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Indy native Teague dominates Pacers

 
Published April 20, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS — The Hawks' Jeff Teague demolished the Pacers' grand playoff plan.

As his teammates set up around the 3-point line, Teague simply blew through open lanes to the basket repeatedly.

Teague scored a playoff career-high 28, Paul Millsap added 25 and the eighth-seeded Hawks won their first road playoff game in three years, shocking top-seeded Indiana 101-93.

"I just wanted to win," the Indianapolis native said after beating his hometown team.

Perhaps that's why Teague finally cracked a hesitant smile in the locker room before stepping to the podium. Or it could be that Teague remembers the frustration Indiana caused when it clinched last year's 4-2 first-round win on Atlanta's home court.

This time, surrounded by a mostly new group of 3-point shooters, a first-year coach and a game plan that the Pacers never adapted to, Teague kept getting to the basket.

Teague was 9-of-19 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line as the Hawks snapped an eight-game road losing streak in the playoffs and became the first team to beat Indiana on its home court twice this season.

Atlanta set a franchise playoff record with 30 3-point attempts and matched the franchise's second-highest playoff total for 3-pointers made (11). Both were set May 10, 1996, when the Hawks were 12-of-27 on 3-pointers in a 26-point loss to Orlando.

Indiana was just 5-of-19 from the field in the decisive third quarter and shot just 35.6 percent in the second half. Paul George had 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Lance Stephenson finished with 19 points and seven rebounds.

Hawks 101, Pacers 93

ATLANTA (101): Carroll 4-7 2-4 12, Millsap 7-17 9-11 25, Antic 3-7 0-0 8, Teague 9-19 9-10 28, Korver 5-12 0-0 12, Brand 0-2 0-0 0, Williams 1-3 4-4 6, Mack 3-7 0-0 8, Scott 1-2 0-0 2, Martin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-76 24-29 101.

INDIANA (93): George 6-18 9-12 24, West 4-10 0-0 8, Hibbert 4-9 0-2 8, G.Hill 5-8 2-3 12, Stephenson 8-18 0-0 19, Scola 0-6 2-2 2, Turner 4-6 0-0 9, Watson 2-4 0-0 6, Mahinmi 1-2 3-4 5. Totals 34-81 16-23 93.

Atlanta 28 22 30 21— 101

Indiana 22 28 16 27— 93

3-Point GoalsAtlanta 11-30 (Millsap 2-4, Carroll 2-4, Mack 2-5, Antic 2-5, Korver 2-7, Teague 1-3, Scott 0-1, Williams 0-1), Indiana 9-21 (Stephenson 3-6, George 3-8, Watson 2-2, Turner 1-1, West 0-1, Hibbert 0-1, G.Hill 0-2). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsAtlanta 48 (Carroll 10), Indiana 54 (George 10). AssistsAtlanta 13 (Teague 5), Indiana 19 (George 5). Total FoulsAtlanta 20, Indiana 29. TechnicalsAntic, West. A18,165 (18,165).

VETERAN PIERCE LEADS NETS: Deron Williams and Joe Johnson each scored 24, Paul Pierce scored nine of his 15 in the final quarter and the Nets beat the host Raptors 94-87.

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Playing in his 137th postseason game, Pierce connected on four of his five shots in the fourth as New Jersey kept Toronto at bay.

"I've been in pretty much every playoff setting that you can imagine. I just try to stay calm and bring my calmness to the game," Pierce, 36, said.

Shaun Livingston scored 10 and Kevin Garnett had five points and eight rebounds as the Nets won despite making 4 of 24 3-pointers.

RAPTORS GM PROFANITY: Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri let loose a profanity about the Nets, shouting "(Expletive) Brooklyn!" as he addressed a crowd outside Air Canada Centre before the game. Several hundred fans had gathered outside the downtown arena for a party and to watch the game on a huge screen above the west entrance.

Ujiri, the league's reigning executive of the year, apologized in a brief news conference at halftime, saying he had made the "wrong choice of words" and was "just trying to get our fans going."

Nets coach Jason Kidd said he hadn't heard about the controversial comments and didn't know Ujiri. "I don't even know who the GM is," Kidd said.

Nets 94, Raptors 87

BROOKLYN (94): J.Johnson 8-13 8-8 24, Pierce 6-13 1-1 15, Garnett 1-5 3-6 5, Williams 8-20 6-6 24, Livingston 4-6 2-2 10, Plumlee 1-1 0-0 2, Anderson 3-7 0-0 6, Teletovic 1-6 0-0 2, Blatche 2-5 1-2 5, Thornton 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 34-80 22-27 94.

TORONTO (87): Ross 1-4 0-0 3, A.Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Valanciunas 7-13 3-4 17, Lowry 7-18 5-6 22, DeRozan 3-13 8-8 14, Salmons 0-1 0-0 0, Vasquez 5-11 5-5 18, Patterson 4-8 0-0 9, De Colo 0-0 0-0 0, Hansbrough 0-0 2-2 2, Novak 0-0 0-0 0, Hayes 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-71 23-25 87.

Brooklyn 29 21 17 27— 94

Toronto 21 25 16 25— 87

3-Point GoalsBrooklyn 4-24 (Pierce 2-5, Williams 2-6, J.Johnson 0-1, Anderson 0-3, Thornton 0-4, Teletovic 0-5), Toronto 8-23 (Vasquez 3-5, Lowry 3-7, Patterson 1-2, Ross 1-4, Salmons 0-1, DeRozan 0-4). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsBrooklyn 44 (Garnett, J.Johnson 8), Toronto 52 (Valanciunas 18). AssistsBrooklyn 16 (J.Johnson, Pierce 4), Toronto 22 (Lowry, Vasquez 8). Total FoulsBrooklyn 19, Toronto 23. TechnicalsBlatche, Garnett. A19,800 (19,800).

WARRIORS take out clippers: Klay Thompson scored 22, spiking the ball as time expired, and Golden State beat the host Clippers 109-105 after getting Blake Griffin and Chris Paul in foul trouble.

Former Gator David Lee had 20 points and Stephen Curry scored 14 for the Warriors, who rallied in the third when Griffin and Paul were on the bench together.

The Warriors stumbled early, missing their first eight shots while falling behind by 11 and forcing coach Mark Jackson to call two timeouts to steady his young team.

"The pressure is all on (the Clippers)," Thompson said. "They can't afford to go down 0-2 and go on the road."

Warriors 109, Clippers 105

GOLDEN STATE (109): Iguodala 3-6 2-2 8, Lee 8-13 4-4 20, O'Neal 6-9 1-1 13, Curry 6-16 0-0 14, Thompson 7-20 4-6 22, D.Green 2-5 2-4 7, Blake 1-3 0-0 3, H.Barnes 4-11 3-6 14, Speights 3-5 0-0 6, Jo.Crawford 0-2 2-2 2, Armstrong 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 40-90 18-25 109.

L.A. CLIPPERS (105): M.Barnes 0-3 2-2 2, Griffin 6-13 4-4 16, Jordan 4-5 3-8 11, Paul 10-23 3-6 28, Redick 8-11 2-2 22, Davis 3-4 0-0 6, Ja.Crawford 2-11 4-6 9, Collison 2-9 4-6 8, Granger 1-6 1-1 3, Turkoglu 0-0 0-0 0, Hollins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-85 23-35 105.

Golden State 24 28 35 22— 109

L.A. Clippers 29 23 27 26— 105

3-Point GoalsGolden State 11-27 (Thompson 4-7, H.Barnes 3-6, Curry 2-6, D.Green 1-3, Blake 1-3, Iguodala 0-1, Jo.Crawford 0-1), L.A. Clippers 10-22 (Paul 5-9, Redick 4-5, Ja.Crawford 1-5, M.Barnes 0-1, Granger 0-2). Fouled OutIguodala, Griffin. ReboundsGolden State 68 (Lee 13), L.A. Clippers 50 (Jordan 14). AssistsGolden State 26 (Curry 7), L.A. Clippers 24 (Paul 8). Total FoulsGolden State 27, L.A. Clippers 24. TechnicalsO'Neal, Golden State defensive three second. A19,339 (19,060).