--Coach Jim O'Brien had to use a lot of red ink when he circled each player's turnovers on the final stat sheet. The Pacers committed 25 turnovers as a team. They had seven players with at least two turnovers. Atlanta took advantage of the Pacers' carelessness by scoring 32 points off those turnovers. "We didn't expect 25 turnovers, which was the key to the game," O'Brien said. "We think we can score against most people, but you have to take care of the ball." --The Pacers say they're going to be a better defensive team this season. It's going to be another long season if the first game was any indication. The Pacers shot 63 percent from the field at the half, but still trailed by a point because they allowed Atlanta to shoot 57 percent. Indiana ended the game by giving up 120 points and 53 percent shooting.
"It's going to be same as last year unless we decide we want to play defense," Pacers forward Troy Murphy said. "We have to really take care of that."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We just turned the ball over repeatedly. We gave them the ball more times than we had it. That pretty much equals a recipe for a loss." -- F Danny Granger, on his team's 25 turnovers.
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