What they said after the Hawks’ 104-98 win over the Trail Blazers Wednesday:
"It was a very good team win on the road. Lots of different guys, in the second half, made plays, made shots. I think you can go up and down. Those five guys who finished the game. I thought the bench in the first half gave us a great boost. At different times we were up 13 (points). Dennis (Schroder), Thabo (Sefolosha) and Tiago (Splitter), those guys off the bench were great in the first half. Everybody helped us get a good win on the road." – Coach Mike Budenholzer's opening statement
"We wanted to put a lot of pressure on them, try to make it difficult on them, not give them any clean or free looks. Our bigs, it's a real challenge to play that many pick-and-rolls and to be that aggressive. For the majority of the night, our bigs' pick-and-roll defense was very good." – Budenholzer on containing Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum
"That's impressive, that kind of efficiency. He hit three 3's and a big tip in on a missed shot. He had a little bit of foul trouble. He's had that the last week or two. He stuck with his game and kept playing. He's very efficient, very good." – Budenholzer on Paul Millsap
"We got a couple stops and we hit a couple 3's. At the end of the day both teams can be very effective from the 3-point line. We wanted to take away their 3's. … We were able to make some shots and that enabled us to get that 11-4 run." – Budenholzer on fourth-quarter run
"Man, at that point we had to will our way to win the game. Paul had a great tip. I felt like I missed a lot of easy opportunities that I normally make. Finally there at the end I was able to hit the jumper and then get a push shot." – Al Horford on fourth-quarter run
"Not give them any open 3-point shots. They are so good off the dribble and their ability to shoot the ball that our focus was to make sure we ran them off the line. They got a couple drives in there. We didn't get the help to come but it didn't matter. Our whole thing was to bother them as much as possible." – Horford on defending Lillard and McCollum
"We dug down and found another gear. We had some huge plays, some huge contests at the rim. We are able to get out in transition. We were able to pick them apart. It's happened to us when another team cranks up the intensity and you don't have enough left in the tank." – Kent Bazmore on win
"Getting back to what got us the lead. I think we got away from what we were doing. Once we settled down and got back to it, we were able to get the lead and not give it back. Give them credit. They are a good team too." – Paul Millsap on fourth-quarter run
"Just playing basketball man. Just playing basketball and trying to make the right play. Taking what the defense gives me. Just trying to be myself." – Millsap on his efficient shooting night
"Our bench did a great job coming in and pushing the tempo. They got after it on defense. We took it to them. They did a great job again tonight." – Millsap on getting early double-digit lead
"It's a theme. For a team to be a winning team you have to have a bench. I feel like we have one of the elite benches in the league. The things they do for our team, obviously, help us out a lot." – Millsap on bench
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