Pacers continue upswing with victory over Hawks

Andrew Nembhard had 26 points and 10 assists, Pascal Siakam added 25 points and the Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks 129-124 on Saturday in Indianapolis.

Aaron Nesmith scored 23 points for Indiana, which has won two straight and three of its last four games. Jay Huff scored 16 points, Bennedict Mathurin had 14 and Jarace Walker chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Jalen Johnson recorded his eighth triple-double of the season for Atlanta with 33 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 21 points, CJ McCollum added 18, Mouhamed Gueye had 15 and Corey Kispert and Luke Kennard scored 11 apiece.

Indiana shot 53.9% from the field, 46.9% (15 of 32) from 3-point range and won despite committing 23 turnovers.

Atlanta has lost two straight following a four-game winning streak.

The Pacers led 125-118 with 2:15 left before Johnson hit a 3-pointer on the Hawks' next possession.

After McCollum scored following a timeout to make it a two-point game, Siakam scored with 19 seconds left to give Indiana a 127-123 lead.

Atlanta trailed by three after Alexander-Walker made one of two free throws with 7.4 seconds left, and after an Indiana turnover, Mathurin sealed the victory with two foul shots.

Nembhard scored 15 points to lead all scorers in the opening quarter, but Atlanta held a 39-35 lead at the end of the period.

The up-tempo pace continued in the second quarter. Nesmith and Nembhard hit back-to-back 3-pointers during a 9-2 run to end the period as the Pacers took an 80-73 lead into the half.

Indiana shot 58.3% from the field in the first half, while Atlanta connected on 54.7% of its shots.

The Pacers led 86-77 with 9:16 left in the third quarter before the Hawks cut the deficit to 103-100 at the end of the period.

Atlanta played without center Onyeka Okongwu, who missed his second straight game while recovering from dental surgery.

--Field Level Media