Hawks Beat Pacers 108-104 as Alexander-Walker Scores 34 Against Six-Man Indiana

The Atlanta Hawks beat the Indiana Pacers 108-104 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Monday, November 2, 2026. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led Atlanta with 34 points. Indiana used only six players in the game, and the Pacers still pushed the finish to the final seconds before Atlanta closed it out.

Six players for Indiana

Eleven Pacers players were out. The list was Tyrese Haliburton with a hamstring injury, Pascal Siakam for rest, Johnny Furphy with a knee injury, T.J. McConnell with a hamstring injury, Larry Nance Jr. with illness, Andrew Nembhard with a cervical injury, Aaron Nesmith with a hamstring injury, Ben Sheppard with a knee injury, Obi Toppin with a lumbar sprain and Ivica Zubac with an ankle injury. Kelly Oubre Jr. was a late scratch with a bruised knee about 90 minutes before tipoff.

The Associated Press reported that the eleven players out represented about 93 percent of the team payroll. Indiana had about 193 million dollars in salary sitting out and about 15 million dollars in salary playing. Monday was the first time since 2004 that the Pacers used so few players in a game.

Before the game, Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle called the situation "kind of a perfect storm of things happening at once."

The only available Pacer making more than 3 million dollars this season was Jarace Walker. The other available players were Jay Huff and Quenton Jackson on standard contracts and three two-way players: Braden Smith, Jalen Slawson and Kobe Brown.

Alexander-Walker carries Atlanta

Alexander-Walker scored his 34 points on 12 of 25 shooting, including 9 of 15 from three-point range. He added 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Onyeka Okongwu had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta.

Atlanta also played short-handed. Jalen Johnson, Jock Landale, Mouhamed Gueye and Henri Veesaar were all unavailable for the Hawks. The difference was depth at the finish. Atlanta had fresh options late in a close game. Indiana had no bench left to turn to after a full night with six players.

The finish in Indianapolis

Indiana had the ball down two points in the final minute. Smith had exited on the previous possession with an apparent cramp, and Jackson missed a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. Indiana then forced a miss at the other end but failed to secure the rebound. Okongwu scored with eight seconds left, and that basket sealed the result at 108-104.

Jay Huff led Indiana with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Braden Smith, making the first start of his NBA career, had 19 points and 10 assists. Quenton Jackson scored 20 points.

Indiana fell to 2-6 with the loss. The Pacers next play Wednesday at Memphis. The whole league is off Tuesday for Election Day.