What they said after the Hawks’ 101-85 loss to the Pacers in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series Tuesday night:
“I think the third quarter our execution on both ends of the court wasn’t at the level we needed it to be. Give them credit. They were aggressive. They made a lot of plays. Our execution, particularly in the third quarter, has to be better throughout the game. That is what we’ll work on. We’ll work on improving, work on getting better. On Thursday, it will be great to be home, be in front of our fans. Like we talked about work on our execution, work on our aggressiveness, work on our activity and get after it on Thursday.”
- Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer’s opening statement
“I think they both played well tonight. I don’t know if speed or their aggressiveness on the pick-and-roll or their aggressiveness in general was good. It’s a credit to them. But we have to cut harder, screen harder, do all the little things no matter who is on the court.”
- Budenholzer on whether Pacers’ lineup with George Hill and C.J. Watson was an issue
“We’ll have to go back and look at the film. I think it was a little bit of both. I think there were some opportunities and shots that have been part of our system all year. We want our guys to shoot and be confident. It’s a big part of the game. We make a few of those shots maybe the third quarter feels a little bit differently. I think, still, defensively 31 points and 75 percent, no matter if we are making 3’s or not making 3’s at the other end of the court, we’ve got to be better defensively.”
- Budenholzer on whether 11 straight missed 3-pointers was due to Pacers defense or just misses
“Right now, we are just thinking about what happened tonight and thinking about how we can improve. Our group has a good mindset. We are looking forward to looking at the film. We’ll get together as a group and look at it and figure out where we can improve.”
- Budenholzer on returning to Atlanta tied 1-1
“I think they were just more aggressive. A few things didn’t go our way. We lost our composure a little bit. It’s all part of it. We are learning.”
- Paul Millsap on Hawks’ second half
“Looking at the overall picture, we did our jobs. We came here and got one.”
- Millsap on getting a win on road
“No.”
- Jeff Teague on whether he got tired guarding George Hill
“I just think we missed shots. We had open looks that we normally make and they came down and were aggressive on the offensive end.”
- Teague on Hawks’ second half
“It didn’t change anything. We just missed shots in the third quarter. We got the looks we wanted. I got in the paint. There were just some shots we missed.”
- Teague on being guarded by Paul George
“Somebody asked me if today’s game was what they brought me here for. I answered, I’m not sure why they bring me here but I know what they didn’t bring me here for. That was the way I played in Game 1. I missed a lot of shots that I usually make. The same shots I took today, I make.”
- Pacers’ Luis Scola on scoring 20 points after going 0-for-6 in Game 1
“I was dialed in. I wanted to edit how we guarded him in Game 1. It was homework for me. Just locking in to what he does. What’s his tendencies? Where can I get beat? Where am I vulnerable against him? It’s a challenge. I always want a challenge. He is a guy who I know is going to come back at me in Game 3. I’ve got to watch how I guarded him tonight and learn from that.”
- Pacers’ Paul George on guarding Jeff Teague
“It’s the playoffs. It’s just competing.”
- George on back-and-forth with Teague
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