What they said after the Hawks’ 117-110 overtime loss to the Magic Monday:
"This is, unfortunately, how our season has been. Tough loss. We can't seem to put good games back to back. We don't always respond in a difficult situation. I thought we did respond in the first quarter, came out with the right mentality, came out with the right approach. Third quarter, same thing. I think we got up by 18 and gave up an 11-0 run coming out of that timeout. From that point on, it's a game. They had 30-point quarters in the third and fourth quarters. They made more plays than us. We had a couple mental mistakes, focus mistakes. We just have to be better. It's a tough loss." – Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer's opening statement
"I feel like the 3-point line hurt us when they were making those runs, when we were up big. They were able to get some 3's and close what was a big gap." – Budenholzer on Magic comeback
"It's a 48-minute game. We came out with the right approach. I think when you are up in the third quarter like that, you have to find a way to be better. I think we have to be better late in games - myself, the players, everybody." – Budenholzer on back-to-back painful losses
"Our whole group is frustrated. Having lost a close game yesterday and the way we started was how we needed to start. To not be able to maintain it for 48 minutes or have consistency over 48 minutes, I think we are all frustrated." – Budenholzer on frustration of losses
"I feel like they were making plays down the stretch. We lost our focus at times. Some rebounds slipped out. Some turnovers." – Al Horford on reason for blown leads
"It's tough for all of us. Our group, I feel like we came out early with the right focus. I feel like we were playing hard, doing the right things. We've had this problem all year where we get up, we give up leads. It's hard to take." – Horford on frustration of losses
"It's a long game. We kept fighting. We kind of relaxed and tried to turn up late. Momentum is a sucker. Once you get it (against) your side, it's kind of hard to stop." – Kent Bazemore on loss
"It's frustrating. You have to enjoy the process. Take light out of whatever happened tonight and try to move forward. You can't let in dampen the season. There is still a lot of basketball left. Still a lot can happen between now and the end of the season. We've got a lot of games in front of us. We've got to put these past two behind us and try to move forward." – Bazemore on frustration of losses
"It's tough. We know what we are capable of doing when we do it. It's just getting over this some kind of mental block that's allowing us to pull games off." – Paul Millsap on losses
"I think it's mental. Offensively, we made some mistakes. Defensively, we made some mistakes down the stretch. Whether it's a lack of focus or whatever, I think it's a mental thing we've got to get over. There is a lot of season left for us to figure this out. At the end of the day, I think it's good for us. It's something we need to learn, we need to figure out eventually." – Millsap on team's focus issues
"We are definitely feeling (the frustration). We are a better team than this. We played too well over stretches of the game to counter that with stretches that are so bad. We are a veteran team now. We need to play with more discipline and more focus." – Kyle Korver on frustration of losses
About the Author
