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INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana coach Frank Vogel wants to see his team come out of the All-Star break the way it opened the season when the Pacers won 16 of their first 17 games. Jazz Jerseys 2020 . Theyre off to a good start. Paul George scored 26 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead the Pacers to a 108-98 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. "We understood the dog days (of the season) would be a grind," Vogel said. "Now thats behind us." David West had 17 points and Lance Stephenson added 13 to help the Pacers beat the Hawks for the second time in three meetings this season. Not only does Indiana want to start the second half of the season like it did back in October, the Pacers want to be even better. That could be scary for the rest of the NBA. "We want to peak towards the end of the season and were on our way," centre Roy Hibbert said. "The last 20 games, we want to play our best ball." Kyle Korver scored 19 points, shooting 5 for 7 on 3-pointers, and Lou Williams added 18 points for the Hawks, who have lost six straight. The Pacers, who return from the break with three games in five days, went on a 12-2 run in the third quarter on a basket by West, two 3-pointers by George and a dunk and layup by George Hill to stretch the lead to 73-54. The Pacers put the game away when Ian Mahinmi converted a three-point play and Danny Granger hit a 3 to make it 101-82. After the Pacers jumped to a 19-point lead in the third quarter, the Hawks scored seven straight. Korver hit a 3, Jeff Teague made two free throws, and Williams had a layup to make it 75-63. West gave Indiana an 80-67 lead with two free throws before Atlanta scored six straight on shots by Mike Scott, Williams, and Paul Millsap. For Atlanta, starting a stretch of four games in five nights, the teams injury woes didnt get any better. Forward DeMarre Carroll was listed as a game-time decision, but didnt play for the second straight game because of a left hamstring strain. And centre Gustavo Ayon left in the first half with a right shoulder injury and didnt play in the second half. The Pacers almost shut the door on the Hawks right from the start, using a 16-0 run to build a 22-5 lead early in the first quarter. Stephenson hit a 3, West scored twice, and Hibbert made two free throws. Later, George, who scored 14 first-quarter points, hit a jumper, a 3-pointer, and later dunked with 7:00 remaining in the opening period. "We werent getting good looks at the basket," Korver said. "They were making everything it seemed like and we dug ourselves a really big hole." Indiana led by 22 in the first quarter when Stephenson scored with 4:37 left to give the Pacers a 31-9 lead. The Hawks then went on a 12-2 run. Elton Brand scored and Korver hit a 3-pointer. West made two free throws to extend the lead for Indiana before Williams hit a 3 and two free throws, and Millsap scored to make it 33-19. "We have to be able to get off to good starts," George said. "We have got to understand that teams are going to rally back, but I thought they made the game closer than it needed to be when we had a good lead." The Hawks got within three when Korver hit a 3 to make it 52-49 with 1:02 left in the first half, but never could get over the hump. George made two free throws and Hill hit a 3 with 7.2 seconds left in the first half to give the Pacers a 57-49 halftime lead. NOTES: Hawks C Pero Antie was out with a right ankle stress fracture. ... F Al Horford was out after having right pectoral muscle surgery. . G John Jenkins was out while recovering from lower back surgery. . Indianas 35 points in the first quarter was the most Atlanta has given up in the opening quarter this season. . Indiana scored a season-high 35 points off of Atlantas 22 turnovers. Karl Malone Jersey . The Wild, playing their first game since leading scorer Mikko Koivu broke his ankle Saturday at Washington, have won three straight for the first time since Nov. 1-5. Koivu underwent surgery on Monday and is expected to miss at least four weeks. Pete Maravich Jersey . - Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors will coach the Western Conference in the All-Star Game on Feb.Thumbs up to Canada… well, of course. Specifically, thumbs up to the Canadian-based teams in the NHL, or at least most of them. If the Stanley Cup playoffs began immediately, five of the seven Canadian-based teams would qualify. But, OK, the playoffs dont start until April. Still, five - even in mid-December - is a big jump from one last season. The Montreal Canadiens had the playoff spotlight all to themselves in the 2013-14 playoffs, and they held our interest for three rounds. It would be nice if they had some company this time and Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto offer such hope. Which brings us to Ottawa and Edmonton, and to doubts that the number of Canadas playoff teams could rise above five. In case youre wondering if the Stanley Cup playoffs have ever featured seven teams from Canada, the answer is yes. The history lesson takes us back to 1986, when Montreal beat Calgary in the Stanley Cup final. Toronto and Vancouver were also playoff teams, and for the first time together, all three Canadian teams that had come from the WHA - Edmonton, Quebec and Winnipeg - made the playoffs. So cmon, Senators and Oilers, how about seven again… One of these years? Thumbs up to Jaromir Jagr… well, of course. SSpecifically, thumbs up to the 42-year-old future Hall of Famer who recently played the 1,500th game of his career - no other active NHLer has played 1,400. Bob Hansen Jersey. Jagr has scored 710 goals. No other active NHL player has scored 600. Jagrs assist total is 1062. No other player in the league today has reached the 900 mark. And Jagrs point total now sits at 1,772, fifth on the all-time list, and 552 points more than his nearest current rival, Joe Thornton. 552 is a career total never attained by a lot of good NHL players. Whats my point in listing Jagrs statistical accomplishments? Im afraid he might not get a chance to add to his playoff totals, and he needs just one more point for 200, a milestone only ever reached by four members of the Edmonton Oilers dynasty; Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and Glenn Anderson. Maybe theres no reason to think Jagr is considering retirement, maybe the New Jersey Devils can sneak into the playoffs, and if thats not likely, maybe theyll trade Jagr at the deadline. He has never missed the playoffs two years in a row, so I hope that doesnt happen this season and I hope his last NHL game - whenever he plays it and whatever uniform hes wearing - is a playoff game. ' ' '
- Created: Dec 10 '19
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