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Smith leads Hawks past Pacers

Feb 9, 2012 - 4:14 AM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Josh Smith had 28 points and 12 rebounds on Wednesday, leading the Hawks to a 97-87 win over the Pacers.

Atlanta had lost three in a row, but got 20 points and eight assists from Joe Johnson, 17 points from Kirk Hinrich and 13 from Tracy McGrady to close its four-game homestand with a victory.

"We weren't playing well," said McGrady, who scored seven of his points in the fourth quarter. "I think we recognized that. Tonight we wanted to provide that energy and that effort and I think we did that."

Danny Granger scored 21 points to lead the Pacers, who had won five of six coming in. David West and Tyler Hansbrough added 15 points apiece while Roy Hibbert finished with 10 and 13 rebounds.

The Hawks, who had lost to the Grizzlies, 76ers and Suns in succession, appeared determined to end their slide. They used an early 20-4 spurt to take a 32-21 lead into the second quarter and didn't relent, stretching the margin to 59-41 at the half behind 16 points from Johnson.

The Pacers showed life in the third, cutting their deficit to single digits, 63-54, on West's 19-footer. They had it to eight, 80-72, entering the fourth behind a buzzer-beating trey from A.J. Price.

The score was 87-80 with eight minutes to play when Atlanta reeled off a 7-2 spurt to put the game away. Smith started the run with a hook shot and McGrady followed with a three-pointer. Hibbert's bucket made it 92-82, but McGrady struck again with a layup and the Hawks led by double digits the rest of the way.

"Give Atlanta a lot of credit," said Pacers coach Frank Vogel. "They came out, having lost three in a row, with tremendous edge and took the fight to us. We fought like dogs in the second half to come back and compete and make it a game, but they were too much."

Game Notes

The Pacers have lost nine straight road games to the Hawks. They haven't won at Philips Arena since December 22, 2006...Smith added five steals but committed five turnovers...The Hawks led by as many as 21, while the Pacers' largest edge was one.