Hawks 103 Rockets 100

Boxscore

Gameflow

Reduced to following the game online under the heavy influence of cold medicine rather than spending an early Saturday night downtown, I regret missing out on a game I assume I would have found alternately delightful (Josh Smith attacking the basket almost exclusively and the return of Acie Law IV) and maddening (the inability to guard a Houston team missing Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest, Shane Battier, and, for much of the fourth quarter, Yao Ming and Woodson's overreaction to the slight possibility of future foul trouble).

So this Sunday morning, rather than speculate as to why Zaza Pachulia would get the Horford treatment in the first half so that Solomon Jones could come in and get a sole, lonely rebound while committing four fouls in four minutes or why Horford would sit for eight minutes of the third quarter after picking up his fourth foul if he's not going to play the final 4:41 even if he doesn't foul out (deep breath) I'll just move straight along to the eyewitness accounts and the words of those directly involved in the proceedings.

Josh Smith, still not in need of instruction in how to think positively about oneself:

"I wanted to try to crash the boards. I only had two rebounds, but they were the two biggest rebounds in the game."

I shouldn't tease on a night when, otherwise, he plays so well but how can Josh Smith play almost 36 straight minutes without even accidentally grabbing a rebound?

Mike Bibby:

"...a win’s a win, no matter how it comes. The idea is to win the game."

Al Horford:

"It’s only fair that we were on the other end this time. I think it showed a lot from our team, after losing such a tough game [Friday night] and being able to bounce back here and get a home win.”

Marvin Williams, on the subject of his shoulder:

"I hurt it in practice, the last full practice we had [before the New Year]. I wore a sleeve on it in the first half in [New] Jersey [Friday night] and then when I got up this morning I could barely lift my arm up, so I don’t know what the deal is.”

• Sekou Smith teases us with the promise of "more on" the reappearance of Acie Law (And, I presume, Solomon Jones, too, though the belief that he's ever going to become a useful player baffles me. Carl Landry's more my idea of a how to make good use of a pick early in the second round.) to be revealed during the upcoming off days.
  
• Houston had a foul to give on Atlanta's final possession, a fact Rick Adelman says he failed to communicate clearly enough.
  
• At The Human Highlight Blog, Jason asks if McGrady and Artest would have put up better numbers than (the aforementioned) Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks.