INDIANAPOLIS — The Atlanta Hawks try to stop a skid Monday night when they visit the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
Both teams arrive in rough shape. Atlanta is 3-4 after winning its first two games and then dropping four of its next five, most recently a 121-99 loss at New Orleans on Saturday. Indiana is 2-5, has lost four straight, and plays for a second straight night after falling 98-90 at home to Brooklyn on Sunday, a team that had not won a game before that night.
The biggest question for the Hawks is Jalen Johnson. The forward, an All-Star for the first time last season, is listed as questionable with a sprained left ankle. Through seven games he is putting up 18.1 points a night to go with 9.0 boards and 7.9 assists. Nickeil Alexander-Walker leads the team at 19.3 points per game.
Atlanta will be without four others. Rookie Kingston Flemings is serving a one-game suspension, Jock Landale is out with a left hip strain, Mouhamed Gueye has a broken left foot and Henri Veesaar is recovering from a torn right ACL.
Indiana is in worse shape. Starters Tyrese Haliburton and Ivica Zubac are out along with T.J. McConnell, Ben Sheppard and Johnny Furphy, and Obi Toppin is questionable with a sore back. Andrew Nembhard scored 23 against Brooklyn, 15 in the fourth quarter, and Pascal Siakam added 17.
The last time these teams met in Indianapolis, on Jan. 31, the Pacers won 129-124 despite a 33-point triple-double from Johnson. They meet four times this season, with Indiana visiting Atlanta on Dec. 3 and Jan. 7.
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