Atlanta At Indiana
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, April 21, 2013
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
TV: 1 p.m. ET, TNT
PREDICTION: Pacers 98, Hawks 95

Atlanta did not exactly finish with a flurry, either, losing five of their final seven to erase any chance of homecourt advantage in the first round. The Hawks went 19-22 on the road and dropped four of their final six away from Atlanta during the regular season, including a 100-94 setback at Indiana on March 25. Smith scored 20 points but the Hawks were outrebounded 49-38 in the loss. Smith played sparingly over the final weeks while fighting off a knee injury but looked strong when he was in the lineup and shot 55 percent from the field in the final month. Atlanta is counting on the point guard combo of Jeff Teague and Devin Harris to give it an advantage on the perimeter. Teague averaged nine assists in April and cut his turnovers to 2.3 – the lowest of any month.

Indiana looked like a lock for the No. 2 seed in the East before its slump coincided with the New York Knicks’ surge. Either way, the Pacers will have to make it to the Eastern Conference finals if the want to get another crack at the Heat. Indiana led the NBA in rebounding average behind Hibbert and West and was second in points allowed despite the letup on that end late in the season. The biggest difference between this spring and last is the increase role of shooting guard Lance Stephenson, who has given the team a tenacious perimeter defender and a solid shooting option on the wing. Stephenson missed the last meeting with the Hawks but collected 14 points and six rebounds in a 114-103 win over them on Feb. 5.

Stats and Records

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Chicago At Indiana
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 3, 2013
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, WCIU (Chicago)
PREDICTION: Pacers 96, Bulls 92

Oddsmakers currently have the Pacers listed as 6½-point favorites versus the Bulls, while the game’s total is sitting at 180.

The post duo of Carlos Boozer (15.6 points, 9.3 rebounds) and Joakim Noah (12 points, 11.4 rebounds) has carried Chicago the past two games. Leading scorer Luol Deng (16.4 points, 6.7 rebounds) was slowed Saturday after taking a shot to the mouth in Thursday’s win over Philadelphia, and guard Richard Hamilton (back spasms) has missed the past two games and is not expected to travel to Indiana.

Chicago won its last outing, a 96-85 result against the Nets on March 2. The Bulls covered in that game as a 4.5-point favorite, while the 181 combined points took the game OVER the total.

Chicago:
Team record: 34-25 SU, 26-33 ATS
Current streak: won 2 straight games.

The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games when playing Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 7 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 6 games

When playing on Sunday are 3-7
Before playing San Antonio are 9-1
After playing Brooklyn are 6-4
After a win are 4-6

Indiana is one of the top defensive teams in the league but has shown improved offensive prowess recently. The return of forward Danny Granger has helped in that regard, but the former All-Star has averaged just 6.8 points in four games as he eases back into action from a knee injury. Leading scorer Paul George (17.8 points, 7.9 rebounds) blossomed into a star during Granger’s absence and forward David West (17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds) is having another strong season.

The Pacers were a 93-81 winner in their most recent outing on the road against the Raptors. They covered the 2-point spread as favorites, while the total score (174) made winners of UNDER bettors.

Indiana:
Team record: 37-22 SU, 34-25 ATS

is 19-3 SU in its last 22 games at home
is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games when playing Chicago
is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Chicago

When playing on Sunday are 4-6
Before playing Boston are 7-3
After playing Toronto are 6-4
After a win are 8-2

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Clippers (26-18, 11-10 away) vs Pacers (25-18, 13-6 home)
Coverage: FOX WEST
When: 7:00 PM ET, March 20, 2012
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

After dropping three of four to open their six-game homestand, the Clippers (26-18) finished that grueling eight-day stretch with four-point victories over Houston and Detroit. While Los Angeles averaged just 91.0 points on 40.5 percent shooting in those wins, Paul made half of his 30 shots and totaled 42 points.

He scored 12 of his 23 in the final 2:42 of Saturday’s 95-91 win over the Rockets, then had nine of his 19 in overtime Sunday in an 87-83 victory over the Pistons.

The All-Star point guard is among the NBA’s best with an average of 6.9 points in the fourth quarter.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a better guy with the ball late in the game than Chris in this league,” said coach Vinny Del Negro, whose team next gets back-to-back days off April 20-21.

While the Clippers sit 1 1/2 games back of the Los Angeles Lakers for the Pacific Division lead, the Pacers (25-18) have virtually no shot of catching the league-best Chicago Bulls in the Central Division after losing six of eight following a season-best 6-0 run.

Indiana has scored over 100 points twice in its last eight games after doing so in each of its previous five.

“Our offense just isn’t working,” forward Danny Granger said Saturday after the Pacers were swept in a home-and-home set by New York with a 102-88 home loss. “We’re not getting the job done. Our goal is to win games, and we’re not going to win games this way.”

Perhaps the addition of veteran guard Leandro Barbosa will provide a spark. Acquired from Toronto on Thursday for a second-round draft pick and cash, Barbosa is expected to make his Pacers debut Tuesday. He scored a team-high 19 points for the Raptors in a 103-91 road loss to the Clippers on Jan. 22.

While Indiana needs to get its offense in gear, it faces a stiff test against All-Star forward Blake Griffin, who had a career-high 47 points in the last meeting, a 114-107 home win for the Clippers on Jan. 17, 2011.

Given the outside shot by the Pacers, Griffin hit a number of tough jumpers and made a career-best 19 field goals while also grabbing 14 rebounds.

Griffin had 12 points with eight boards as the Clippers were routed 107-80 in their last visit to Indianapolis on Nov. 18, 2010.

The Pacers have won four in a row against Western Conference foes and are 9-3 against teams outside the East.

The Clippers have won 11 of 15 against the East, taking four of six on the road.

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