What they said after the Hawks’ 112-97 win over the Mavericks Monday:
"I think the way we started the game, on both ends, there was a great energy. Defensively the energy was in a good place. Offensively, it was one of the better games for sure in the last little while. I thought Jeff (Teague) really set the stage, set the tone, both attacking and shooting when he is open and letting it fly. I thought Dennis (Schroder) was good off the bench also. They were both good. It's a good win for us to come back tonight and play like we did on both ends of the court was important." – Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer's opening statement
"Guess that's why it's a sport. Some of us stay up late watching film and wondering why. It's a group with a lot of pride, a lot of character. It's a credit to them. They took it upon themselves to make sure they are playing with the force and the energy. When you do those things, things fall into place. Good things happen. The ball moves. You are cutting. You are driving. Their human. We're human. Tonight was a good night for us." – Budenholzer on difference a night after lopsided loss to Heat
"There was no conversation before tonight's game specifically but he knows how important it is that he drives, he attacks, he puts pressure on the basket. Then he is going to make good decisions. He is going to score. He is going to find his teammates. He's going to let it fly sometimes when he's open from the 3-point line." – Budenholzer on Jeff Teague's play
"My team was playing really well. Playing hard, playing with a lot of energy." – Jeff Teague on win
"Made some shots. That was it." – Teague on what worked for him
"Just be aggressive. Play with a lot of energy. Play with a lot of speed. When we play like that, we are a really good team." - Teague on getting to the basket
"We approach every game with the same mindset. We look at ourselves and look to make adjustments after each game but I wouldn't say it felt like (a must win)." – Mike Muscala on win
"It was a great challenge. Too many fouls for me tonight. It's something that I'll learn from. A lot of guys are good at doing that swing-through move. It's something I have to learn to keep my hands out of the cookie jar a little bit. But it's good for me to have those minutes, to learn from it and to have some of that time to reflect." – Muscala on facing Mavericks' bigs
"In some ways, we were just playing for pride. We were pretty down after last night as a team. A lot of us individually didn't play well and as a team didn't play well or how we wanted to. It's been a tough little stretch for us as a group. I think tonight, even on a back-to-back, we came out with the proper energy. I thought Jeff really led us with that. When he is aggressive and making plays, the court seems to open up for the rest of us. I thought everyone was playing with the pass, with the extra pass, and tonight we made some shots." - Korver on win
