Hawks beat Pacers, secure home-court for first round of playoffs

Basketball Betting Lines

04/10/2009 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Smith scored a team-high 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks secured the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference after claiming a 122-118 victory over the Indiana Pacers at Philips Arena.

Joe Johnson finished with 24 points, while Al Horford went for 22 points and 15 boards for Atlanta, which was coming off a 113-105 road victory over the Bucks on Wednesday. The Hawks have won three straight after losing the previous three contests and got the fourth spot and home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs after Boston defeated Miami on Friday.

"Words cannot describe how I feel," Smith said. "Personally for me when I came into the league, we won 13 games and now being able to clinch the fourth spot is special."

Mike Bibby donated 15 points and nine assists, and Flip Murray had 15 points in the win.

Forward Marvin Williams, who returned to the lineup after missing the last 16 games with a back injury, finished with five points and one assist in 11:55 of game action.

The Hawks were without guard Acie Law (back spasms) and forward Maurice Evans (death in his family). Zaza Pachulia left in the second quarter with a back injury and did not return.

Danny Granger led all scorers with 35 points for the Pacers, who came into the contest winners of two straight and four of their last five. They were officially eliminated from the playoff picture.

"We just didn't have enough to beat them tonight," Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien said. "When they made their run, we lost our concentration. We turned the ball over and didn't challenge any shots."

Troy Murphy finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Jarrett Jack and Roy Hibbert registered 17 and 16 points, respectively, for the Pacers. Hibbert also had eight rebounds.

With the Hawks holding a 62-60 lead after one half, Indiana used a 12-3 run to start the third quarter and had a 72-65 edge just under four minutes in after Brandon Rush made two from the free-throw line.

However, a Horford alley-oop jam kick-started a 14-2 Atlanta burst and the hosts grabbed an 81-74 advantage with 3:18 left in the third. The Hawks led by six after three quarters.

Smith's jam gave the Hawks a double-digit lead at 106-96 with 6:24 remaining. Atlanta held the lead the rest of the way despite Jack making it a three- point game after hitting from beyond the arc in the last half-minute of play.

The Pacers had a 36-34 lead after one quarter, then stretched their advantage to six at 47-41 nearly 3 1/2 minutes into the second after a Rush tip-in.

After a Horford breakaway dunk put the Hawks up 52-51 with 4:48 left, a Hibbert hook shot started a 7-0 Pacers run to push the visitors back in front by six.

Atlanta closed the half with a 10-2 spurt and Bibby's buzzer beater gave the hosts a 62-60 lead heading into the break.

Game Notes

Atlanta will host Miami on Tuesday, while the Pacers host Detroit on Saturday...The Hawks improved to 30-11 at home this season...Indiana dropped to 11-30 as the visitor...Indiana has lost four straight and six of its last seven at Atlanta.

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