1. First Quarter

For the fifth time in five games, Rick Carlisle has had to deploy a different starting lineup. Indiana’s starters were Quenton Jackson, Aaron Nesmith, Jarace Walker, Pascal Siakam, and Isaiah Jackson. Indiana’s offense came out clicking on all cylinders. The Pacers converted five of their first six shots and were getting to the foul line with great frequency. After five minutes of play, Indiana led Atlanta 18-6 following a foul shot from Siakam. The Hawks would come storming back in the following minutes with a 16-2 run to take a two-point lead following a Dyson Daniels floater. The Pacers would go into the second quarter trailing 32-29 after two free throws from Jay Huff to end the scoring in the quarter. Pascal Siakam was leading all players in scoring with 12 points followed by Aaron Nesmith with 7 points. Atlanta’s leading scorers were Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, and Onyeka Okongwu.

2. Second Quarter

Indiana started the second quarter with a quick 6-2 burst to take a brief 35-34 lead when Quenton Jackson converted a layup. That turned out to be the last time that the Pacers would lead for the rest of the game. It wasn’t because Atlanta’s advantage in the second quarter was multiple possessions. Indiana’s deficit was between a point to four points, but they just could not string together stops while its offense was rolling. Pascal Siakam tied the game at 49 with a three with 5:10 left in the half, and Jarace Walker tied it a minute later with a putback layup. Atlanta’s lead reached five points twice in the final 2:23, but Indiana didn’t let it get any further than that. At halftime, the Hawks led the Pacers 63-59. Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored the most points in the quarter with 8 between both teams. Indiana’s leading scorer in the period was Jarace Walker with 6 points. Siakam was leading all players with 17 points at the break. Atlanta’s leading scorer at intermission was Alexander-Walker with 13 points.

3. Third Quarter

Despite being down at halftime, it didn’t have the feeling that the Pacers were competing at the same level as the Hawks. Atlanta opened the second half with a 9-0 run before the Pacers recorded their first basket in the half after just over three minutes of play. Walker splashed a three coming out of a timeout for Indiana to trim its deficit down to eleven. The Hawks then went on a 12-0 run to take a 21-point lead with 5:23 left in the period. At the time, Atlanta was outscoring Indiana 22-5. The Pacers would get some baskets to cut the Hawks lead down to 16 points, but after three quarters, Indiana trailed 97-76 after being outscored 34-17 in the quarter. Zaccharie Risacher led all players in scoring with 10 points in the quarter. Indiana’s offense was Quenton Jackson with 8 points and Jarace Walker with 6 points. All five starters for Atlanta were in double figures, with Alexander-Walker leading them in scoring with 17 points. As for Indiana, Siakam was the team’s leading scorer with 18 points.

4. Fourth Quarter

Considering that the Pacers have to play tomorrow night against the Golden State Warriors, and weren’t showing any signs of life, Rick Carlisle elected to not play Aaron Nesmith or Pascal Siakam at all in the final quarter. There was a sign of fight briefly when the Pacers went on a 9-0 run to make it a 102-87 game, but the Hawks quickly answered with six straight points to right back up by 21 points. The primary players for Indiana down the stretch were Mac McClung, Taelon Peter, RayJ Dennis, Isaiah Jackson, and Jay Huff. Atlanta was playing their starters with this game being an NBA Cup game and point differential being a tiebreaker for the wild card spot. Indiana falls to 0-5 with a 128-108 loss to Atlanta.

5. Top Performers

Jalen Johnson (22p, 14r, 8a, 2s, 1b), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (21p, 3r, 3a, 2s), Dyson Daniels (18p, 9r, 6a, 3s), Kristaps Porzingis (15p, 8r), Onyeka Okongwu (14p, 9r), and Zaccharie Risacher (13p). For Indiana, Pascal Siakam (18p, 5r, 5a), Jarace Walker (17p, 3r, 3a), Quenton Jackson (15p, 4r, 4a), Mac McClung (12p, 2r), Aaron Nesmith (12p, 2r), and Isaiah Jackson (9p, 10r). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana 0-5 to start a season for the first time since the 1988-1989 season (second time in franchise history)
  • Indiana started that season 0-9
• Indiana snaps three-game home winning streak against the Atlanta Hawks
• Indiana falls to 0-1 in group play
  • No team has ever advanced at 2-2 in NBA Cup era and 59% of 3-1 teams have advanced to the knockout stage
• Indiana has taken 40+ three-point shots for the fifth straight game, a franchise record
• Ben Sheppard has missed his last 14 three-point attempts
• Ben Sheppard is 4/24 (16.7%) on three-point attempts
• Dyson Daniels scored a season high 18 points in the win
• Dyson Daniels tied his season high in rebounds (9), assists (6), and steals (3)
• Isaiah Jackson recorded his first game with 10+ rebounds on the season
• Jalen Johnson has scored 20+ points in three consecutive games, 4/5 on the season
• Jalen Johnson recorded his first double-double of the season
• Jalen Johnson’s 13 rebounds are a season high
• Jalen Johnson’s 8 assists tie a season high
• Kristaps Porzingis recorded a season high 8 rebounds in the win
• Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s 22 points are a season high, first game with 20+ points
• Obi Toppin will be out for the next three months with a stress fracture in his right foot, he will have surgery in the coming days
• Onyeka Okongwu snapped his three-game double-double streak

7. Next Up

Indiana doesn’t have any time to sulk or dwell on the loss tonight to Atlanta. Game two of the four-game homestand will be at 7pm with the Golden State Warriors making their lone appearance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on the season. Pat Boylan will have the pregame coverage at 6:30pm and Mark Boyle will have the play-by-play with Eddie Gill at 7pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.