Backups led by Aaron Holiday help Indiana Pacers get over hump to knock off Atlanta Hawks

ATLANTA – The do-rag on Aaron Holiday's head is unmistakably purple. Against Trae Young, the only thing the Indiana Pacers' backup guard could see was red.

Two weeks ago, Young set his season-high with 49 points in what still was an overtime loss for the Atlanta Hawks. This time, he was contained as Holiday, along with starter Malcolm Brogdon, wouldn't allow such an outburst in a 110-100 victory at State Far Arena.

Holiday appears to have solidified his spot in what has grown into a crowded rotation for coach Nate McMillan, who has various options on his bench now that Indiana is healthy. Young shot 9-for-30, including 3-for-10 from 3. 

"I honestly don't know," Holiday said about his prospects for more time after logging 22 minutes off the bench. "I'll try to do whatever coach tells me to do by playing hard and working at it."

Insider:The All-Star case for Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon

Young only attempted two free throws, the Pacers (17-9) keenly aware of his propensity for jumping into defenders to draw whistles. 

T.J. McConnell had his moments. Brogdon was able to catch a breather and finish strong for Indiana by scoring seven of its last nine points to put it away. 

"Aaron is a pest out there," said Doug McDermott. "Him and T.J. McConnell, they get up under your skin. They pressure you. They can sustain it for a very long time."

Holiday was able to get over screens. When he didn't, his relentless pursuit helped him get contests. He knew Young liked to stop behind screens to get looks from 3s, too. 

The result might not mean much given the Hawks (6-20) haven't been good all season. 

It's about what this means for Holiday going forward, with Edmond Sumner lurking and McConnell momentarily dispossessing him in the rotation. 

Now he plays with McConnell as the off-ball option. Holiday played on the ball with Brogdon to close out the Hawks. 

"Aaron's versatility is something that's underrated and not talked about enough on this team," Brogdon said. "He's coming into his own."

Kemba Walker lit up the Pacers for 44 points earlier in the week as Brogdon had trouble keeping him in front. Holiday, who is five inches shorter at 6-0, took the assignment in the fourth quarter of that comeback to beat the Boston Celtics and helped hold him to five points. 

"I'm a big guard. I can provide the length and bother them with my size," Brogdon said. "He's a smaller guard. He can get into him. He can stay in front of them. He can really harass them."

The lineups haven't changed significantly for McMillan, but he showed again his willingness to stick with reserves for prolonged stretches and in crunch time if necessary.

He recently talked about adjusting roles for his players now that they're almost all healthy. 

“I’m slowly working on that. We haven’t had a lot of time. I talked to a couple guys," McMillan said. "That’ll be a process that we’ll, in the next couple days possibly weeks, talk about roles with everybody getting healthy."

When the offense fell into a fourth-quarter slump, losing most of what had been a 14-point lead in the third and dealing with foul trouble to T.J. Warren, Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis, McConnell, Holiday and McDermott created the separation needed.

All three reserves haven't done anything to hamper their chances going forward. McDermott played 29 minutes, including deep into the fourth, and McConnell logged 16 minutes.

JaKarr Sampson (back), who has missed 13 games in a row, appears close to being healthy enough to return to the active roster. He was key early when he had to make seven starts with Turner, Sabonis and Goga Bitadze missing time with injuries. 

"He is starting to do a little bit more on the floor. Playing a little 3-on-3," McMillan said. "He’s just  not quite there."

In his second season, Aaron Holiday may have officially arrived after multiple stops and starters. 

"I'm just slowly seeing the growth in him with the more playing time he gets," McMillan said.

Standouts: Brogdon (19 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds) led seven players in double figures for Indiana. McDermott (16 points), Holiday (13 points), Sabonis (12 points, 14 rebounds), Turner and Jeremy Lamb (11 points) all had their moments. Young (23 points) led Atlanta but was inefficient. DeAndre Hunter (21 points) and Jabari Parker (20 points) led the comeback from double digits but combined to go 0-for-6 in the fourth.

Xs and Os: The Hawks are unable to defend the middle pick-and-roll which led to layups for the guards or uncontested layups for the screen-setters. McConnell (eight points, five assists) shot 3-for-4 by halftime in just eight minutes. With Alex Len in the middle (too slow) or Young on the ball (too small), the Hawks were indecisive in what to take away and their weakside help was non-existent. Aaron Holiday scored six points in the fourth, taking advantage of Kevin Huerter trying to defend him in space. He simply went left and finished with his off-hand, not needing a screen to get a step and the Pacers not filling the strongside corner which eliminated a help defender.

Second to none: The second unit for McMillan continues to prosper. He rolls out Sabonis with a backcourt of McConnell and Aaron Holiday with McDermott at the 3 and Justin Holiday as the 4. They use fewer play calls, getting easy buckets by creating tempo and quickly exploiting mismatches. When the Pacers began the second quarter, Indiana led 29-22. When the next substitutions were made, the lead was stretched to 43-30. In the fourth quarter, it was a four-point play from McDermott that got Indiana the separation it needed to close out. McDermott, McConnell and Aaron Holiday combined to shoot 15-for-24, or 62.5%.

Not to 3: The Hawks have been a prolific 3-point shooting team since last season. In trailing 63-48 at halftime, they were 0-for-13 from deep. If the Pacers were better than 2-for-10, it might've been garbage time by the third quarter. They were lucky in that regard. The Hawks got back in it in the third quarter by making 5-of-9 3s, trimming the deficit to 86-83 entering the fourth on a 3 from Allen Crabbe (seven points).

Offense for defense: Down the stretch, McMillan went with one big as he used Turner to help defend with the score 106-100 in the final minute. His presence in the paint forced Huerter (five points) to hesitate on his dribble and get called for carrying. Sabonis quickly checked in for offense, helping Brogdon get to the rim for a layup and an eight-point lead. 

Locker room talk: "It was just a well-rounded game for us. We came out sluggish in the third but other than that we had good defensive quarters." -- Brogdon

"They're big in the middle pick-and-roll, especially Sabonis coming downhill. A big emphasis coming into this game was getting over screens, getting into guys, trying to be physical. We didn't do that in the first half. They lived in the paint." -- Huerter

"It was pindowns and curls with McDermott a couple times and obviously some blow-bys just off straight one-on-one defense and then in the pick-and-roll. ...The curls and the blow-bys were the bigger issue." -- Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce

Follow IndyStar Pacers Insider J. Michael on Twitter at @ThisIsJMichael.