Six Pacers suit up and nearly beat Hawks: Five things learned

INDIANAPOLIS – Three.

That's the number of standard contract players the Indiana Pacers had available against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. Jay Huff. Jarace Walker. Quenton Jackson. That's it.

Two-way signees Braden Smith, Kobe Brown, and Jalen Slawson were all active too. And that was every available Pacer in this game. See the cover photo for this story? Everyone who suited up for the Pacers against the Hawks is in it.

Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring), Andrew Nembhard (back management), Aaron Nesmith (hamstring management), Pascal Siakam (rest), and Ivica Zubac (ankle) were out against Atlanta. That's the Pacers entire starting five. T.J. McConnell (hamstring), Ben Sheppard (meniscus), Kelly Oubre (late scratch – bruised knee), Obi Toppin (back), and Larry Nance (illness) were also out. That's the entire bench, at least on some nights.

Add in Johnny Furphy (ACL) and that leaves six available players for the Pacers against the Hawks. Smith, Jackson, Walker, Slawson, and Huff started.

It's hard to learn much from a game like that. But what did the Pacers see and learn?

Circle City Spin

The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, up close

Circle City SpinTony East

Braden Smith started and popped

Smith, who had very little rotation experience entering this game, started at point guard next to Jackson. And while Smith has looked overwhelmed at times this season, he looked calm and comfortable in this outing.

The rookie guard pushed his way into the lane, wiggled into open shots, and finished tough layups around bigger players. The offense looked organized with Smith on the floor as he racked up both points and assists.

At halftime, he had seven points and eight assists. His rim pressure stood out, and Smith's defense wasn't as problematic as it has been in past games. He was pushing toward a double-double.

After hitting a three-point shot in the middle of the third quarter, Smith reached 12 points. It marked his first-ever game in double figures. He had nine assists at the time.

With 7:36 to go in the final frame, Jackson raced ahead in transition and finished a pass from Smith. That gave the rookie 10 assists and his first double-double.

Smith has had a challenging start to his career, but he showed major progress in this game. His final stat line: 19 points and 10 assists.

Jay Huff welcomed back reserve dunks

Huff's reverse dunks have become somewhat famous, but he hadn't thrown one down yet this season.

That changed on Monday night as he contorted his arm for a goofy slam in the second quarter. The Pacers bench loved it... and then Huff had another reverse dunk on the very next possession.

While those highlights were about style, Huff's first half was all about function. He was great, scoring 17 points on 7/10 shooting. The big man had three rebounds in that half and the Pacers nearly kept the game to a draw in his minutes.

Huff's second half was quieter from a scoring perspective. But as the team's only available center, he was effective and gave the Hawks some trouble. Huff's final stat line: 22 points and eight rebounds.

The Hawks couldn't miss from deep

To the Hawks credit, they had a fatigue advantage and used their extra wind to drive over and over.

And with that downhill pressure, they created several open threes. In the first half, Atlanta made 15 of their 27 attempts from beyond the arc. Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks relayed that the 15 makes in one half ties a Hawks franchise record – and that included the visitors missing six of their last seven before halftime.

Atlanta wasn't quite as hot in the second half, but they still shot the ball well from deep, finishing 23/51. The Pacers? Just 8/34.

The available Pacers battled

On paper, this looked like a blowout waiting to happen.

On the court, it was a battle for basically the entire 48 minutes. The Pacers, all six of them, did a great job hanging around and making plays – they were typically down somewhere between nine and 13 points. But a push in the fourth quarter dropped the Hawks edge to three at 93-90, giving the Pacers a chance to win.

The crowd was loving the effort from the shorthanded group. The Pacers equaled their scoring total from Sunday night with about seven minutes left in the game.

It was an impressive fight. But they needed a strong close if they were going to win.

The Pacers had a chance to pull this win off after Braden Smith exited with an apparent cramp

The Pacers had the ball down by two in the final minute, giving themslves a chance at the lead late. Smith exited the game on the prior possession after reaching for his left leg, and it appeared to be a cramp.

A bucket would have tied the game or given the Pacers a lead, but they struggled to generate a good look. Jackson missed a three as the shot clock buzzer sounded, and that forced the Pacers to get a stop to stay in the game. They were close, forcing one miss but failing to grab a rebound before Onyeka Okongwu scored with eight seconds to go.

That sealed the Pacers fate. Despite impressive fight, the Pacers fell 108-104 to the Hawks and dropped to 2-6. They need health, and wins, badly.

Thank you for reading. That was a fun one despite the weirdness of it all. Sign up and stories like this will go straight to your email inbox.