What they said after the Hawks’ 109-97 win over the Rockets Saturday:
"I think the way we started the game and the way we finished the game defensively, a 16-point first quarter and most importantly a 14-point fourth quarter, I thought the guys were just great on that end of the court. I think it fueled a little bit of offense both in the first and fourth quarter. Obviously, Tim Hardaway was great. Kyle (Korver) hit a bunch of 3's. Dennis (Schroder) hit a big 3 when we were down six or eight and struggling to score. Thirty-two assists. A lot of good stuff. In the second quarter the turnovers, we have to take better care of the ball. We had nine turnovers for 17 points in the second quarter. Obviously, we'd like to erase that quarter but the rest was very good." – Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer's opening statement
"A little bit. Some of them were in transition. We were getting stops and able to get out and run. It's just random plays, good passing, good decisions. I think Mike Scott caught the one in transition and kicked it to Tim. There were plays all around. When you can hit a few 3's back-to-back it kind of adds up quickly and can fuel the momentum and the feel of the game." – Budenholzer on Hawks' 3-pointers
"If he could play like this every night, we'll take that. I won't 'We've got to get better' on him tonight. In a weird way, I will. He's doing it with a defensive mindset. He's coming out and doing all the stuff he's been doing, really, all year since he got back in the rotation. There is a confidence on his part. There is a confidence on our part that the offense would come. His focus is where it needs to be. He's continuing to be great on the defensive end and now it's becoming more natural, more comfortable. Hopefully, you see that manifest on the offensive end of the court." – Budenholzer on Hardaway
"How we started was great. We have to keep on doing that. We have to maintain it all the way through the first half. They got a lot of turnovers. We made a lot of turnovers, they forced a lot of turnovers in the second quarter. We've just got to limit those. That's how they got 42 points in the second quarter. That just can't happen." – Hardaway on win
“It feels good. The hard work is paying off right now. It doesn’t stop now. You have to keep going, keep pushing, all the way to the playoffs start. Hopefully, the season goes the way we plan on it finishing.” – Hardaway on his 20-point game
"We needed them. There were some shots that changed the game. I just felt like the momentum of the game was changed when we made those 3's." – Al Horford on 3-pointers
"I think it's fair to say right now we are playing well. We are beating some good teams. That is the way we want to keep it." – Thabo Sefolosha on Hawks' win streak
"I think it was a team effort. He got going, especially in the first half, in transition and found his distance with some 3-point shots. Once we started crowding him a little more, make him past the ball and not allow him to get to the basket, it was better." - Sefolosha on guarding James Harden
"Al hit a big one at the end. I feel like they came in bunches a couple times. That's when they can really be momentum changers, when there are two or three of them in a row, especially if you get a stop on the other end. It's a big part of the game for a reason. It worked in our advantage tonight." – Kyle Korver on Hawks' 3-pointers
"I've never felt the ball like that ever. It was sticky. It was like super glue or something was on there. I couldn't get it off my hands. It was the weirdest thing ever. Unless (the league) could have felt the ball, they couldn't get a good feel of what the ball felt like." – Paul Millsap on Dwight Howard Stickum incident
"Basketball is a chess match when you get out there. The first quarter we did a great job of taking them out of what they did. The second quarter, they figured us out. We came out of halftime and figured out what they were doing. A cat-and-mouse game. We did a good job of figuring out what their strengths were." – Millsap on first and fourth quarters
