Al Horford was a big key to the Atlanta Hawks earning their first win of the season over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

Hawks Pound Pacers Down Low

The Hawks used their size to defeat the Pacers. They stretched the floor on Indiana, and pounded the ball in the paint. Horford spent the night luring Pacers' center Myles Turner outside the paint, and Paul Millsap started the game inside the paint seemingly scoring at will, tallying eight of the Hawks first 14 points. The Hawks scored 12 of their first 14 points overall inside the paint. Millsap led the Hawks with 24 points on the night.

"We've got to cover the three-point shooting bigs, while still protecting the rim," said Pacers Head Coach Frank Vogel.

As the game grew older, the Pacers seemed to get more agitated as they continued to struggle getting a handle on a tough Hawks team, who hung around and seemed content to keep the game close throughout the first half.

During the second quarter, the Hawks would use a run of 15-5 to gain control, and led 43-38 midway through the second quarter that saw the Pacers struggle from the floor. Indiana started the quarter just (3-10), with a squad of mainly bench players.

Pushing The Pace Doesn't Push Pacers To Success Despite Allen's Efforts

In their quest to solve their problem with Atlanta's big men, the Pacers tried to turn back the clock to the beginning of the season and turn up the pace. 

"Pushing the ball in transition...makes or misses, push the ball up the court," said Pacers' forward Lavoy Allen, speaking with Fox Sports Indiana's Jeremiah Johnson at halftime on what the Pacers might try in the second half to remedy Atlanta's size. Allen played a strong first half for the Pacers tallying eight points, and grabbing eight rebounds, but the Pacers only held a 51-50 lead at the half.

Allen would continue his strong play in the third quarter, scoring on a driving and-1 dunk, to give the Pacers a 71-65 lead with 2:30 to play in the third quarter.

"He was terrific, just a monster on the glass. He made a lot of winning plays, he's been good for us all year, and he was good tonight," said Vogel of Allen's play.

Horford closed out the third quarter strong for Atlanta with back-to-back dunks, that propelled an 8-1 Hawks run, giving them a one-point 73-72 lead heading to the final quarter.

Atlanta Soars In 4th

The fourth quarter is where the wheels really fell off the car for the Pacers. They saw the Hawks go on a 16-4 run dating back to the third quarter, amid a stretch where Indiana missed 13 straight field goal attempts. The Pacers would shoot just 7-26 from the field in the third quarter, further hampering their chances of a win.

Horford, in the end, would be the closer that the Hawks were seeking. He hit a key three-point shot that gave Atlanta an 89-86 lead with 4:00 to play in the fourth quarter, but that was just the start for Atlanta's closer.

With 1:19 remaining, Horford struck again, to shut the door for good on the Pacers, burying a wide open jumper from the top of the key. This gave the Hawks a 95-90 lead, and capped a stretch where Horford scored seven out of nine points overall for Atlanta, on his way to 21 total points.

"They've got some very difficult covers with Horford and Millsap out there spacing the floor that we didn't handle well enough," said Vogel, on his team's struggle to cover the Hawks' big men in their 102-96 loss.

Paul George led the Pacers with a game-high 31 points.

Going Forward

The Pacers luckily, or unluckily, will have little time to dwell on this loss, as their next game comes in quick succession. Indiana returns home to Indianapolis to play host to the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night, tip time is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. EST. The Pacers are 2-1 against the Pistons this season, most recently defeating them in Detroit on January 2nd, 94-82.

The underrated Atlanta Hawks are now 30-22 on the year, and they will head to Orlando for a Southeast Division clash on Sunday.