What they said after the Hawks’ 103-95 win over the 76ers Monday night:
“Defensively, the second half we were significantly better. But I really think it started in the second quarter. We held them to 22 (points). In the first quarter, I think you give them a lot of credit too. They were hitting shots. Thaddeus Young was hot. Henry Sims made a couple jumpers. They were making everything they were looking at. I don’t think our defensive was very good and their offense was excellent. In the second quarter I think it started to change a little bit. Our defense got better. Carrying into the second half our pressure and our physicality served us well. We started making a few shots. At halftime we were shooting 32 percent. Kyle (Korver) really responded in the second half and scored some baskets. DeMarre (Carroll) got going a little bit. Then, obviously, Lou Williams off the bench was a huge boost for us tonight. Sometimes you have to make some shots and make some plays. When you play defense and you do that, the ball moved and people got open shots. There were times when there were five, six, seven, eight passes. A lot of good things in the second half. Hopefully we can build off that.”
- Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer’s opening statement
“He deserved to be on the court. He played well. It was great for our whole group for Lou to have a night like that. With the circumstances with DeMarre and Kyle coming off injury and being sick, Lou really stepped up and picked up some of that slack and gave us what we needed down the stretch.”
- Budenholzer on Lou Williams
“Lou has been a great professional. He has worked. He stayed after practice and before practice he’s being doing extra work. I think it’s hard for people to understand when you say what it means to be a pro. That is an example. He wasn’t getting to play. A pro comes in early and stays late, does extra work in the weight room. It’s a credit to him when we called on him. Everybody knows how good a player Lou is. I don’t think there was ever a doubt about that.”
- Budenholzer on Williams getting back in rotation
“He was pretty good in the first half. I thought he was significantly better in the second half. We really kind of went through him. Then he really went and got boards and got to the free-throw line. I think he was even more decisive and more aggressive in the second half. That was a big part of us being able to turn the score.”
- Budenholzer on Paul Millsap
“We needed that one. That was a big one, especially to help our confidence. We started slow. I kind of figured we were going to start off slow because we just got Kyle (Korver) back in the rotation. Our rhythm was off a little bit. You have to give credit to Paul Millsap and Lou (Williams) they kept us in the game the whole time. Everybody contributed in their own way.”
- DeMarre Carroll on victory
“Me personally, I just felt the first half I wasn’t giving nothing. I was out of sync. My stomach was still hurting. But I was like I’ve got to suck it up. It’s do or die time if we are trying to make the playoffs. I just had to let my defense lead to offense because the 3-ball wasn’t falling. Everyone played great. It was a collective team effort. I’m happy we got a win.”
- Carroll on slow start
“That’s what we’ve been expecting from Lou the whole season. I think he is getting his confidence. You have to give credit to coach because he did a good job of not playing Lou and making him realize you can’t take an opportunity for granted. Now, he is playing some of his better basketball. You have to give coach credit for being able to challenge his players like he did.”
- Carroll on Lou Williams
“I felt good. I wasn’t able to practice. I think my rhythm was off but that is going to happen when you miss some games. This is the time of year you want to be out here playing. We’re playing for the playoffs.”
- Kyle Korver on return after missing six games
“I look at them every day. I looked at the box scores before you walked in (the locker room post game). I know who (the Knicks) play next. I know everything. I don’t know if were supposed to say we are focused on our team but I look. I’ve been laying on my back for the last week. I look at everything.”
- Korver on whether he is watching the standings
“I thought we came out, we didn’t have the energy we needed. There was a bit of a moment, if we lose this game that is a tough one going forward with nine (games) left. We needed to win tonight and I think guys responded in the second quarter. I think the bench came in and provided a spark. Paul (Millsap) played great. We needed to come out here and take care of business. It wasn’t the prettiest win but hopefully we got some things back on track as far as timing, energy, rhythm, confidence. You lose a bunch of games in a row, confidence is something. You need it to play well in the NBA. You need it.”
- Korver on difference in second half
“We didn’t play well in the first quarter. We all just looked at each other. There was no big speech. We just looked at each other and we knew. We all knew. We all know what is on the line right now. I thought as a team we didn’t play great going forward but we played harder. We played with more purpose. That covered up some of our mistakes and bad shooting that we had tonight.”
- Korver on realizing what was at stake
“We couldn’t (find a rhythm). Easy shots, open shots, we missed them all. We decided to attack the basket and get to the rim and the foul line and that opened things up a little bit.”
- Paul Millsap on difference in game
“We all feel like every game here and out is a must win. We need these games. It’s as simple as that.”
- Millsap on importance of win
“Just more intensity. The intensity level wasn’t there. Even though shots weren’t falling, we didn’t get stops. The intensity, it started in the second quarter.”
- Millsap on difference in second half
“I think we did a better job of being aggressive and taking advantage of our opportunities. They are a team that likes to play aggressive on the defensive end. We just took advantage of spacing everyone out and moving the ball.”
- Lou Williams on difference in game
“One game at a time. We try to win them all. It just felt good to get this win. We’ll enjoy this one tonight and start getting ready for the next one in the morning.”
- Williams on importance of win
“That was the first time I dealt with that in my career. It was only for a matter of 10 to 14 days. We just had a conversation. We weren’t in a very great rhythm at that point in the season. We wanted to try something new. I took it in stride. He told me to stay ready and that is what I did.”
- Williams on return to rotation
“My impact on the game is to score. That is what has gotten me this far. I’ve always had confidence in my shot-making ability. … I was just open (on game-clinching 3-pointers). I think I was 0-for-4 before that from the 3-point line. You just continue to shoot. Again, that is what I bring to the table. If I stop shooting I have no impact on the court.”
- Williams on his offensive contribution
“It;s 92-92 adn we come out of a timeout and do a poor job of executing. Then they go down and score and from that point forward we were playing catch up. I think (we’re) just trying to take a young team and say ‘Here it is. It’s tied at 92 and you’re playing against a team that’s scratching and clawing adn trying to get into the playoffs. This is real basketball.’ It’s a fantastic opportunity to bring a game home. How do we execute? How do we care for the ball? How do we react to their overplays? Those situations are great for a young team.”
- 76ers coach Brett Brown
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