What they said after Game 1 of the Hawks-Celtics first-round playoff series Saturday:
"I think both teams really made it hard on each other, maybe a tale of two different halves. What they were able to do in the second half, luckily we had a little bit of a cushion and made enough plays down the stretch. It's a competitive game, lot of stops, 50-50 balls, all the deflections. We just made plays down the stretch. We have to be better, especially in the third quarter, in all areas, especially our defense. We can't let up." – Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer's opening statement
"Some of it, we'll have to go back and watch the film and see if there is something they did differently. Probably, more than anything, they were more aggressive, upped their activity. There were a few turnovers that stood out to me in the third quarter that maybe if we take those away, get a shot and then when you get a good look, when there is a flow, a change in possession, we can make a few of those 5 of 20 (from the field)." – Budenholzer on Hawks' poor third quarter
"They've played together for a long time. They've got a good feel for each other's games. I though Jeff played at a really high level all night. He really put pressure on them and open things up for the rest of them. Al, the pick-and-pop, and he had that huge offensive rebound after the miss. Al's been steady for us. He's been steady for the Hawks his whole career. He was big tonight." – Kyle Korver on Jeff Teague and Al Horford
"We are glad that we won. I think we'll take a lot of positives from the first half. But we know it's going to be a long series. We won Game 1 at home. We didn't play well in the second half. We know we are going to have to play better to win. But at the same time playoff wins are huge and you'll take any of them." – Korver on win
"That is just me and him playing together for a while. That 1-5 pick-and-roll, we were really good at. Throughout the whole game I tried to get things going and feed the big guy." – Jeff Teague on the play of he and Horford
"I don't think it was anything they did. We lost our flow. We didn't play basketball in the first half. Our transition defense wasn't that great. They got some good looks. They got some layups. Just like that, they are back in the game." – Paul Millsap on difference in second half
"They are not going to stop. Resilency is a word I've always preached. It's a word that Coach Bud says a lot of times. Teams are going to make runs. That's the NBA. Being down 30 in this league is like being down eight or 10 to certain teams. A couple of 3-pointers, some fast-break layups and you are back in a dogfight. So, you just have to stay with it. You have to understand that very good teams are going to make runs. We've seen them do it before." – Kent Bazemore on Celtics' comeback
"I just think the way that the game was going, that they did a good job of taking some of our other options away. Jeff had good rhythm. We are just trying to win so we are making plays. I feel like we have a lot of depth and you never know who is going to step up in those moments." – Al Horford on the play of he and Teague
"Honestly, nobody really said anything. We just went out there and got stops when we needed to. At least I don't recall anybody saying anything. You don't panic. You stick with it. You keep playing the game. They hits some tough, tough 3's. We just kept playing and once we got the lead at the end we were able to hold on to it." – Horford on Hawks' huddle after they lost a 19-point lead
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