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Horford, Atlanta continue domination of Pacers

Dec 12, 2010 - 4:11 AM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Al Horford nearly had his first career triple- double, ending with 16 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, as the Hawks beat the Pacers for the eighth straight time, 97-83, at Philips Arena.

The Hawks, coming off a loss at San Antonio on Friday, held Indiana to 37.0 percent shooting and got 25 points from Jamal Crawford to win for the eighth time in 10 games.

Josh Smith chipped in 21 points and seven boards in the win.

Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, for the Pacers, losers in four of their last six games.

"It takes a toll on us always losing to Atlanta. They always seem to have our number. They're a difficult team for us to match up against," Dunleavy said.

The Hawks limped to a 16-14 lead after a slow-moving opening 12 minutes but got going early in the second, scoring 15 of the first 17 points.

Smith had eight on the flurry, including two free throws for a 31-16 cushion four minutes in.

The margin reached as high as 22 following Jeff Teague's three-point play a little later, and Atlanta cruised into the break ahead, 48-35.

It remained a double-digit game the entire third quarter, though the Pacers slowly chipped away at their 75-60 deficit going into the fourth.

They got as close as seven on two occasions, the last on A.J. Price's three- point play that put them down 88-81 with 3:10 to go.

Smith answered with his second consecutive bucket while being fouled. He hit the free throw for a 10-point cushion, Crawford made two more from the stripe inside the two-minute mark, and Horford sealed it with a jumper two possessions later.

Indiana missed its last five shots from the field.

"We were both a little bit tired," said Horford of playing on back-to-back nights. "We really had to grind it out as a team."

Game Notes

The Pacers are winless in their last seven trips to Atlanta...Brandon Rush scored 14 points for the Pacers, who were outrebounded, 48-36...Marvin Williams tallied 10 points for Atlanta.