The Atlanta Hawks had the chance to wrap up their series with the Indiana Pacers by pulling off the unexpected and beating the No. 1 seed in six games. Instead, the Hawks let the game go in the final three minutes and will not have to settle for a Game 7 on the road, just as the Pacers are starting to figure them out.
Any hope that Paul George would be suspended for Game 7 is crushed. George was risking suspension after stepping on the court during an altercation between two players. An assistant coach pushed him back to the bench, avoiding any chance of disciplinary action from the NBA front office. Losing George could have been catastrophic for the Pacers.
George has been one of the only Pacers producing on the court. He is averaging over 20 points in all six games. He has double-doubles in five of them. He has excelled in slowing down Jeff Teague. As Roy Hibbert continues to struggle and George Hill looks inconsistent, George has been the team All-Star.
The Pacers saved themselves with the road win in Game 6. The best regular-season team has yet to look like that in the postseason, but they did enough to push one more game and avoid elimination. The Hawks gave them a run. The No. 8 seed rallied from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter. They took a five point lead in the fourth before eventually losing.
Now the Hawks must try and make the impossible possible on the road in a hostile environment with just one day to try and adjust to the new Pacers lineup that got the best of them in Game 5. If Atlanta moves on to the second round, they would be the only team in the postseason with the fewest wins in the regular season.
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