Pacers' Teague returns to Atlanta for first time Sunday
ATLANTA -- Former Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague will return to Philips Arena for the first time as a member of the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Teague will get a second taste of his old team on Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Pacers make their first visit of the season to Atlanta.
Teague played seven seasons for the Hawks before being traded to the Pacers before the 2016 NBA draft.
Atlanta determined that Teague was expendable after seeing the development of Dennis Schroder and included Teague in a three-team deal that sent George Hill to Utah.
Teague has been good for the Pacers. The Indianapolis native is averaging 15.3 points, 8.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds in 60 games. He set a career high with 17 assists against Chicago in December and scored 25 last week against Houston.
He had 11 points (5-for-15 shooting, 0-for-3 on 3-pointers), six rebounds, eight assists and two steals in the 96-85 loss to Atlanta on Nov. 23 in Indianapolis.
Teague is the second ex-Hawk to visit in consecutive games. Forward Kyle Korver returned as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday and hit the late 3-point shot that enabled his new team to slam the door on a frenetic Atlanta comeback.
Atlanta and Indiana are coming off close losses to a couple of the league's premier teams. Atlanta (34-27) lost 135-130 to Cleveland on Friday, and Indianapolis (31-30) lost 100-99 to San Antonio on Wednesday.
Atlanta trailed by 25 points in the second half against the Cavaliers but came back to cut the margin to a point late in the game.
"This can be a lesson for us moving forward," Atlanta forward Ersan Ilyasova said. "We have to be smarter and more aggressive from the beginning of the game."
The Hawks will be without coach Mike Budenholzer, who was suspended without pay by the NBA for Sunday's game after bumping a referee during Friday's loss.
Atlanta is fifth in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks trail Toronto by 2½ games for the fourth playoff spot. Indiana is tied for sixth place, three games behind Atlanta and 5½ games out of fourth place.
"We're playing really good basketball right now," Indiana forward Paul George said. "We have to be mindful that we haven't picked up the wins we've wanted to, but we're playing really good basketball.
"Our guys are inspired again and we're feeling good down the stretch."
Indiana hopes to have forward Thaddeus Young back at full strength. Young has struggled over the last four games due to complications with his sprained wrist, but he has had three days off to recover.
"It just depends game-to-game," Young said. "The last game aggravated it. Trying to get it back together and hopefully I'll be ready to play."
Atlanta probably will have a new backup point guard for the game. The Hawks were expected to sign veteran Jose Calderon to a free-agent deal. Calderon had obtained a buyout from the Lakers and planned to go to Golden State.
That changed when Kevin Durant sustained a knee injury and the Warriors instead signed forward Matt Barnes. The Warriors signed Calderon, but released him two hours later so he would remain eligible for the playoffs with his new team.
Atlanta plays again on Monday against Golden State, the fourth game of its six-game homestand. Indianapolis is at Charlotte on Monday, the final stop on its five-game trip.