Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) – Jeff Teague scored 25 points and dished out
six assists in Atlanta’s 102-92 triumph over the Indiana Pacers.
Al Horford tallied 20 points for the Hawks, who have won eight of their last
nine home openers. Paul Millsap had 13 points and DeMarre Carroll ended with
11 points and nine boards for Atlanta, which lost to Indiana in the first
round of last season’s playoffs.
Chris Copeland led six Indiana players in double figures with 21 points. Roy
Hibbert chipped in 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Donald Sloan had 14 points
and seven assists. Indiana, which has lost two straight since a season-opening
victory against Philadelphia, received 12 points and 10 rebounds from Luis
Scola.
Teague scored 11 points in the opening period for the Hawks, who never
trailed. His 3-pointer widened the gap to 22-11 with 3:16 left, and the margin
was 27-18 after 12 minutes.
Atlanta extended the gap to 40-23 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the half, but the
hosts were in front only 51-44 at the break. The seven-point margin (70-63)
stayed going into the fourth after Copeland buried a 3-pointer in the dying
seconds.
Horford converted an alley-oop off a pass from Shelvin Mack for a 78-65 lead
with 9:44 left.
Indiana had one final push, though, as Copeland’s 3-ball had it at 93-89 with
1:42 left. Teague drained a jumper on the ensuing possession, and he made two
from the charity stripe with 28.6 seconds left, just after Sloan made three at
the foul line.
Game Notes
Indiana’s Rodney Stuckey left the game with a sore left foot … The Hawks are
27-20 all-time in home openers since moving to Atlanta prior to the 1968-69
season … Atlanta shot 50.7 percent from the field to just 38.3 for Indiana
… Indiana has lost at Atlanta in 13 of its last 14 regular season matchups.
