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

After losing in embarrassing fashion on Sunday to the Orlando Magic, Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers hopped on the team plane and flew down south for their final In-Season Tournament group play game against the Atlanta Hawks.

I attended the game in person, as this was my first Indiana Pacers game ever, and I more than got my money's worth, which doesn't even include Myles Turner signing my hat.

This was the most exciting game of the entire season. Not just the Pacers season, but the entire NBA season.

Both teams traded stellar offensive halves as the Pacers clawed back from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat the Hawks by an absurd final score of 157-152, all in regulation, with the Pacers' 157 points setting a new franchise record.

As the score suggests, there was little to no defense played on Tuesday, as the combined score of 309 was indicative of a shootout, which was amazing to watch in person. Both teams went pound-for-pound in a heavyweight bout of scoring excellence.

With this win, Indiana became the first team to ever clinch a spot in the In-Season Tournament knockout round, sweeping group play with a +16 point spread.

As with every game this season, there was good and bad, and while the final outcome of Tuesday night will always be a Pacers win, it was very close to going the other way. Here's what I gathered at the game and looking at the stats.

Positive: Piling on the points

Indiana's offense is no joke.

While their frantic, fast-paced style of play does have its downsides, there is no questioning how effective it is on most nights, with Tuesday night being a prime example. The Pacers ran the Hawks up and down the court, scoring 73 points in the first half and somehow outdoing themselves with a mind-blowing 84 points in the second half to take home the win.

For the second time this season, the Pacers had seven or more players score in double figures, with the one and only Tyrese Haliburton leading the charge, as he usually does, with 37 on the night, including a 26-point explosion in the third quarter to give the Pacers control of the game.

While Haliburton was the undisputed star of the night, he did not do it alone. Buddy Hield finally broke out of his brutal shooting slump in a big way, putting up 24 points on 9/11 shooting and 6/6 from deep. Hield was also the Pacers' primary source of firepower in the fourth quarter, as he scored 13 points on three three-pointers and hit the dagger to put them up three with less than a minute remaining.

In addition to Hield's resurgence, Bennedict Mathurin added 19 points of his own, quelling his recent slump, including 10 points in the fourth quarter to help Hield lead the Pacers to victory.

Obi Toppin also had a great night with 21 points on 9/16 shooting, despite going 1/6 from three, and Aaron Nesmith also piled in 17 on 6/9 shooting.

To round out the double-digit barrage, Bruce Brown and Myles Turner contributed 13 points and 11 points, respectively. The Pacers were also incredibly efficient on the night, shooting 60.6% from the field and 49% from beyond the arc, as every player, with the exception of TJ McConnell and Ben Sheppard, shot 50% or higher from the field.

While Indiana shot the lights out all game, there was a reason why they only won by five points when it was all said and done, and it's the reason that has been plaguing this team since opening night.

Negative: Defense almost costs game

Usually, when a team puts up 73 points at the half, they'll have a commanding lead. This was not the case for the Pacers, as despite putting up 73 points on 52% shooting in the first 24 minutes, they miraculously allowed Atlanta to score a staggering 86 points at the half, a new Hawks record for points scored in a half.

These 86 points came with little to no difficulty as well, as the Hawks shot a staggering 62% from the field and 55% from beyond the arc, taking full advantage of the Pacer's defense, or lack thereof.

I have seen the Pacers struggle on defense plenty of times watching games, but Tuesday was the first time I saw it in person, and it was quite bad. There is no use scoring 73 points in a half when you give up 83, and the Pacers played the first half like there was only one side to the ball.

While Indiana has had bad defensive halves as recently as Sunday when they gave up 78 points in a half to the Magic, nothing has reached the 86-point half the Hawks achieved on Tuesday.

It's a miracle that Indiana has an 8-5 record when you look at their defensive stats and see how bad they really are. In fact, if you watch only the Pacers' defensive possessions, you'd probably think they were the worst team in the league. The lack of height has been an issue I touched upon earlier, but that is still not an excuse to let up 86 points on blazing-hot efficiency in one half.

With all these points scored by the Hawks in the first half, it really is a miracle how the Pacers won the game. If you've been watching this team, last night even had you jumping out your seat.

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.