Atlanta Hawks vs. Indiana Pacers preview: Franchise tying 14 straight wins?

The Atlanta Hawks host the Indiana Pacers tonight in Philips Arena, where they will look to advance their 13-game winning streak to a franchise matching high of 14 straight games.

The Hawks will go for that franchise high coming off of one of their best defensive efforts of the season, while the Pacers come into this one having lost five straight games. Atlanta has also already beaten the Pacers on both of their prior matchups this season.

Indiana has struggled to a 15-28 record this year and is sitting in last place of the Central division. Their 34.9 winning percentage is the ninth-best in the league, and despite a very good defense, the team is scoring just 95 points per game–good for 26th in the NBA.

In their last game (a 110-98 loss to the Rockets), the Pacers shot 45.9 percent from the floor and a woeful 22.2 percent (6-of-27) from behind the 3-point line. None of the five starters managed to be the No. 1 or No. 2 scorers for the team in that game, as C.J. Miles and Donald Sloan came off of the bench to lead the team with 23 and 17 points respectively.

The Hawks would still like to shoot better than last game’s 44 percent from the field and 30 percent from deep, but the Pacers offer significantly less of a threat on the offensive side, so maybe there is less pressure on the team in that regard.

Be sure to check back after the game for a full recap and follow us on Twitter (@ATLBeatBlog) for analysis, comments and play-by-play throughout the game.