What they said after the Hawks’ 109-94 loss to the Cavaliers Monday:
"Credit to Cleveland. Obviously a big night from (Kyrie) Irving and (LeBron) James. Some positives to take from it. I think limiting the rest of the group and the ball movement. I think the pace we played at in the first quarter and the pace we played at at times was good. So, we've just got to do a little bit better individual defense, move, play with pace, get better looks, get better opportunities. Credit to Cleveland tonight." – Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer's opening statement
"I don't think the individual defense – it was a heck of a performance by those two guys. Can we be a little bit better? Probably. I think the fact that we kept them in front of us was indicative that they had to shoot it. Lots of times when they are driving it, they are creating help, they are creating assists. It wasn't poor individual defense. Can it be better? Sure. Those two guys have big nights. There are some positives to be taken from that." – Budenholzer on defense defending Irving and James
"Usually to go on a run, you have to be good at both ends. There are times when you've got to back a couple buckets. You've got to answer their plays. During those runs they are getting it done on both ends." – Budenholzer on Cavaliers' several runs
"I think the bench has got to be better. We've got to find a way to get more from them. That's important to find some kind of rhythm with that group. I can do a better job with that." – Budenholzer on play of bench
"Kyrie got hot shooting and LeBron got by us a couple times. They had great games." – Al Horford on difference in game
"They can hurt you in many different ways. For us, we have to try to keep the pace that we started the game in. It's hard but it's something that we have to try to do, against this team in particular." – Horford on Cavaliers' several runs
"They've got some really good players. I thought we started on a good run early. (Kent Bazemore) knocked down some shots. It's a game of runs. They are tough at home. They a have some really good basketball players. Obviously, LeBron had an amazing shooting night. Kyrie did too. Those guys are capable of doing that. I think that team goes on a lot of runs, not just against us." – Kyle Korver on Cavaliers' several runs
"It's very difficult. Trying to limit some of their 3's was a goal coming in. They made a lot of tough shots. I don't think our defense was terrible, to be honest. We could have been better. Offensively, we could have been a lot better. You have to give them credit. They've got a couple really, really good one-on-one players." – Korver on defending James and Irving
"Two of their stars played amazing. LeBron and Kyrie, they did whatever they wanted. It's tough to beat them when one is having a decent night but when they both are going off it's hard for a team to have a chance. We've got one more game left in the regular season. This one definitely stings." – Kent Bazemore on defending James and Irving
"No. I've got to be more aggressive still. When you have a half like that, halftime kind of sucks. It lets the air out of the sail a little bit. That's on me, where I've got to grow as a player. Great players do it for 48 (minutes). It's a two-half game. I've got to tap back into that focus, especially on a night like this and try to keep it going." – Bazemore on scoring only two of his 23 points in the second half
"They hit shots. They hit some tough shots. When that happens, you tend to get down on your defense, drop your head a little bit. They take those shots, I think we can live with it." – Paul Millsap on loss
"They've got to star players. When you shut one off, you have another one to deal with. That's the difference. That's what makes it tough. Trying to stop both of them at the same time makes it tough." – Millsap on defending James and Irving
"They made tough shots. When you have two guys combined for 69 points, you take your hat off to them." – Jeff Teague on defending James and Irving
"We just slowed down. I don't know what we slowed down but we did. We tried to pick it back up in the third but those two guys were already rolling. They were seeing big baskets. They put so much pressure on your defense, it's tough." – Teague on not playing with pace
