What they said after the Hawks’ 102-92 loss to the Warriors Monday:
"The effort that we gave, even in the first quarter when we gave up 30 points, I think our guys competed. They got after it defensively. We made it as difficult as you can in a lot of situations. I think if we could have played a little better out of the gate in the first quarter … I think some good opportunities, some good shots, against a good team, you've got to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible. So we were in a little hole in the first quarter. We were able to fight our way back. The third quarter was something hopefully we can build off of. Overall, our defensive activity, I think Al (Horford) and his activity in general everywhere was great. I thought our point guard play was great. Obviously, a little bit of a tough spot but there are some positives to build off of tonight." – Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer's opening statement
"Probably sounds simplistic but good defense and good offense. It seems like we had both ends of the court working. I think maybe the defense was helping fuel it. It felt like we were getting out in the open court and finding some situations where they were mismatched. We were attacking a non-set defense. When they are set defensively, they are pretty effective. We held them to 18 points and were able to get out in transition and play with more pace and more of an aggressive mindset, including some situations where they weren't set or even matched up." – Budenholzer on key to erasing 23-point deficit in third quarter
"I was looking at the stat sheets, we had 18 turnovers for 27 points. When you turn it over, sometimes it's hard on your transition defense. A missed shot, you've got lots of principles to get back in transition. But they did have a few (fast-break points) in the first quarter. One off a made basket they got a layup. (Klay) Thompson got a 3. It's such a premium to get back." – Budenholzer on transition defense leading to early deficit
"They are (that difficult to guard). I think the difficulty of the shots that both of them too, a high percentage of them were difficult and contested and well-guarded. They managed 10 out of 25 (from 3-point range). We wanted to limit them but it's easier said than done." – Budenholzer on Warriors' Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson
"I think tonight was a lot better – the competitiveness, the activity, the effort. I think defensively holding them to under 44 percent (shooting). Our last couple of games it seems teams were shooting in the 50s and scoring well over 100. I think if we are good defensively it sets up our offense to be pretty good." – Budenholzer on taking something from loss
"No. A loss is a loss. We'll take what we can from it. I thought we competed." – Paul Millsap on loss
"We picked up the defensive intensity and got out to the shooters. We took the ball out of their play-makers' hands. We forced other guys to make plays." – Millsap on key to third-quarter run
"It's hard to put words to it. I think we just played basketball. We weren't worried about nothing. We were just pushing the ball and playing Hawks basketball for a good stretch." – Thabo Sefolosha on key to third-quarter run
"It's a team that's done it to the whole league. There is no surprise there. At the same time, we've got to be able to do a better job of what we want to give them and take away and be more focused." – Sefolosha on transition defense
"We played with a lot of pace, a lot of energy. If we played like that all the time, we wouldn't be going through droughts like this." – Jeff Teague on third-quarter run
"That's them being the Warriors. It's pretty tough. They all run to the 3-point line. You've got everybody running to the 3-point line and they pump fake, you've got an easy layup. It works in their favor." – Teague on transition defense
"I felt like we didn't quit. We kept playing. We got some momentum there. It was good. In the fourth, we didn't score when we needed to early. I felt like against a team like that, you can't give them those types of chances. We did. They made a run after that and it was over." – Al Horford on third-quarter run
"It's hard because after we had been making the right plays, we make a couple of bad decisions. I know it happens in the course of a game but against a team like this, they are magnified, especially them coming down on the other end and making big shots." – Horford on Warriors' fourth-quarter run
"It's a credit to them. It's impressive. You watch them on film. We study them. Playing on the court with them is totally different. They are fast and they get out and they go. It really took us off guard. We were trying but they were impressive." - Horford on Warriors' fast-break points
"They push you to play at a high level but it's still disappointing. We fought to get back in the game and for them to beat us. We are in a tough position. We have to figure it out before this homestand is over." – Horford on taking something from loss
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