Tyrese Haliburton (hip) sits out Pacers’ loss to Hawks
ATLANTA — Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton sat out Thursday night’s 124-118 loss to the Atlanta Hawks because of a hip injury.
Haliburton, a two-time All-Star, missed only his second game this season. He had been listed as questionable with a left hip flexor strain, and was on the bench in street clothes.
The Pacers were also without Bennedict Mathurin, who missed his fourth game in a row with a sprained right wrist.
In seven games since the All-Star break, Haliburton has averaged 23.9 points and 12.0 assists while shooting 54.5% on 3-pointers. He had 28 points and 15 assists in a 115-102 win over Houston on Tuesday night, and is averaging 18.5 points and 8.9 assists in his 59 games this season.
Coach Rick Carlisle said before the game that Haliburton has been dealing with soreness in his left leg and that the team would approach things on a game-to-game basis.
MILWAUKEE — As Giannis Antetokounmpo considered his latest career milestone, becoming the sixth-youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points during the Bucks’ 137-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, he reflected on all he has gone through to arrive to this point.
“I always look back at myself, and I don’t want to say I get emotional, but it’s a good feeling,” Antetokounmpo said after the game. “I’m proud of the journey, but I have so much more to give.”
Antetokounmpo reached the milestone in the third quarter Wednesday night while putting up 32 points and 15 rebounds in 25 minutes in Milwaukee’s blowout victory.
The team played a tribute video to Antetokounmpo on the video board after the milestone, although Antetokounmpo joked that coach Doc Rivers kept distracting him during the timeout so he could not watch it.
“He kept saying, ‘Giannis, Giannis, focus on the play,'” Antetokounmpo said with a laugh. “Like, Coach, you [don’t] get a lot of 20,000-points moments in your career.”
Wednesday’s victory was the Bucks’ fourth straight and the eighth in their past nine games. They improved to a season-best 11 games over .500, a stark turnaround following their 2-8 start to the season.
Antetokounmpo said he was proud of the habits his team was starting to build, especially since the All-Star break. Damian Lillard scored 34 points, the 15th time both he and Antetokounmpo have scored at least 30 points in a game since becoming teammates, the third most by a duo in their first two seasons in NBA history, according to ESPN Research.
When Antetokounmpo got back to the bench after reaching the milestone, which Lillard achieved last December, Lillard had a simple message: Welcome to the club.
“It is a select group of guys that for a decade-plus have just been putting it together every year getting better, performing against the scouting report, just showing up night in and night out and doing it over a long, long period of time,” Lillard said after the game. “We all know the names. Obviously, to get to 20,000 points is not just being a guy that has opportunity. You got to keep getting better. You got to go against the best defenders, you got to go against the scouting reports, you got to take care of yourself and be available.”
Antetokounmpo is also the seventh player born outside the U.S. to score 20,000 points, according to ESPN Research. He said he thought about all he sacrificed in order to get to this point, including his humble beginnings in Greece before he turned himself into an NBA superstar.
“I hope a lot of people see me, and I represent the people that might not have it all,” Antetokounmpo said. “Might not be the most talented people, but they are disciplined. They show up every single night to do the right thing, no matter the outcome. They keep on coming back and keep on being disciplined in their craft. So I hope I can represent all those people.”
Antetokounmpo said the milestone meant a lot to him, and he also appreciated how difficult it was for the people ahead of him on the list.
“It is a lot. It’s a lot of points,” he said. “I can’t imagine people that score 30,000 like KD. Or LeBron, score [50,000] points. You got to recognize, that’s greatness.”
But Antetokounmpo, who turned 30 in December, also made it known he is not done. When asked if he planned to reach 30,000, he responded, “One thousand percent.”
“I’ll get there,” he said. “I don’t know how I’ll do it, but I’m going to show up every single day and I’m going to do it. It’s not a goal of mine. I don’t think it counts in your legacy if you score 25,000 or 27 or 30,000. Winning counts more.
“I’m 30 years old. I have so much to give. I’m changing my game. I’m becoming more efficient, more effective. I have so much to learn, and I am just going to try to focus on that. So hopefully I can have another video without being interrupted.”
ESPN
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Hawks vs. Pacers odds, score prediction, start time: 2025 NBA picks, March 6 best bets from proven model
The Atlanta Hawks will host the Indiana Pacers in an Eastern Conference matchup on Thursday night. Atlanta is 28-34 on the season and sits ninth in the East standings, while Indiana is 35-25 overall and would be the No. 5 seed in the conference if the 2025 NBA Playoffs began today. The Pacers have won five in a row over the Hawks and have covered the spread in four of those five head-to-head meetings.
Tipoff from State Farm Arena in Atlanta is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. Indiana is favored by 3.5 points in the latest Hawks vs. Pacers odds, per SportsLine consensus, and the over/under is 248.5 points. Before making any Pacers vs. Hawks picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters Week 20 of the 2024-25 NBA season on a sizzling 147-107 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning nearly $4,000. It’s also an outstanding 18-10 (64%) on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Atlanta vs. Indiana and just locked in its picks and NBA predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for Pacers vs. Hawks:
Atlanta enters Thursday’s matchup coming off a 127-121 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. Trae Young had 28 points and 13 assists, while Caris LeVert added 21 points off the bench. But the Hawks didn’t have an answer for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who posted a triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Hawks have only covered the spread twice now in their last seven games, but the Pacers have struggled to turn a profit on the road of late. Indiana is 1-5 against the number over its last six road games, and superstar point guard Tyrese Haliburton (hip) is listed as questionable for Thursday, as is the team’s third-leading scorer, Bennedict Mathurin (wrist). See which team to pick here.
Meanwhile, the Pacers scored a decisive 115-102 win over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night. Haliburton had 28 points and 15 assists in the victory as Indiana shot 51.2% from the floor and 40.5% from the 3-point line. The Pacers have now covered the spread in five of their last seven games and are 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 head-to-head meetings with Atlanta.
Additionally, the Hawks are just 2-5 versus the spread over their last seven games and are 12-17 versus the line at home. The latter record is the fifth-worst in the NBA and the second-worst in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta’s defense, which ranks 27th in points allowed per game, could struggle versus a Pacers offense which is in the top 10 in both offensive rating and points per game. See which team to pick here.
The model has simulated Indiana vs. Atlanta 10,000 times and the results are in. It is leaning Under the total, projecting 237 combined points. It also says one side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time. You can only see the NBA picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Hawks vs. Pacers, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Pacers vs. Hawks spread you need to jump on, all from the model that is on a 147-107 roll on top-rated NBA picks, and find out.
Here are some of the sportsbooks to bet on NBA games today, along with the various NBA sportsbook promos they currently offer.
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SportsLine’s model just revealed its NBA picks and predictions for Thursday’s Indiana Pacers vs. Atlanta Hawks matchup
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Indiana Pacers vs. Atlanta Hawks photos in NBA action
