PACERS RELEASE
The Indiana Pacers found themselves in uniquely dire circumstances on Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, with only six available players on the second night of a back-to-back. But the six-man squad put up plenty of fight, giving the visiting Atlanta Hawks all they could handle.
Indiana (2-6) pushed Atlanta all the way to the final buzzer, but the Hawks (4-4) ultimately prevailed, 108-104.
The undermanned Pacers trailed most of the night. They pulled within three briefly in the fourth quarter before Atlanta put together a run to push the margin back to 11.
But the Blue & Gold clawed their way back with nine unanswered points, cutting the deficit to 104-102 following two Jay Huff free throws with 2:24 remaining.
On the other end, Hawks veteran guard CJ McCollum got to the rim and drew a foul on Kobe Brown, then made both free throws to make it a two-possession game once again with 2:10 to play.
Quenton Jackson converted a layup with 1:23 left cut Atlanta’s lead to 106-104 and then blocked Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s 3-point attempt on the other end to give the ball back to Indiana.
But after a timeout, the Pacers couldn’t get a good look, as Jackson had to hoist a contested look at the end of the shot clock that failed to hit the rim.
But on the other end, Onyeka Okongwu converted a right-handed runner with 8.4 seconds to play that proved to be the difference.
The Pacers were already missing six players due to injury in Sunday’s loss to Brooklyn, then elected to hold out starters Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and Pascal Siakam for injury management reasons on the second night of a back-to-back. Larry Nance Jr. was also ruled out in the afternoon due to illness and Kelly Oubre Jr. was scratched shortly before tipoff due to a bruised left knee.
That left Indiana with just six available players against Atlanta — Huff, Jackson, and Jarace Walker as well two-way players Brown, Jalen Slawson, and Braden Smith.
All six of those players played at least 34 minutes and reached double figures in a valiant effort. After the game, Carlisle likened it to a similar game in his previous stint as the Pacers head coach — Nov. 20, 2004 against Orlando, when the Blue & Gold had just six available players due to suspensions and injuries the day after the infamous brawl in Detroit.
That game had a very similar outcome, with an undermanned Pacers team very nearly pulling off an upset at home, a performance that Carlisle said Indiana fans still talk about over decades later.
“They will talk about this game for a long time,” Carlisle said. :Because what those six guys did was very inspirational, for one thing. For another thing, it illustrates the power of hard play and the power of hard, unselfish play and putting a real competitive spirit on the game. I’m very happy for our fans that they got to witness this kind of competition.”
Huff had a team-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, eight rebounds, and two blocks. Jackson stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, seven boards, three assists, four steals, and two blocks. Smith — making his first NBA start — recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Brown tallied 16 points as Indiana’s lone reserve, Walker finished with 15 points and seven boards, while Slawson had 12 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and three steals.
“Braden Smith was tremendous,” Carlisle said. “Showed the kind of competitor that he is and has demonstrated over the past several years at Purdue. Huff had a big impact on the game. Quenton Jackson was all over the place. Slawson was flying around. Walk made a lot of great plays. And then Kobe Brown off the bench.
“These guys all played too many minutes, but they played their hearts out.”
The Pacers got off to a good start offensively, converting nine of their first 12 shots. The Pacers actually led 15-14 and were tied 20-20 with Atlanta before the Hawks pulled ahead with a 12-3 run.
Indiana shot 54.5 percent in the opening quarter, with Huff scoring eight points and Jackson adding seven. But Atlanta went 7-for-10 from 3-point range and led 37-29 after one.
The Hawks’ hot shooting carried over into the second quarter, as Corey Kispert knocked down back-to-back threes to stretch the visitors lead to 14. The Pacers clawed back thanks to Smith and Huff, as Smith fed Huff for three straight Indiana baskets, the last of which resulted in a three-point play that cut the deficit to 48-43.
That would be the closest Indiana got before halftime, as the Hawks built the margin back up to 68-56 by the break.
The Pacers mounted another charge in the third quarter, reeling off nine unanswered points — five of them from Smith — to cut the Hawks’ lead to 82-77 with 2:26 remaining in the frame. They kept it within single digits heading into the fourth quarter, trailing 87-79.
Indiana continued to hang around with all-out hustle. Trailing 93-87 midway through the fourth quarter, the Hawks looked like they had a breakaway to extend the lead. But Slawson swatted away Okongwu’s shot and Walker corralled the rebound and tapped it to Smith. Smith pushed the break and found a streaking Jackson, who converted a basket through contact from Lu Dort.
Jackson made the subsequent free throw to complete a three-point play and trim Atlanta’s lead to 93-90 with 7:36 to play.
But the Hawks answered, as a basket by Okongwu and a three from Dort quickly pushed the margin back to eight.
The Pacers had one more rally in them, but came up just short.
Alexander-Walker led all scorers with 34 points, going 9-for-15 from 3-point range. Dort and Kispert added 14 points each, while McCollum (13 points and 12 assists) and Okongwu (13 points and 10 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles.
The Pacers will travel for their next three games, first visiting Memphis on Wednesday and then heading to Mexico City where they will face the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Mexico City Game 2026 on Saturday. From there, they will continue on to Dallas to face the Mavs on Monday, Nov. 9, before returning to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for a two-game homestand on Nov. 11 and 13.
Inside the Numbers
Huff scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half.
Smith had tallied one point and two assists in 18 total minutes over four previous games entering Monday. He had 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 10 assists against Atlanta.
That Hawks outscored Indiana 28-16 in bench points, but that was because Indiana had just one player on its bench. Brown scored 16 points in 37:51 off the bench, the fourth-highest scoring game of his career.
The Pacers outscored the Hawks 54-26 in points in the paint.
Atlanta outscored Indiana by 45 points from 3-point range. The Hawks went 23-for-51 (45.1 percent) from 3-point range, while the Pacers were just 8-for-34 (23.5 percent).
Alexander-Walker alone made more threes (nine) than the entire Pacers team (eight), tying his career high for 3-pointers made.
You Can Quote Me On That
“This is the culture that I believe we have built here. We have faltered this year at times. But the guys that were watching I think felt the power of what these six guys did tonight. Going forward, it will take nothing less than that.” — Carlisle
“What we did tonight was inspirational. I think all the guys that were active came out and did their thing. You don’t feed a dog for a while, you put in front of them, they’re going to be hungry. I think we came out with the right energy, the right spirit, and played with the right effort.” — Jackson on the collective effort
“I thought everybody did an unbelievable job. It’s hard. I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a game where only six guys have dressed. For all of us just to go out there and leave it all out on the court and just give them a game, it was a big deal…I’m just proud of everybody and how everybody responded.” — Smith on the effort
“They’ve earned more minutes. All of them. At least the consideration for more minutes for sure. Because our whole team needs to take this example to heart.” — Carlisle on the six players who played on Monday
“This guy played 42 minutes in an NBA game. He’s prepared for this opportunity because of all the work he put in this summer…It just goes to show you that putting in that kind of work will bear fruit. It was inspiring to watch him battle tonight.” — Carlisle on Smith
“I wasn’t surprised at all. Braden’s obviously a point guard. He’s made it this far for a reason…I think he did a good job out there handling the pressure and the all the things that come with being a starting point guard.” — Jackson on Braden Smith’s performance
“That was my main priority was try to impact the game in any way, to try to help us win. We were right there and just a couple things didn’t go our way.” — Smith on his focus in his first career start
“For me, it was just fun to be out there. You watch them on TV all the time. I’m still like a kid in a candy store just being out there watching everybody and seeing everybody in real life. For me, it’s cool just to be a part of.” — Smith on playing against All-NBA defenders like Dyson Daniels and Lu Dort
Stat of the Night
All Pacers who played on Monday aside from Jackson recorded a new career high for minutes played. Walker, Smith, Slawson, and Huff all logged over 40 minutes. Walker led the way with 44:41, while Smith logged 42:13.
Noteworthy
Because NBA rules dictate eight players must dress for a game, Toppin and Oubre were in uniform on the bench, but did not play.
The Hawks have won five of their last six games against Indiana.
The Pacers are now 0-2 on the season when playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
Smith exited with under a minute left in the fourth quarter, but said after the game it was merely cramping and not an injury.
Up Next
The Pacers travel to Memphis to take on Ty Jerome and the Grizzlies on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 8:00 PM ET.
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