, midway through the quarter, but a brief 7-2 run by Atlanta cut that in half, 47-42, 5:19 left in the first half.

Back-to-back triples by DJ Augustin restored the Pacers' double-digit edge, 57-46, but the Hawks endeavored to get under 10 points by the break, and succeeded, to trail by just nine, 59-50, at the half.

The third quarter saw the home team continue to make headway, building up their lead to as much as 16 points, 86-70, on a triple from Green, 86-70. Five straight by Josh Smith in the fourth got Atlanta back within 10, 95-85, but a 16-3 run by the Pacers closed out the game, making it 111-88 with 3:10 to play. Both sides then proceeded to put in their reserves to wait out the final buzzer.

Paul George rebounded from a poor shooting performance in their first encounter, this time converting 11-of-21 from the field for 27 points, in addition to eight rebounds, three assists and four steals. George Hill added 22 points, 12 coming from downtown, while Roy Hibbert dominated the paint en route to 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

The Indiana benched dominated their counterparts, 38-22, led by Gerald Green's 15 points, plus eight apiece from DJ Augustin and Jeff Pendergraph.

Devin Harris led the way for the Hawks with 17 points. Jeff Teague added 16 markers and five assists, Josh Smith chimed in with 16 points as well, while Al Horford produced a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, in addition to five dimes.

The Hawks did not help their own cause by going 11-of-20 from the foul stripe, especially as the Pacers converted 21-of-29 of their free throws. - AMD, GMA News