2 Positives, 1 negative from Indiana Pacers' thrilling win over Atlanta Hawks

Positive: Pacers spark lethal comeback in second half

This game was a tale of two halves. In the first half, the Pacers put up a lot of points but couldn't keep up with the Hawks and were down by 13 going into the half.

In the second half, the Pacers still couldn't really stop the Hawks, as Atlanta put up a still-impressive 66 points on 57% shooting and 38% from three, but they made up for it with some scorching-hot offense of their own.

When a team puts up 73 points in a half, they may be expected to cool down in the third quarter, which is what the Pacers have been known for, being known for their sometimes abysmal third quarters. However, the Pacers miraculously kicked it into another gear in the third quarter, scoring an astonishing 46 points on an unprecedented 72.7% shooting and an even better 81.8% from beyond the arc.

Of course, Tyrese Haliburton was at the forefront of all of this, putting up 26 of his 37 points in the third quarter, almost outscoring Atlanta's whole team (28 points) by himself.

It cannot be understated how fantastic Haliburton was in the third quarter, as he hit 7/8 three-pointers and dished out four assists, almost single-handedly bringing the Pacers back into it as Atlanta's lead got slimmer and slimmer and was eventually gone.

Miraculously, at the start of the fourth quarter, Indiana found themselves owners of a hard-fought five-point lead as they stayed poised for a victory. At this point, there were questions on if they could keep the momentum going.

A 46-point quarter following a 73-point half is already incredible on its own, but the Pacers somehow kept pace with the Hawks in the fourth quarter, scoring 38 points on 66% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc. While Haliburton was resting on the bench, Buddy Hield picked up the slack, scoring 13 of his 24 points, including three three-pointers, as the Pacers held on to beat Atlanta 157-152.

While the season is still young, the Pacers have already shown a lot in these 13 games. Out of all they've shown, the most telling thing is that this team has absolutely no quit in them. Indiana somehow stared an 86-point half and 13-point deficit down and took over in the second half, scoring 84 points of their own to ultimately come out on top and advance to the knockout round of the In-Season Tournament.

While this Pacers team may have plenty of flaws, defense being chief among them, one thing is for sure. They may not win every game, but they're gonna try their hardest to shoot the other team out the building on any given night.