Oct. 28, 2009 at Atlanta
Hawks 120, Pacers 109
Your browser does not support iframes.
PACERS COACH JIM O'BRIEN
“It was an interesting game, especially in the first half. Our shots were definitely falling, and that gave us confidence. Danny (Granger) played big for us, which is what we expect from him. I think what really helped (the Hawks) tonight was all of the turnovers.You can’t do that against good teams like Atlanta.”
“I expected the pace to be fast. This is the kind of pace that I like to play at what we planned for. I think we did a great job getting up and down the court, but we didn’t expect to have 25 turnovers, which was the key to the game. Besides the turnovers, tonight’s pace was definitely the pace we plan to play at.”
PACERS FORWARD DANNY GRANGER
“I don’t really know how many turnovers we had tonight, but I know that’s the reason that we lost this game. When you turn the ball over that many times in this league, you’re not going to win. It definitely led to more possessions for the Hawks tonight."
"We were already having trouble stopping them, and this made the game that much harder. When the other team has the ball many more times than you, that’s pretty much the recipe for a loss.”
PACERS CENTER SOLOMON JONES
"It’s good to be home, but it didn’t feel good tonight. We stepped on the court intending to win, so it’s not going to feel good going back to my new home tonight. Having played here, I knew that the crowd was going to get behind the Hawks, and that’s when it’s really hard to play here."
"We expected this to be a tough game. They’ve become one of the better teams in the East, so you have to be prepared when you play them. Because we had too many turnovers tonight, we didn’t put ourselves in a good position to win.”
HAWKS COACH MIKE WOODSON
(On Horford): “He had a monster game. He scored the ball, he rebounded the ball, he protected the paint when guys got beat off the dribble down there. He was huge tonight.”
“They’re a tough team from an offensive standpoint. They keep you on your heels by pushing the ball constantly and if you’re not back and matching up with their three-point shooters, they’re capable of making shots like they did tonight. But I thought that fourth quarter, when we really had to nail it down defensively, guys stepped up and made the plays they had to make defensively.”
(On playing 10 guys in the third quarter): “We’re all trying to get used to one another. They’re especially trying to get used to me and what I’m expecting when they’re out on the floor. Overall, I thought it was a great effort on everybody’s part, and we were able to secure the win, and that’s what’s important.”
HAWKS GUARD JOE JOHNSON
“For it to be the first game, you have so many jitters and you’re so anxious to get out there and play, I really just wanted to get into the flow of the game early. But it doesn’t always work that way, so I just tried to pick my spots. Al and Josh played great tonight. I thought they were the two guys that got us over the hump.”
(On the offensive output): “I know guys like Josh and Al worked on their games over the summer, and you can tell. I know it’s just the first game, but you can tell they’ve been working. I’m glad they came back with the mindset that they have and that’s what it’s going to take to get us over the top.”
HAWKS CENTER AL HORFORD
(On opening night) “We were really excited, excited to get the season going. We wanted to come and play aggressive.”
“Mike (Bibby) was doing a good job of getting the ball in the right spots and I was just shooting with confidence. That’s something that I’ve worked on all offseason with Mark Price and it’s paying off right now.”