Hawks outlast Pacers 120-109

It was their work in the first half that saved the day for the Hawks, who trailed by nine points early against the Pacers' relentless offensive attack. It was their combined work on the defensive end after halftime, along with some quality minutes on Pacers All-Star Danny Granger from Hawks' captain and All-Star Joe Johnson, which helped the Hawks open the season with a win.

"There's no doubt Josh and Al carried us in the first half and that's big" Johnson said after leading the Hawks' with 25 points. "I knew I had to step it up after halftime because I was pressing a little too much early. But when you have those guys going off like that on both ends of the floor we're a tougher team to deal with. I've always believed that."

Horford had a masterful opening night, finishing with 24 points, a game-high 16 rebounds and two blocks as all five Hawks starters scored in double figures. Smith was equally impressive, finishing his night with 18 points, eight assists, five steals, three rebounds and two blocks.

"It's all about trying to stay aggressive," Horford said. "And I think josh and I, this is our third year playing together, we just know each other out there on the court. He tries to make the game easy for me and I try to make the game easy for him."

They were at their very best in the fourth quarter, when the Hawks' defensive intensity finally picked up and held the Pacers to just 15 points on 33 percent shooting from the floor. Things got back to normal, with Johnson and Mike Bibby taking over the scoring load (they combined for 18 of the Hawks' 25 points) while Smith and Horford guarded the rim as if their lives depended on it.

"They really did a great job of protecting the paint," Hawks coach Woodson said. "[Smith] made some unbelievable blocks when guys had plays right at the rim and he came form nowhere and got the block and we were able to secure the ball and go the other way. We really need those two guys to be shot blockers as well as to protect our paint."

They also need them to stay as aggressive and active on the offensive end as they did throughout the first three quarters. The Pacers pushed the tempo as long as their resources would allow. They did score 65 points in the first half; the Hawks topped them by a point to hold on to the lead. And they led by a point in the fourth quarter (101-100). But they couldn’t sustain the offense assault into the final minutes.

"You're going to have nights like this, when the other team is shooting lights out and you're forced to play outside of your comfort zone a little bit," Smith said. "We wanted to clamp down on the defensive end and put the onus ourselves to get stops when it mattered and I think we did that. Joe got it going late and Al was playing well, so I wanted to be the guy that was on the defensive end making plays. And I was able to get a couple of steals and late block at the end that helped us finish them off. I know it wasn’t the sort of defensive masterpiece coach loves to see, but it turned out positive for us in the end."