What they said after the Hawks’ 100-85 loss to the Trail Blazers Thursday night:
“Portland and LaMarcus Aldridge deserve a lot of credit. They had a tough couple games and he hasn’t been able to play. He comes back and has a big game. I think our group, there were stretches where we really competed and cuts some leads and got it to six at one point. Lou Williams gave us a huge boost off the bench and gave us a lot of energy. His competitive spirit, you could feel it. The whole group in trying times and trying circumstances is giving a lot. Jeff Teague’s energy to start the game. Jeff Teague’s energy really throughout a lot of the game allowed us to be close. We are finding ourselves needing to be disciplined, needing to be focused. In those stretches where we are not in can hurt us and it can bite us and we are fighting and digging ourselves out of a hole. The competitiveness, after last night was not one of our better nights, our group responded tonight.”
- Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer’s opening statement
“You have to look at the film. We had a couple of chances. They made a couple of big shots. You have to make plays down the stretch. Maybe we didn’t have enough juice down the stretch to make the play. You can never get inside their bodies and know exactly. Portland was able to make plays and keep it at six, keep it at eight, keep it at 10. We weren’t able to cut it to four or two. We’ve had a trying scheduled. Our group doesn’t care. Nobody in the NBA cares. Everybody goes through it. (The Trail Blazers) are on a heck of a road trip. That is part of our league.”
- Budenholzer on whether team ran out of gas after closing to within six points in fourth quarter
“Nope. I usually don’t share when I do say something or when I don’t say something. But I will answer you honestly and say that I didn’t say anything. That is just a credit to Jeff and how he responded. I think when you care, when you want to be there for your team, you want to bounce back. Our whole team didn’t have a great night (Wednesday night). In a lot of stretches, you could see how we wanted to respond and how we wanted to compete tonight. It’s a credit to Jeff. It’s a credit to the whole group.”
- Budenholzer on whether he spoke to Jeff Teague who had 22 points a night after going scoreless
“You have to make some. It’s been a big part of our offensive efficiency all year. Sometimes you can’t control the shots. I’ve told the group many, many times, sometimes you are going to make them, sometimes you are not. Everybody is trying to. If we can be better defensively, if we can be more focused, it will get us through those nights when we are 4-for-22. For stretches, we weren’t as disciplined as we need to be defensively. Hopefully, the 3-point shot will come back. We believe in it. We keep practicing it. We keep emphasizing it. As long as they are good shots we like them.”
- Budenholzer on Hawks’ 4-for-22 3-point shooting
“Just playing.”
- Jeff Teague on his aggressive game a night after going scoreless
“They made some. We thought we had our hands on a couple of the basketballs and it fumbled around. If you don’t get it or you miss it, they hit you hard with a 3. That’s what they did.”
- Teague on difference after Hawks pulled to within six points in fourth quarter
“Just stay positive and keep working. The last couple of games have been tough for everybody. This week, this stretch that we’ve been on, it’s a lot of games in so many days. We just have to get through it.”
- Teague on Budenholzer’s post-game message
“We are all professionals. We’ve all been in similar situations in our career. We just have to stay positive.”
- Teague on keeping Budenholzer’s message
“We’ve just got to keep fighting. Coach has put in a new system. We’ve had a lot of guys hurt. He just wants us to stay the course. We’ll try to pick up some wins down the stretch.”
- DeMarre Caroll on Budenholzer’s post-game message
“It’s kind of frustrating. Man, that is when the strong ones survive with adversity hits. We’ve just got to rally the troops and pick up some wins by any means necessary.”
- Carroll on more Hawks injuries
“They are a good ball club. They ran their plays. They got it to their All-Star. He is big. That’s why they’ve been on a little losing streak when they lose a guy like that. He hit some big shots.”
- Carroll on difference down the stretch for Trail Blazers
“I didn’t do much to help our team. It’s my fault.”
- Paul Millsap on his game
“There are no excuses. They aren’t going to feel sorry for me because I’m going up and down the court guarding LaMarcus Aldridge. I’ve still got to get out there and perform. I’ve still got to get out there and help the team. We lost. At the end of the day, we lost. Myself, this team, we are out playing for it.”
- Millsap on offensive game while guarding LaMarcus Aldridge
“It comes into play. I’m not going to say it does not. At the end of the day, we have to worry about ourselves, focus on ourselves, get better and win games. It’s as simple as that.”
- Millsap on whether team is scoreboard watching in race for final playoff spot
“I think we are all ‘C’mon Man’ed out. It’s happened so much. When it happens you just get out there and it’s another game. We can’t worry about that. We can’t control that. We can just control what we can control on the court.”
- Millsap on whether mounting injuries can make the team say ‘C’mon Man, enough’
“I thought we should have got more stops. Offensively, we had plenty of good looks the entire game. For me, that spurt didn’t mean much. That is what I bring to the table, scoring points. I was hoping we would get some stops.”
- Lou Williams on scoring 13 fourth-quarter points
“I was a lot more aggressive. I ended up getting to the free-throw line and getting five or six free throws that fourth quarter. We didn’t get off to a great start so I just wanted to be more aggressive.”
- Williams on what he did offensively in fourth quarter
“Just to be more aggressive. Sometimes we rely on our jump shooting. We have pretty good jump shooters on this team. We have guys in the locker room who can make a lot of shots. The ball doesn’t always fall and you have to try something different when you get down on your luck a little bit. I think that is what guys are doing, giving a better effort in trying something new.”
- Williams on team not relying on 3-pointers
