Pacers vary their look, stifle Hawks

Candace Buckner | IndyStar

Show Caption Hide Caption Video | Pacers hold off Hawks 93-87 Solomon Hill, Ian Mahinmi and Paul George discuss the Indiana Pacers' victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Pacers at Bulls, 8 p.m. Wednesday, FSI

While the Indiana Pacers vacillate between disparate identities, they'll make these personality swings go much easier this season if they can strip the character from their opponents. Like they did on Monday.

The Atlanta Hawks have embodied the ball-sharing, body-moving beautiful brand of basketball since Mike Budenholzer took over as coach and this year, their communal ways have continued as they rank second in the NBA in assists per game. But at Bankers Life Fieldhouse during their 93-87 win, the Pacers found the formula to neutralize Atlanta.

For the eighth time during this season in which small-ball has been introduced to Indianapolis, the Pacers started with two bigs, Ian Mahinmi and Lavoy Allen. They remained with this traditional lineup through much of the night and still limited ball distribution and forced Atlanta into more isolation than expected. The Hawks entered the night averaging 23 assists per game but finished with just 16.

Though the Hawks feature one of the league's best shooters in Kyle Korver, ninth in NBA history in made 3-pointers, the Pacers blanketed him around the perimeter. Korver finished 1-for-9, missing all eight attempts from 3-point range while the team shot 6-of-25 (24 percent) from deep.

• BOX SCORE: Pacers 93, Hawks 87

Also, Indiana forced this passing team into 22 turnovers and it was the designated rim protector Mahinmi who made the stop of the game – while defending on the perimeter, no less. Late in the fourth quarter the Pacers led 90-87 when Mahinmi gave help to George Hill and double-teamed Hawks point guard Jeff Teague. Staying low and active with his hands, Mahinmi knocked the ball away, and the turnover led to an extended Pacers possession – which Mahinmi finished by tipping in a missed 3-pointer by Monta Ellis.

"The first half we started a little slow," said Mahinmi, who finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, " but as we got our hands involved, deflections up and the pressure up, that’s when we really had a click and got us going."

The strong defensive performance snapped the Hawks’ six-game winning streak and improved the Pacers to 18-12 on the season. Though the roster has been built to favor spread lineups and the wings outnumber the bigs, the Pacers are 7-3 in games in which they've started a natural power forward and center.

"We’re definitely more comfortable with two bigs out there," Paul George said.

George can say that even as he has looked uncomfortable on the offensive end. Over the last 10 games, George's accuracy has dropped to 32.9 percent and he has averaged under 17 points per game. On Monday, George missed 11 of 14 shots and finished with nine points, including 2-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. So as George's woes continued, Monta Ellis stepped up and scored a season-high 26 points (10-of-20 overall, 4-for-9 from 3-point range).

"I think he sees Paul struggling," coach Frank Vogel observed about Ellis, "and he's trying to pick up the load."

Before the game, Ellis was listed as questionable with a sore right knee. Ellis did not participate in the morning shootaround – which has been the norm over the last few games as the team tries to monitor the soreness – but he looked just fine by evening.

"I just say my body is coming around," Ellis said. "I've been dealing with a few injuries, with my knee. It's starting to feel better and my body is feeling good. If I'm feeling good, I'm able to move like I want and attack the basket."

By the 5:55 mark of the second quarter when Ellis checked back into the game, the Pacers’ second unit had pulled even with the Hawks. On his first offensive possession, Ellis banked in a 3-pointer, his third of the first half. Through the end of the quarter, Mahinmi played a key role in the Pacers’ 14-2 run. Staying active, Mahinmi drove in for a layup and a foul and followed that with a putback. For the half, the Pacers scored 20 points in the paint and carried the 52-40 lead as Ellis had 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

The intermission did not disrupt Ellis’ hot streak. Ellis played the entire third quarter and remained efficient by hitting 5-of-7 shots, which could’ve been even better since he had to force a difficult 3 to beat the shot clock within the final seconds of the quarter. Still, Ellis did not simply hover around the arc. He attacked, finding opportunities by breaking to the rim. Though the Pacers’ double-digit lead was short lived with the Hawks tying the score with 4:21 remaining in the quarter, Ellis pulled the advantage back in Indiana’s favor by cutting in for the layup assisted by Jordan Hill.

With the 74-68 lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Pacers could simply rely on their productive second unit to build the lead and hand the game back to the starters. While Chase Budinger and Rodney Stuckey played their roles in reserve, Solomon Hill provided strong minutes as a surprise backup.

Hill replaced C.J. Miles, who missed the game with a sore lower back, and scored a season-high 10 points (5-of-10) to go along with three rebounds. Near the midway mark of the quarter, Hill’s driving layup extended the Pacers’ lead to 86-77. Hill remained on the floor with four starters throughout the fine quarter and played 25 minutes, his most action since March 6.

"I just had to relax," Hill said. "It's a different dynamic when I can push and get other guys involved in the game as well.

"Everybody is ready," Hill continue. "Everybody is willing to learn and ready to step up when his name is called."

Follow Star reporter Candace Buckner on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.

Pacers at Bulls, 8 p.m. Wednesday, FSI