What they said after the Hawks 96-86 win over the Grizzlies Wednesday night:
Coach Mike Budenholzer
Opening statement: "I think the 48 minutes of the game and we were able to find a way the last three or four minutes to get one more burst and get some stops on the defensive end the last three or four minutes. Different guys making plays and shots and passes. I thought for stretches of a lot of the game we were trying to get closer to that 48 minutes. But it was great to see how we finished. I think the defense, one of our principles without fouling, we showed our hands, we did a lot of things. (Marc) Gasol hit some unbelievable shots. The individual defense by both Al (Horford) and Pero (Antic) on Gasol was to be commended. The overall activity in the first half defensively, the turnovers, the steals, again created opportunities for us offensively. We just want to keep building off that defensive mindset."
On any late-game adjustments: "No, we just stuck with what we doing. There was nothing glaring. They had some guys step up and make some plays. Tayshaun Prince got going and hurt us in a few different areas. I think it was a credit to them. We can always to things better and we'll find things to work on but losing an 11-point lead I thought it was a credit to them and their defense and a couple of their guys stepping up and making plays. We were able to reverse it a little bit at the end.
Al Horford
On late basket after rough start: "It was but not like that. I was supposed to get a different type of shot. The guy bumped me on the screen so Jeff (Teague) had to improvise. I saw that he was in trouble so I ran up, caught it and shot it. I was due. I missed so many shots that I normally make. I was happy to make that one."
On key to 12-2 run to end game: "We got some stops and Jeff hit that big 3 and then we were able to get another stop and Kyle it a big 3 from the corner. I felt those were the two key plays right there."
Jeff Teague
On crowd: "It was amazing. It was electric. We fed off their energy.
Kyle Korver
On late 3-pointers: "You never want to take a bad one in that situation. We both felt confident taking the shot; both of us were pretty open. We work on those … it's one of those ones where if you make it, it's a back breaker. If you miss, it gives them another chance, but … if you make it, it's a back breaker."
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