What they said after the Hawks’ 105-97 loss to the Raptors Wednesday:
"A lot of credit to Toronto for how well they played. Their effort and activity defensively probably set the tone. Offensively, they executed, made some shots. We have to be better against a team like this. I think, hopefully, it's a lesson for us. The way the group in the competed in that fourth quarter, they came in, that's encouraging to see the fight. One or two shots, we could have cut it to six. Overall, a lot of credit to Toronto tonight." – Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer's opening statement
“I thought they were aggressive. They were up in us. They didn’t allow us to get as good looks and as good of stuff as we need to. We have to drive it harder, drive it better, take advantage when we do get a good look. We’ll have to look at the film and hopefully learn from this.” – Budenholzer on Raptor’s defensive effort in first quarter
"I thought to start the third quarter we had a good start to cut it to five right away and there was a good energy. And then they put a push back on us. We weren't able to sustain that first push coming out of halftime. I thought the effort that third quarter was good. The effort, it's not that it wasn't good, we didn't match it tonight. You have to. We'll be better." – Budenholzer on second half
"Them getting 15 free throws between the two of them, that's tough. We have to do a better job of being more disciplined. They are very smart in how they create contact, how they get to the free-throw line. So you have to be even smarter, even more disciplined. They made some tough shots. Lowry, except for the free throws, the defense was pretty good. DeRozan he had one of those night. He had three 3's and when he's making 3's and getting to the basket, he's a tough cover." – Budenholzer on Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan
"I thought they played really well. They came out with a lot of fire. They played better than us and they played harder than us. That's a bad combination. Give them credit. They are a tough team and they are very good here. They got us tonight." – Kyle Korver on loss
"We did. We didn't shoot the ball very well tonight. The last group that played at the end made some 3's to get us back in it. We definitely left a lot of points out there early. We had some good looks. A bunch of guys had some good looks. We just didn't have a good shooting night." – Korver on Hawks' shooting woes
"DeRozan hit a lot of shots tonight. Lowry is a super crafty player. He got himself to the free-throw line. He just makes plays. Overall, they played great. They had a lot of guys come in and hit shots. Just a rough night for us. A super frustrating night for us." – Kent Bazemore on Lowry and DeRozan
"Honestly, they played much better than us. They were the more aggressive team from the get-go. We struggled catching up. There is a lot of room for improvement the next time we get to play them." – Al Horford on loss
"It's the way that the schedule falls. The good thing is we get to play them one more time at home. Hopefully, we can get one in Atlanta." – Horford on losing to Raptors twice to end road trips
About the Author
