In need of a bounce-back performance in what has become a best-of-three series, the Indiana Pacers turned in their best defensive effort of the postseason against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5.

The Pacers held the Hawks to 33.3 percent shooting and .930 points per possession in a 106-83 win on Wednesday night. Atlanta went just 3-for-14 from three, the key in Game 4, and Indiana won by just 23 because the Hawks took care of the basketball and lived at the foul line.

Atlanta committed just six turnovers and went 30-for-37 at the line. Over the first four games, the Hawks averaged 14.3 turnovers and shot 59 percent on free throws. This very easily could have become a 35-point rout. The Hawks also scored 15 relatively easy points off Indiana’s 17 turnovers.

After two bad games at Philips Arena, the Pacers scored 106 points and won a vital game handily without playing what looked like their best basketball. That’s an encouraging thought, but in reality the turnover situation was a one-quarter issue. They had eight miscues in the first quarter, which Atlanta won 22-21, and then just eight more over the final three quarters.

It must have been reassuring for Frank Vogel to get “boy big” performances from each member of his starting five. Paul George (21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) and George Hill (15 points and 10 assists) both had double-doubles, while David West had a game-high 24 points. Roy Hibbert recorded 18 points and nine rebounds and Lance Stephenson added eight points, 12 boards and four assists.

That’s about as much as you can get from your starting unit. The group scored 86 points, more than the entire Hawks team and just over 81 percent of Indiana’s points. Able to lean on his starters, Vogel could rest easier. The bench hasn’t provided surefire production this season and tightening the rotation was something I’ve been calling for all series.

It certainly helped that when the Pacers went on runs in the second (15-4) and third quarters (7-1), the Hawks settled for jump shots. If Larry Drew’s club went to the hoop on every possession, they might have attempted 60 free throws in this game (the refs were a bit whistle-happy). 

Josh Smith and Al Horford, who exploded in Game 4, were a combined 10-for-30 from the field. Jeff Teague, who appeared to tweak his ankle at one point, had three points and four assists in the first quarter. From that point on, he had just four points and one dime. He couldn’t break down the Indiana defense with the pick-and-roll consistently for the first time in the series.

Offensively, the Pacers can’t expect to shoot 50.7 percent steadily in the month of May. They hit seven of their first eight shots, then finished the first by missing their next eight attempts. They shot 58.9 percent from the field over the second and third quarters. With the game largely in hand, they were just 5-for-14 in the fourth. They simply can’t maintain those shooting lines.

Vogel’s Move

It was brief, but Vogel made a small chess move nine minutes into Game 5 when he tried to counter Atlanta’s decision to play big and force George to play Smith. The Pacers marched out a lineup of Hill, George, Tyler Hansbrough, Jeff Pendergraph and Hibbert. There was absolutely no chemistry and it wasn’t exactly successful, but it did move George to shooting guard against Korver.

The lineup wasn’t among Indiana’s top-20 five-man units in 2012-13, but I would be interested in seeing Hill-George-Hansbrough-West-Hibbert with Hansbrough taking the least effective offensive player (either Ivan Johnson or Johan Petro). Alas, it’s too late for something like that unless Vogel has to get absolutely desperate.

Big Guns

George and West combined for 45 points and 15 rebounds in the win, going 18-for-24 from the field. The duo was 22-for-55 in the two contests in Atlanta.

West said after the Game 4 loss that he wanted to be more aggressive and he was in the first half. He had 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting, leading to a series-high in points (24). His 16 attempts were also a series-high, but he did take 14 in each of the last two games.

His goal of being more aggressive offensively is more metaphorical than literal. He is the spine of this team and his play and demeanor trickles down the roster.

First Quarter Roy

Hibbert had a respectable 18 points and nine rebounds, but a majority of his production came in the first period. He had ten and five early as the Pacers established their offense and tried to get Atlanta’s bigs in foul trouble. He deferred and helped create space for West to dominate and his passing was a very important part of the offense.

The Defense Is Back

After allowing 1.22 points per shot over the first four games of the series, the Pacers held the Hawks to 1.10 PPS in Game 5. That figure exactly matches their NBA-best mark for the regular season.

Korver got a few open threes in the first half, but overall Indiana closed out better and held Atlanta to just 3-for-14 from deep. Atlanta was able to score 24 points in the third quarter despite shooting 4-for-14 from the field as they attempted 18 free throws.