What they said after the Hawks’ 107-100 win over the Pistons Wednesday night:
"I think, again, we are getting closer to playing a complete game. If we can do something to play better defense in the fourth quarter the last couple of nights. But I think, again, the first three quarters in what we have done the last couple of game putting us in those positions where we have a cushion. Those things aren't always easy. I was happy with the defense. Happy with the offense. Jeff (Teague) was very aggressive tonight. Tiago (Splitter) and Mike (Scott) off the bench were very good. I think the group is getting closer to where we want to be." – Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer's opening statement
"Coaches are all different and you never know how the opposing coach or team is going to react. They stick with him a lot. You never know. They choose to take him out tonight, which is not what they always do. I think we are just trying to do everything we can to put together a game, play well, take advantage of everything that is at our disposal." – Budenholzer on fouling Pistons' center Andre Drummond
"I think our guys know that first game (the rebounding disadvantage) was pretty glaring. It's a prideful group. They want to be better. At the end of the day, they know how important it is. To beat this team you have to be really committed. Every night it should be important. But these guys make it to the point where it's even more." – Budenholzer on Hawks better rebounding
"It's a matter of being more consistent. We played good through the season quarter to quarter and game to game. Tonight, we didn't finish at the very end quite as well as we wanted to but I think that is as close to a complete game as we've played in a while. We are a bit more focused, playing with purpose and we are doing it for longer stretches." – Kyle Korver on five-game win streak
"It was our first point to get better today. We know they are a team that gets offensive rebounds. We just paid attention to that even with the guards helping the big guys." – Tiago Splitter on rebounding
"We were more physical. Al (Horford) and the bigs did a great job of getting Drummond off the boards and the guards tried to clean up the ones we could get. It was a total team effort." – Jeff Teague on rebounding
"I just think it started with us in practice. We've worked our way to this position. We are just trying to be a better team. The first month and a half we weren't very good. I think we are starting to play us again." – Al Horford on win streak
"As a player, make your free throw man. It's as simple as that. It's a great strategy, especially if the guy isn't making his free throws." – Paul Millsap on fouling Drummond
"We kind of shifted gears and remembered who we were and what we were capable of. … A couple shots start falling. The defense has always been there but we were putting so much pressure on the defense by not scoring. Going on those lulls of six minutes where we only score five points. I think it's starting to come together for us." – Kent Bazemore on win streak
"He's going to have to shoot the ball better at the line in order to stay in the game. He can't continue to shoot below 50 percent. He just can't. He's capable of shooting better. He's got to put his mind to it. He's got to do the things he's supposed to do and he's got to shoot them better. Otherwise, there's going to be a lot of instances where we're going to have to take him out of the game." – Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy on fouling Drummond
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