Quenton Jackson Calls Pacers' Six-Man Effort 'Inspirational' After Hawks Loss

Quenton Jackson stole a Nickeil Alexander-Walker pass and dunked with 1:23 left Monday night, pulling the Indiana Pacers within 106-104 of the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta won 108-104 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Jackson started, played 34:30, and totaled 20 points and 7 rebounds. He added 3 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 7-of-16, went 1-of-7 from 3-point range, and made all 5 of his free throws.

Ten of his points came in the fourth quarter. He also had 2 steals and 2 blocks in that period.

Indiana had six available players and lost for the fifth straight time. The energy, effort, fight, and grit were perfect to Jackson, even though the Pacers fell short by a little bit.

"I don't know. I'm going to try and stay away from the past games and just kind of focus on where we're at right now," Jackson said. "I think what we did tonight was inspirational. I think all the guys who were active came out and they did their thing."

"Obviously, you don't feed a dog for a while. You put food in front of them, they're going to be hungry," Jackson continued. "So I think we came out with the right energy, the right spirit, and gave the right effort."

Atlanta led 92-84 when Jackson drove for a layup with 8:07 left and was fouled by Alexander-Walker. He made the free throw.

Thirty-one seconds later, he finished a fast-break layup off a Braden Smith pass and drew a foul on Luguentz Dort. That second three-point play cut the deficit to 93-90.

Jackson made two more free throws with 2:53 left. He took the ball from Dyson Daniels at 2:29 and from Alexander-Walker at 1:26, and the second steal led to the dunk.

At 1:07, he blocked Alexander-Walker's 26-foot 3-point attempt. His own 3-pointer from 26 feet missed with 43 seconds left, and Onyeka Okongwu scored for Atlanta with 10.2 seconds to go.

Jackson also committed 5 turnovers, including a bad pass that Aaron Wiggins stole with 7:46 left.

Jackson has scored 56 points across Indiana's last three games. He had 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting off the bench in Miami on Oct. 30, then 12 against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.

Basketball-Reference lists 24 as his career high. He first reached it in November 2024 against the Houston Rockets in his first career start, going 10-of-12, and matched it against the Utah Jazz in February.

The Pacers converted Jackson from a two-way deal to a standard contract that same month.

Smith was a great point guard in college to Jackson, and nothing about his game has changed except the people he is playing against.

"I wasn't surprised at all. Braden's obviously a point guard," Jackson explained. "He's made it this far for a reason. So I just try to instill confidence in him. Six guys, so I tell him, don't be too hard on yourself. Mistakes are going to happen, so move on."

"But I think he did a good job out there handling the pressure and all the things that come with being a starting point guard," Jackson added.

Smith, a rookie on a two-way contract, had 19 points and 10 assists in 42:13. It was his first career start.

Jarace Walker played 44:41, the most of any Pacer, and Smith was next. Jackson's 34:30 was the lowest total among the six.

The big thing with six players, Jackson said, was not fouling out. No Pacer finished with more than three fouls. Keeping each other encouraged was the answer for Jackson once fatigue set in.

"Obviously, yeah, super tiring. But I think in the moment, you kind of just got to stay locked in, keeping the main thing the main thing," Jackson said. "The first thing that goes is your mind when you get fatigued. So just trying to keep each other encouraged."

Indiana is 2-6. The Pacers travel to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, with tip-off set for 8 p.m. ET.