For Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford, it was the classic case of taking what was given to him.
“They were giving me little shots,” Horford said. “I was missing some, but I was taking them. That’s what it’s all about. I just wanted to stay aggressive and with this team, you just never know who’s going to have a big night.”
Monday night, Horford led the way with 25 points in the Hawks’ 108-92 rout of the injury-plagued Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Jeff Teague, an Indianapolis native, chipped in with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
The Hawks sank 5-of-9 3-point attempts, including one by Horford, in the first quarter to pave the way for an inside attack.
“We’ve had some good first quarters and obviously, if we can make a couple of 3’s, that will open up the court and we can get to the basket,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It’s part of the way we play. We’re going to shoot them (3-pointers), but we also want to get to the paint and attack the rim.”
Horford said hitting shots early always helps, especially on the road.
“It gives us more confidence and makes us want to play harder on defense,” Horford said.
DeMarre Carroll spurred the hot start by scoring nine of his 12 points in the first quarter.
“When DeMarre is making shots, he gives our team a totally different element,” Teague said. “Once he got going, he opened up the lanes for everybody and Paul (Millsap) and Al were able to make plays in the paint.”
The Hawks, who sank 9-of-21 3-pointers, also held a 48-36 edge in points in the paint.
“One of the things we hang our hat on is we can shoot the ball,” said Kyle Korver, who sank three 3-pointers en route to 13 points. “Indiana is a tough team inside so for us, one of the things we want to do is to stretch them out a little. It’s easier said than done but we were able to do it (Monday).”
While the Hawks shot 51.9 percent, Horford said defense has been the key during their seven-game winning streak. Atlanta limited the Pacers to 44 percent shooting.
