Hawks win Game 5 at Indy, put Pacers on brink of elimination

Published on Tuesday, 4/29/14, at 5:29 p.m. Eastern.

By Brian Edwards

Behind the brilliant play of Shelvin Mack and Mike Scott off the bench, Atlanta thumped top-seeded Indiana 107-97 as a seven-point road underdog in Monday’s crucial Game 5 in Indianapolis. The Hawks hooked up money-line supporters with a +260 payout (risk $100 to win $260).

Atlanta now leads this best-of-seven series 3-2 and will go for the kill shot Thursday night at Philips Arena. Most books have installed the Pacers as one-point road favorites with a total of 187.

Scott scored all 17 of his points in the second quarter when he made five consecutive 3-pointers to spark his team on a 30-6 run that turned a 21-18 deficit into a 48-27 advantage. Mack added 13 points in the second stanza and finished with 20 points, five assists, two steals and only one turnover.

Atlanta pushed its 21-point halftime lead to 30 early in the third quarter. In the span of 22 days, the Hawks have won three times at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, leading by as many as 20 in each of those games and by 30 in two of the three victories.

Paul Millsap added 18 points and eight rebounds, while Kyle Korver buried 5-of-10 shots from behind the line and finished with 16 points. DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague added 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Roy Hibbert didn’t score a point or grab a rebound in 12 minutes of playing time. You have to wonder if Frank Vogel will even play the Georgetown product in Game 6 at the Highlight Factory.

Sportsbook.ag has updated its series price and now has Atlanta as the -175 ‘chalk.’ The Pacers are +155 on the comeback at the offshore website (risk $100 to win $155). The Hawks are still longshots to win the NBA title at Sportsbook, as they have 75/1 odds.

Miami remains the -160 ‘chalk’ to win its third straight championship.

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