In the NBA preseason, the Pacers faced the Hawks at home. During the off-season, the Pacers signed Bruce Brown, selected the 8th pick Jareth Walker and the 26th pick Shepard, while the Hawks signed the 15th pick Bafkin. Both Yang and Capella did not play in this game.
At the beginning of the game, the two sides engaged in a tug of war. After Matheline counterattacked and made a heavy dunk, Johnson responded with an empty catch and a deep dunk. In the second half, both teams had a decrease in shooting percentage, and both teams also used challenges. AJ Griffin’s three pointers helped the Hawks lead by one point in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Smith and Shepard teamed up to throw four three pointers in a row. The Pacers took advantage of the situation and hit a small climax to open up a double digit lead. In the end, Turner, Hilde, and Smith threw three pointers in a row, The Pacer hit an 18-2 attack wave and opened up a 27 point gap. In the second half, the two teams gradually rotated their lineups to play. The Hawks hit a small climax with three consecutive runs and quickly narrowed the score. Fortunately, the Pacers held a 13 point lead in time, and their shooting percentage decreased in the last quarter. Subsequently, the two teams continued to rotate deeply, but the Pacers still maintained a lead of two or more goals. Fernando’s malicious first level foul directly ruined the game, and ultimately the Pacers defeated the Hawks 116-112.
