Smith leads Hawks past Pacers

By The Associated Press

Posted 10:22PM on Tuesday, November 16, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS -- Josh Smith had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks to help the Atlanta Hawks beat the Indiana Pacers 102-92 on Tuesday night.

Mike Bibby scored 16 points and Al Horford added 15 for the Hawks, who won their second straight after a four-game losing streak.

Danny Granger scored 22 points for the Pacers. Roy Hibbert had 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, and Mike Dunleavy added 14 points for the Pacers.

The Pacers were short-handed, as point guard Darren Collison and reserve forward Tyler Hansbrough sat out with sprained left ankles.

One week after Indiana had a near-perfect 54-point third quarter against Denver, the Pacers shot 6 for 16 in the same period to fall behind by double digits.

The Hawks shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and led 50-49 at the break.

Atlanta led 58-55 in the third quarter when Indiana's Josh McRoberts snagged an offensive rebound. Smith blocked McRoberts' dunk attempt, then Atlanta's Marvin Williams converted a three-point play at the other end. Smith made a 3-pointer on Atlanta's next possession to extend the Hawks' lead to 64-55 midway through the third quarter.

The Hawks took a 77-65 lead into the final quarter.

Indiana had two chances to cut Atlanta's lead to six or seven early in the fourth quarter, but T.J. Ford and Granger missed from in close on back-to-back possessions. After Granger's miss, Jamal Crawford drained a 3-pointer to push Atlanta's lead to 81-69.

The Pacers later trimmed their deficit to five on a layup by Ford, but the Hawks responded with a 7-0 run, including a three-point play by Johnson, to push the lead back out.

-- NOTES: Jeff Teague, an Indianapolis Pike High School graduate, hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the first quarter. He finished with six points in 12 minutes. ... Hawks forward Pape Sy has not played this season because of a back injury. ... Indiana shot 52 percent in the first quarter. ... Hibbert entered the game as the league leader in blocks, while Smith was second. Hibbert had one on Tuesday.