INDIANAPOLIS -- Atlantas Mike Scott hit Indiana with the first 3-point barrage Monday night. Anthony Barr Lights Out Jersey . The Hawks defence staggered the Pacers with some late stops. Now Atlanta is heading home with a chance to deliver the knockout punch to the Eastern Conferences top seed. Scott scored all 17 of his points during the Hawks incredible second-quarter run, and the defence fended off the Pacers frantic fourth-quarter charge to hold on for a 107-97 victory and a stunning 3-2 lead in the first-round series. "We can play with this team," Scott said. "Theyre a great team, especially at home, great players, great coach, but we have a belief in ourselves as well." Why not? All the Hawks have to do is protect their home court and they will reach the second round for the first time since 2011, and throw the East into disarray after the talk all season was about an Indiana-Miami rematch in the conference finals. That looks like a long shot now. The Pacers havent won consecutive games with their regular starters in the lineup since mid-March and the leagues best regular-season home team (35-6) has inexplicably given away home court advantage to the Hawks -- twice. Theyre making it look easy, too. Atlanta shredded one of the leagues top defences during a remarkable second quarter, making 13 of 16 shots overall and 9 of 11 from beyond the arc. Scott made all five of his 3s during the decisive 30-6 run, which actually started with the final basket of the first quarter, to turn a 21-18 deficit into a 48-27 lead. Indiana never recovered. Atlanta outscored the Pacers 41-19 during that 12-minute stretch, matching the second-highest second-quarter scoring total in the franchises post-season history. The Hawks scored 41 against Detroit on March 17, 1986, and the St. Louis Hawks had 45 against Fort Wayne on March 14, 1957. Indiana, meanwhile, allowed a second-quarter franchise record, breaking the previous mark of 39 points set by Boston on April 23, 2005. The Hawks joined the 1970 Milwaukee Bucks as the only road teams in the shot-clock era to score at least 40 points in a quarter and give up fewer than 19. Not enough? Atlanta tied an NBA record with 9 3-pointers, most recently done in 2008, and also broke the franchise playoff record for 3s in a game with 15. The previous mark was 12. "I didnt even know," Kyle Korver said after making two 3s in the second quarter and another late in the game to keep the Hawks in control. "Mike got hot. I dont know how many 3s he hit in that quarter. Mike hadnt shot the ball as well as he did tonight, but he hasnt shot that well all series." Shelvin Mack led the Hawks with 20 points, while Paul Millsap had 18. The Pacers, meanwhile, endured yet another bleak chapter in a second-half collapse that could go down as the worst in NBA history -- if they lose either of the next two games. And it was downright dismal. Roy Hibbert finished without a point or a rebound for the first time in his playoff career. Indiana was outrebounded for the first time in the series and its rebuilt bench was outscored 45-23. Paul George led the Pacers with 26 points and 12 rebounds. George Hill, Lance Stephenson and David West all had 16 points, not quite enough to rally on a night they were again serenaded with boos in the first half. "It was frustrating because we didnt make a change," George said of the Pacers defence. "We let them run the same action, the same shot. We didnt do nothing. So that was frustrating." The game changed in a hurry. Atlanta opened the second quarter with a free throw from Mack to tie the score at 21. Scott then made four consecutive 3s to push the lead to 33-21. Mack followed that with a midrange jumper, Korver made a 3, Scott scored on a putback and Korver hit his second 3. Mack followed that with two free throws and Scott closed the run with his last 3 of the game to make it 48-27. The Pacers still trailed 61-40 at halftime and by as many as 30 points in the third quarter before the frantic comeback. Indiana cut the deficit to 85-67 late in the third and with the crowd urging them on, the Pacers made it 96-87 on C.J. Watsons layup with 4:04 to go. But Korver answered with a 3 and the Hawks closed it out at the free throw line. "We dont do much for moral victories, we just dropped the ball," West said. "Everybodys got to be ready to play and I didnt think we responded well enough." Notes: The Pacers had a moment of silence to honour former coach Jack Ramsay, who died Monday at age 89. Ramsay led the Pacers to the first NBA playoff win in franchise history. ... Atlanta has three wins at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and is the only team to beat Indiana on its home court more than once this season. ... The Pacers are 0-10 in series when trailing 3-2. Fran Tarkenton Authentic Jersey . -- Marcus Thornton and the Sacramento Kings had little trouble surging past the Boston Celtics in the second half on Friday. http://www.nflvikingsus.com/Elite-Greg-Jennings-Mens-Jersey-Minnesota-Vikings-15-Autographed-Home-Purple-Nike-NFL-48.html . Here are a few quick thoughts. FIVE QUICK NBA THOUGHTS: 1. TORONTO RAPTORS: The Draft is the beginning of what should be a busy and fascinating off-season.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss the Winter Classic, the value of the BCS, a possible rule change by FIFA and hockey tournament formats. Bruce Arthur, National Post: My thumb is up to the most recent Winter Classic between Toronto and Detroit at Michigan Stadium, despite everything. In the first period there was so much snow that even completing a pass was an accomplishment. The horn blew midway through the third - and midway through overtime, with Henrik Zetterberg breaking in - to switch ends, because of the wind. It was goofy, but with over 105,000 fans, a record, this game was an irresistible spectacle. And really, it was just hockey. Teams simplify their games all the time. The shootout is a gimmick, indoors or outdoors. And somehow, the Winter Classic makes all its imperfections seem small. Eventually the NHL will exhaust this gold mine. But on New Years Day, we got treated to something rare: beautiful ugly hockey. Dave Naylor, TSN: My thumb is up to the Bowl Championship Series - better known as the BCS - which plays out its existence tomorrow night in the National Championship game between Auburn and Florida State. In its 16-year run, the BCS brought up plenty of controversy and debate, but it also brought us a game each year featuring No. 1 versus No. 2. While some may have said it made other bowl games irrelevant, consider this weeks Orange Bowl between Ohio State and Clemson or Sugar Bowl between Alabama and Oklahoma as evidence that the BCS season was never just about one game. Next year the BCS will be replaced with the four-team playoff. Teddy Bridgewater Elite Jersey. But lets remember the BCS fondly as part of the evolution of college football. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is up to Sepp Blatter, normally the occupationally challenged president of FIFA who, shockingly, has come up with a good idea. Borrowing from hockey, Blatter has proposed a virtual penalty box for those who feign injuries. For decades, a visit to the soccer touchline for an apparently mortally injured player has been like a pilgrimage to Lourdes; the healing powers there are miraculous. Now, rather than sprinting back onto the field, that player would have to stay off for an unspecified spell, obliging his team to play a man down. Given the scourge of soccer fakery, Blatter is right. The time has come to institute a time penalty. Dave Hodge, TSN: My thumb would be up to hockeys tournament format, such as we see at the World Juniors and as were about to see again at the Olympics, if only it could be designed differently. To make the quarter-final round at Malmo, Canada needed to win just one game, against Germany. It was considered important to win the group, as Canada did, but it wasnt essential. The games would have been much more compelling if only four of 10 teams qualified for the so-called playoffs, instead of eight. Its worse at the Olympics. Twelve teams take part in round-robin play and all twelve move on to play outside their groups, some with winless records. So next month, wake me when there are games that will eliminate the losing teams, and when the names of those teams arent so obvious. ' ' '
