Hawks down Pacers
ATLANTA — John Collins led eight Atlanta scorers in double figures with 21 points and the Hawks overcame Jordan Nwora’s season-high 33 points to beat the Indiana Pacers 143-130 on Saturday.
The Hawks overcame the loss of Trae Young, who was ejected in the third quarter, to score their most points this season.
The Hawks protected their shaky hold on the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. They began the day a half-game ahead of No. 9 Toronto and one game ahead of No. 10 Chicago in the tight competition for position in the play-in tournament.
Young was ejected after firing an unusually hard pass to referee Scott Wall during a timeout. Wall caught the ball. Young was immediately called for a technical foul and ejected.
Only seconds earlier, Young had an apparent 3-pointer disallowed when he was called for a technical foul for sticking out his leg and tripping Aaron Nesmith. The technical foul was Young’s 15th of the season. A 16th technical foul results in an automatic one-game suspension.
Young had 14 points and five assists.
The game was tied at 84 when Young was ejected. The Hawks outscored the Pacers 21-14 the remainder of the period for a 10598 lead.
Nwora, a second-year player, was acquired by Indiana from Milwaukee as part of a four-team trade on Feb. 9. He scored 21 points for the Bucks against Cleveland on Nov. 16 for his previous season high and topped that with 25 points in just the second quarter against Atlanta.
Note:
The Brooklyn Nets are not expecting guard Ben Simmons to play again this
season, though no final decision will be made until the three-time All-Star meets with a back specialist, coach Jacque Vaughn said Saturday. Simmons is currently sidelined with what the Nets say is a nerve impingement — the condition where tissue or bone compresses nerve fibers — in his back.