Pacers guard Darren Collison returned for his first game in more than a month Friday night and helped Indiana rout the visiting Atlanta Hawks 112-87.
Collison missed 11 games after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in early February.
He came off the bench Friday and scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 21 minutes. He also had five assists, two rebounds and a steal.
"If you hope for something, you hope for what he did tonight," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said of Collison. "He didn't miss a beat coming back. It was good to have him on the floor."
Collison won't regain his starting spot until he's considered full strength. He hit his first four shots, including a 3-pointer just before the first-quarter buzzer.
He was having the best all-around season of his nine-year career before the injury, averaging 12.8 points and 5.3 assists while shooting 49.5 percent. The Pacers were 7-4 without him.
Cory Joseph, starting at point guard while Collison works his way back to full strength, had 18 points to help the Pacers bounce back from a lackluster 20-point home loss to Utah.