The Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic on Thursday night in one of the few final games before NBA All-Star weekend tips off tonight which was good news for the Indiana Pacers.

The Magic loss moves the Pacers into third place in the Eastern Conference standings by a few percentage points over Orlando. At this point, the Pacers standing is more ceremonial than anything with plenty left to be decided, but considering the jump this team has made compared to last season, it will be nice to see them hold that spot through the break.

The way things are shaking out, the Pacers will have to beat out Orlando and/or Atlanta for the final home-court spot in the playoffs, whether that be the three or four seed since the Atlantic Division winner, which should be Philadelphia, automatically has home-court advantage regardless of their record.

So while we all exhale and enjoy the NBA All-Star festivities this weekend, which will not only include discussion of the Pacers but actual players in Paul George and Roy Hibbert, feel free to refresh that standing page on your browser a few times and admire the Pacers sitting in that third spot.

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• NBA All-Star Game 2012 schedule of events - OrlandoSentinel.com
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