What they said after the Hawks’118-113 overtime victory over the Raptors Tuesday night:
“Obviously, that was a competitive, physical battle. They are a heck of a team. Really well coached. Defensively, they get after you. They are in the lanes. They are up. They are very good offensively. Kyle Lowry attacking the basket and their bigs and on the offensive boards and Demar DeRozan. Happy that our guys could find a way to get a tough win. A lot of guys stepped up at different times. We made some plays down the stretch. We were fortunate. We found a way to win a tough battle.”
- Coach Mike Budenholzer’s opening statement
“He was just being aggressive. That was been one of the themes all year. We want him to be aggressive. Sometimes that means he is scoring. Sometimes that means he is finding others. He is making a past that leads to the next pass. He was in an aggressive mindset and attacking. He made a lot of good things happen for us. To step up and make all the free throws down the stretch is really important and big for him.”
- Budenholzer on play of Jeff Teague
“(Jonas) Valanciunas is a heck of a young player. He is so big and long and he protects the rim. He is a big part of their defensive presence. Amir Johnson and (Tyler) Hansbrough and Chuck Hayes are more than capable of playing and being effective. Again, I think we were fortunate to find a way to win a tough battle against a physical team.”
- Budenholzer on whether Raptors’ loss of Jonas Valanciunas helped Teague get to basket
“Charlotte and Toronto are both good teams. It is a sign that we are playing better for longer stretches. We keep talking about playing for 48 minutes and improving our defense. To be tested the last two nights by two good teams is good for us. That is what we need. That is what we need going forward.”
- Budenholzer on back-to-back wins
“I have a college buddy who told me that the first team who scores in overtime wins every time. So, I thought of him when Pero (Antic) made that shot. I’m actually serious. Aside from that, it helps to get on the board first, to feel like if you can come down and get a stop that maybe you can build on it. You can get a little bit of a cushion.”
- Budenholzer on Antic 3-pointer to start overtime
“I think Paul did a little bit of everything and that is what you have to do to get a triple-double. There were a couple of stretches early when everybody, including Paul as our leader, were not where we wanted to be. Just really pleased with how responded in how we started the first half and how we started the second half. He kind of led us back and forward. He has been an amazing player for us and he does everything.”
- Budenholzer on Paul Millsap’s triple-double
“That woke us up. Jeff led the way for us. He was aggressive. He attacked the basket.”
- Paul Millsap on Jeff Teague lead second-quarter comeback
“I can’t do it without the team. They knocked down shots, especially for the assists. They gave me some good looks and I knocked down some shots.”
- Millsap on his triple-double
“We are not going to make excuses for that downstretch we had. We did have guys out. Injuries did hurt us a bit. We’ve got most of our guys back. The chemistry is back. We just have to continue to push forward and try to win games.”
- Millsap on five-game winning streak
“I think this is more who we are than we were during that (losing) stretch. Having bodies and having more confidence going into the game that you are going to go out there and play well and have a good chance to win.”
- Kyle Korver on five-game winning streak
“He was like Magic Johnson out there. He played well. He’s always playing well. He is the glue to our team. He comes and works hard every day and that is what we expect from him.”
- Jeff Teague on Paul Millsap’s triple-double
“We just played with a lot of pace. Having Kyle (Korver) and Pero (Antic) on the floor to stretch the defense gives me an opportunity to drive.”
- Teague on his aggressive play
About the Author
