What they said after the Hawks’ 113-102 victory over the Nets Wednesday night at Philips Arena:
Mike Budenholzer
Opening statement: "The first half both teams were kind of scoring at a high clip. Brooklyn, give them credit, for putting us in some tight spots defensively, on the boards and in a lot of different situations. I thought Brooklyn was very good tonight. I thought we found a way to have a good fourth quarter, holding them to 21 points, hit a few shots. (The lead got down) to six or eight and our guys trusted the pass, we had 29 assists and played unselfishly at the end of the game. We need to play better defensively than we did tonight, especially in the first half. But that is what practice will be for tomorrow."
On end of second quarter run: "It's something we talk a lot about is finishing quarters. I think the second quarter, there has been a good number of nights we are able to make a good push before halftime. It usually starts with our defense but I though Paul (Millsap) was great on the offensive boards to finish the first half. He got us multiple possessions. We got into the bonus early in the second quarter. That is something we emphasis, getting to the free-throw line and attacking. Those are a couple of things that stand out to me."
On not being complacent: "We have a good group. We keep talking about getting better each day. We spend a lot of time on each guy getting better individually. Trying to grow and improve on an individual basis, on a team basis. We keep our mindset there. And then we just play each night. We go out and compete. That has been good for us so far."
On Paul Millsap being this good: "Playing against him and playing against him a ton, I don't think, the whole league, the West, the East, didn't appreciate Paul for what he's doing the last year and a half. When you are around someone like Paul every day and you see all the things he does on both ends of the court … His hands, you could start there. He should be a tight end or something He's got amazing hands. It helps him defensively. It helps him offensively. It helps him pass. All kinds of things. I didn't realize Paul could do this much and be this impactful."
Al Horford
On run to end second quarter: "We just wanted to close out the half on a run, making a run. We got stops there when we needed to. You have to give Brooklyn credit. They came out. They had a great plan. They played great and really made us work the whole game."
On sloppy start: "We settled in and started making simple plays. That was that."
On Paul Millsap: "He was just great. He kept attacking the basket. It seemed like he was getting every rebound out there. It's good to see Paul play aggressive like that."
On playing in front of national audience: "They don't get to see us much. This was a good game. I thought Brooklyn came out and they fought and played hard the whole game and really made us earn it."
Dennis Schroder
On getting to basket: "The coaches tell me every time to try to get to the basket and try to score, try to find the open shooters. I try to do it every game."
Paul Millsap
On what worked so well against Nets: "Just being aggressive. They are a lot bigger than us. Their 4's and 5's are 7-feet and over. I was just using my quickness to try to get around him, try to draw a few fouls and, if not, try to make the right play."
Jeff Teague
On run to end second quarter: "We were just playing off the crowd and the momentum. Guys were making big-time shots. We actually got a couple of stops. Tonight it was tough to get stops. Joe (Johnson) was playing well. Brook Lopez and those guys were rolling. We were able to pull it out and that's all that matters."
On getting inside on Nets: "That is just us penetrating and being aggressive. With Al (Horford) being able to shoot the way he does and Paul (Millsap) being about to stretch you all the way out to the 3-point line, it's almost impossible to prevent us from getting into the lane. And if you do, we are going to kick it to the open shooter and there is a good chance they are probably going to make it. So, the way our team is built, it's built for our guys to get in the lane off penetration."
On all the options he has as point guard: "Sometimes, like tonight, you just go out and facilitate and get guys the ball and try to get some shots up at the end. Guys are so talented on our team. They make big plays. Paul had it going tonight. We had to keep feeding the horse."
On four potential All-Stars: "That would be great. Coming from last year where it was a struggle to get one. For them to even mention four guys on our team to be All-Stars, that's big. Guys have been working hard and it's paying off."
Joe Johnson
On stress Hawks' 3-point shooting put on defense: "It was huge. We tried to keep them off the 3-point line adn they got some layups. When we tried to take away the layups, we gave up 3's. They make you pay every time.
