ATLANTA (Ticker) -- With leading scorer Jason Terry suspended, the Atlanta Hawks got 20 points from Dion Glover and 19 from Stephen Jackson and held on for their first win of the season, a 90-80 triumph over the New Orleans Hornets.
Terry, averaging 22.7 points, was suspended by the league one game without pay after throwing an flagrant elbow during Saturday's 103-99 overtime setback to Indiana. But his teammates picked up the slack against the Hornets, taking the lead for good less than two minutes into the game on a 3-pointer by Glover.
"We needed a win," Glover said. "That was big. We've been motivated all year. The balance has been there, but we haven't been getting over the hump. We got over the hump and limited turnovers when they threw the pressure on us and took care of business."
Atlanta pushed its advantage to 24-13 with 2:57 to go in the first quarter on a tip shot by Theo Ratliff.
The Hawks took their largest lead at 63-45 with 6:28 left in the third on a jump shot by Ratliff but allowed the Hornets to get within a point in the fourth quarter.
New Orleans - the last unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference - never closed the gap and was denied the first 4-0 start in franchise history.
"A team 0-3 on their floor is always dangerous," Hornets guard David Wesley said. "A team without a star can be scary. They did what it took to win tonight. We didn't come out with the effort and desire that we've been playing with."
The Hornets scored the first 10 points of the fourth to get within 69-68 with 7:41 left. P.J. Brown's basket bought New Orleans to 71-70 with 6:18 to go, but Atlanta scored six straight points.
"It feels good to get the first win - to lead the game from beginning to end and withstand their pressure," Atlanta coach Terry Stotts said. "I'm very proud of the way we responded."
Shareef Abdur-Rahim contributed 18 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks, who won for the first time in four games. Jacque Vaughn started in Terry's place and had eight points, seven assists and just turnovers while playing the entire game.
"I give all the credit to Jacque Vaughn," Jackson said. "We played the whole game. He kept us in the game. He kept us in the offense. He kept us in control. He kept us from turning the ball over. That says a lot about our backup point guard. He could start with any other team."
Their victory came before a sparse crowd. The attendance was announced as an all-time low 5,683, but it appeared about only 3,000 arrived for the game. At halftime, those sitting in the higher levels of the arena were allowed to move down.
One person on hand was Steven Belkin, a member of the incoming ownership group that bought the Hawks, the NHL Atlanta Thrashers and Philips Arena.
Vaughn gave Belkin the game ball.
"I just said he deserved it," the point guard said. "The fact they're supporting us like they're fans. You have to appreciate that. The atmosphere, you want to play good for them."
"What that classy?" Belkin said. "They all came over and shook my hand. This is a great group of guys. Even though this was our first win. It shows the type of guys we have."
Robert Traylor led the Hornets with a career-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Wesley had 19 points and Baron Davis 13 for New Orleans, which has dropped its last three visits to Atlanta.
"We didn't come out tonight," Hornets coach Tim Floyd said. "We weren't aggressive defensively. They scored 32 first-quarter points - that and offensive boards were really the big difference. We fought hard coming back in, but didn't have the execution in the first half when we got to that stage of the game."
