What they said after the Hawks’ 109-101 win over the Cavaliers Tuesday night:
Mike Budenholzer
Opening statement: "I think nights like tonight can be really hard for a lot of different reasons. So our group finding a way to win the game is something that is important. It wasn't our best or our prettiest game. They played well. I thought Kyrie Irving was really, really hard to guard and put them on his back and other guys around him were making shots. Give Cleveland a lot of credit for the way they played, the way the fought. Our guys found a way to make enough plays to win."
On reasons nights like this are hard: "It's a long list. Just when different guys aren't playing. Guys on our team aren't playing. Guys for them aren't playing. Human nature, sometimes as much as we want to fight it, it can be hard. We don't want to lower our expectations or not continue to build our habits but it wasn't a pretty game."
On defense of putting bigger players on Irving: "Yeah, we'll have to maybe rethink that. Again, a lot of credit to Kyrie Irving for how he played. I think our defense and our effort, whether it was big guys, little guys, pick-and-rolls, pin downs, he found a way to get the ball in the basket tonight. I think it was as much or more about an outstanding player playing really, really well. Some nights it's like that."
On Paul Millsap: "I thought Paul made a lot of plays down the stretch, getting to the basket and being decisive. Between he and Jeff (Teague) they both made plays that allowed us to make it home."
On missing Al Horford: "I guess just during warmups, he just started not feeling well. Literally two or three minutes before the horn and the national anthem … we had to start Pero (Antic). We are fortunate to have bigs, Pero, Elton (Brand), Mike Scott all those guys helped us. We miss Al. He is a big part of us. It's kind of a last-second, unforeseen without warning. Hopefully, he'll be fine."
Kyle Korver
On current roll: "I think we've just been really consistent with our approach to the game. That is really encouraging. It's a long season and there are going to be ups and downs but if you can continue to bring the energy and be focused every night you can do a lot of things in the NBA. It takes good players and good coaching too, obviously. Our approach has been good. We keep on getting better on who we are trying to be as far as the system and as a team."
On team reaction with players are missing, on both sides: "This is what happens. A lot of games are won and lost in the first quarter when you come out and you take a team lightly or you have an extra edge coming into the game. First quarters are really important and how you approach the game. They had LeBron (James) out and Kevin Love goes out. It's easy to be like 'It's going to be an easier game.' But if you come out and have a bad first quarter, now you are in a hole. It's the same thing with Al (Horford) out. We knew we had to pick it up a little bit. First quarter was even. How you approach the game is really important."
Jeff Teague
On current roll: "We are just playing together. We believe every game we can win. That is all that matters, we come out and play hard as a team and play defense we are a really good team."
Paul Millsap
On being aggressive: "I was just picking my spots. I had a rough start and had to settle myself down a little bit. I was able to get some layups and that got me going a little bit."
On his scoring late: "Just being aggressive."
On current roll: "It's pretty good but we can't be lax. Days can turn around at any time. It's up to us to stick to being us and keep this thing going."
On not looking ahead: "It's a big accomplishment. It's a stepping stone for us. We've got to use marks to get to where we are getting. It's another stepping stone for us. We'll use it to continue to get better."
Thabo Sefolosha
On current run: "It's great. The team we are playing at a very high level and we still have room to grow. That is a positive. It's always more fun when you're winning."
On steal and layup to end first half: "That was I think the play of the game. No. No. It is just playing defense, playing tough and coming up with a steal. I saw the lane and went all the way."
Mike Scott
On current roll: "We are just trying to not get too high or too low. We are just trying to keep winning by playing team basketball. Just play hard."
On confidence level: "We don't want to get too confident. We got blown out by Milwaukee. I'm not saying we took them lightly but it's the NBA and any team on any given day can beat you. We just think about us and play team basketball."
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