Atlanta Hawks drop final game against the Indiana Pacers to end season

May 3, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard

(0) is blocked by Indiana Pacers guard

(3) and Indiana Pacers forward

(21) during the second half of game seven of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana Pacers beat Atlanta Hawks 92 to 80. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

TheIndiana Pacerstook advantage of their home court to eliminate theAtlanta Hawksin the opening round of the playoffs in Game 7.

For the Hawks,Kyle Korverled the team scoring, with 19 points shooting 6-for-13 from the field and 5-for-10 from beyond the arc in 45 minutes.Paul Millsap, despite shooting an appalling 6-for-21 from the field, posted 15 points and nabbed 17 rebounds.Jeff Teaguescored 16 points and assisted on 3 field goals but turned the ball over 5 times. Atlanta shot 44 three-pointers, which is a new NBA playoff record, and only dropped 11.

For the Pacers, it was nothing new for them to come up with big stops. Led byPaul George, the star Pacer scored a playoff career-high 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Despite being absent while on the court recently,Roy Hibbertcame up big when he was needed with 13 points, 7 rebound and 5 blocks.

Like most of the season, a momentum swing in one quarter changed the game. The 2nd quarter proved to be the Pacers time to shine. The Hawks trailed going into the 2nd half in a 11-point deficit, 36-47. But this deficit was lucky for Atlanta because of their performance in the last 10 minutes of the 2nd quarter shooting just 1-for-15 from the field.

The 2nd half was clearly for the Pacers. Indiana lead the Hawks by as many as 17 points. As soon as the Hawks cut the lead down to 10, George would answer back and Atlanta couldn’t cut the lead down to single digits.

Even though Atlanta won just 38 games during the regular season, the Hawks proved to be a tough opponent for the Pacers.

Now, Pacers will advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals to face off against the Washington Wizards. The Atlanta Hawks, meanwhile, will head home.

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