What they said after the Hawks’ 96-84 victory against the Nuggets Sunday at Philips Arena:
Mike Budenholzer
Opening statement: "It's a little bit of a tough game when you are playing with a lead but I think we have to be sharper in the third quarter and throughout the second half. They are a good team. They've got some talent. Those guys stepped up and made some plays. They stepped up their aggressiveness. We need to respond with moving the ball better and taking care of the ball better, being stronger with the ball. I think defensively overall our activity was pretty good, again except for that third quarter. We'll keep trying to find a way to do it for more of the 48 (minutes)."
On seven third-quarter turnovers: "That was a big part of the problem. There were a couple where you have to give their defense credit. There were probably a couple where we weren't as smart with the ball as we needed to be and keep the same mental approach the entire quarter."
On whether tried to make Paul Millsap an option with Nuggets missing players: "No. I think Paul was 1 of 6 at halftime. I think he had four 3's. The 3's, they may occasionally be a call, but it comes from our spacing and the way we play. He had a great second half. We went to him a few times but it wasn't because of anyone who wasn't playing."
On first-quarter success: "Our defense, we came out and got a little bit of a cushion with our defense and I think a lot of guys contributed. Kyle (Korver) got a couple looks. We got a couple baskets late. I thought we finished the quarter well."
Al Horford
On first-quarter success: "We had good energy. The ball was moving well. The hot shooting, that was a good start."
On whether team is playing best now: "Yeah, that is fair to say. But we understand that we have to keep improving and we are starting to figure out how to play and to build those habits to play the same way every night."
On where Hawks stand: "It's definitely early but it motivates us to keep working and to keep taking advantage. Obviously, you take it game by game but to keep ourselves in that position."
Kyle Korver
On his overall game: "I've always said that if you don't play defense, you don't get to play in the fourth quarter in NBA games. I've been fortunate to play for a couple of really good defensive coaches my last couple of teams. I've really learned a lot. I love basketball. I love shooting, hopefully that's always going to be the best thing that I do, but I love basketball. Defense is part of basketball. Passing is part of basketball. I don't really like dribbling that much but everything else I like. It's fun."
On where Hawks are in standings: "Every NBA game is tough but we've had a favorable schedule to this point. We've kind of talked about that we have to get this games. We've had some home games. We've gotten to play some teams that aren't as high up in the standings as we are going to play later. I just keep on looking back to last year when we got to the hard part of the schedule and we had guys banged up. We took some losses last year. Every game matters but we try to talk about not only getting wins but to play good basketball because it's a long season."
Jeff Teague
On fast start: "We played with a lot of pace. It was just good basketball. We moved the basketball and guys were making tough shots. When we are playing that moving the basketball it's really good."
On current hot streak: "Just playing and wanting to win every game. Guys are just hungry right now. It's a key time in our schedule right now and a key time in the season. Guys are really locking in."
On where Hawks are in standings: "It's so early. We don't look at that stuff. We've got a long ways to go. We have another game tomorrow and another opportunity to get better."
DeMarre Carroll
On where Hawks are in standings: "Big picture for us is to play Hawks basketball and play the right way. We let people outside the locker room look at those things. I think if we keep playing the right way, everything will take care of itself."
On current hot streak: "It's the right way. Coach also puts in our head 'Next game, next game.' We've been playing the right way, starting off defensively. Like tonight, they are a team that averages over 100 points and we held them to 84. I think we had a little blur in the third quarter but we have to put a whole 48 minutes together and keep on trying to get wins."
Paul Millsap
On way team is playing right now: "There is always room of improvement. We are playing good basketball right now, especially on the defensive end. We just have to keep it up."
On where Hawks are in standings: "Season is still early. Right now it's about packing on as many wins as we can and staying healthy."
On his improved play in the second half: "I was able to knock down some shots, see the ball go through. I settled down a little bit."
On where his shots were coming from with Nuggets missing players: "Whatever matchups they had, I was going to do the same thing. They are an aggressive team. You have to pick your spots. The 3-point line was working for us, working for myself. My teammates were being aggressive and I was able to get some open shots off of that."
