Indianapolis, IN (My Sportsbook) - Mike Dunleavy had 28 points and grabbed six rebounds, as the Indiana Pacers staved off elimination from the postseason race with a 112-98 win over the Atlanta Hawks at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Flip Murray finished with 20 points and 10 assists, while Danny Granger scored 16 for the Pacers, who trail the Hawks by two games for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with four games to play for each team. Marquis Daniels chipped in 15 points off the bench.

"We needed a win and we got one," Indiana coach Jim O'Brien said. "I think our guys are really focused right now. We have to continue to win. We've got a tough game in Philly Friday night."

Joe Johnson had 30 points to pace the Hawks, who have dropped two of their last three games. Josh Smith ended with 25 points and 13 boards, while Josh Childress added 16 and 12 rebounds in a reserve role.

"Unfortunately, we have to play four quarters but we only played one quarter tonight," Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. "We've got to bounce back and put this behind us. It was a tough loss tonight. We didn't have any defensive coverage."

Trailing by as many as 29 in the third, Atlanta rallied in the final stanza, trimming the deficit to 95-85 on a Smith hook shot with 7:06 remaining. Dunleavy knocked down a trey to restore a 17-point cushion, 106-89, with a little over three minutes left on the clock and Indiana was able to coast to the finish.

An Al Horford slam gave the Hawks a 20-14 advantage, but Indiana responded with a 17-3 run, capped by Murray's jump shot with 2:06 remaining in the first. The Pacers held a 38-27 lead after the opening 12 minutes and stretched it to 50-34 on Dunleavy's jumper with four minutes gone in the second. A Childress driving layup narrowed the margin to 54-45, but the Pacers carried a comfortable 67-52 lead into halftime.

Indiana scored six straight points to begin the third frame and led 87-58 after Murray converted 1-of-2 from the charity stripe with 3:51 left to play. The Hawks headed to the fourth quarter down 93-72.

Game Notes

The Hawks wrap up a three-game road trip Friday in New York...Indiana travels to Philadelphia on Friday to take on the Sixers...Jeff Foster and Jermaine O'Neal scored 10 points apiece for Indiana, which also got seven points and nine boards from Troy Murphy. O'Neal also registered four blocks...Atlanta outrebounded the Pacers, 51-44, including a 20-8 edge on the offensive glass...Indiana shot 51.2 percent from the field, while limiting the Hawks to 37.2 percent...Indiana won the season series, 2-1...The Pacers have won four straight at home...New Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball coach Tom Crean was in attendance...Indiana's Shawne Williams suffered a left ankle injury in the fourth quarter and did not return.