It was a tale of two third quarters for the Indiana Pacers.
In this one, there was more emotion, there was more intensity and a lot more celebratory chest bumping.
Paul George had 27 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals and the Pacers routed the Atlanta Hawks, 101-85, in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series on Tuesday night.
The Pacers trailed 52-48 at the half, but outscored Atlanta 31-13 in the third and never looked back. They shot 75 percent (12-of-16) in the frame while limiting the Hawks to just a 25 percent clip (5-of-20) for the stanza.
Indiana took a healthy 79-65 cushion into the fourth, where it led by as many as 27 before cruising to the easy triumph.
Atlanta outscored Indiana 30-16 in the third period in Game 1 en route to a 101-93 triumph on Saturday night to become the first road team to defeat the Pacers twice this season. Indiana went 35-6 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse during the regular season.
Game 3 of this best-of-seven set will be Thursday in Atlanta.
[SportsNetwork.com]