Here is what they said after the Hawks’ 110-90 win over the Knicks Saturday night:
“Obviously a good effort on our entire group’s part. It was great to see the bench give us what they gave us tonight. Defensively, that was the closest to a complete game that we’ve had. We’ve been talking about defense and talking about it and I think some of the work and some of the things we’ve been watching on film and working on in practice and shoot-arounds. You see a little bit of carryover. That is the most important thing for our group is to carry it over from the film sessions and the practices to the court. Shelvin, individually off the bench was really great. It’s a testament to his professionalism. He’s ready and each time we’ve used him he’s really come in and given us a boost. (Gustavo Ayon) off the bench was great. You could talk about everybody that played tonight. It’s a good team win.”
- Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer’s opening statement
“I think Goose is a unique player. It’s probably how he came up and got to this level. I don’t think he cares if he is playing in Mexico or somewhere in Spain or here in New York City. He plays the same no matter where he is. That is part of what makes him special. His energy and that kind of competitiveness is contagious for our group.”
- Budenholzer on play of Gustavo Ayon
“Jeff is the new coach of the Hawks. He told me to leave Shelvin in the game so I’ve turned my coaching duties over to him. I’m Jeff’s assistant. I think it’s a great move on the entire team and organization’s part.”
- Budenholzer on Jeff Teague sitting entire fourth quarter
“We talked about it in one of the timeouts. They threw a couple of, if want to use the word punch, and a couple earlier too and we talked about responding to those. It got to five and we did it again. Obviously, that’s good to see. That’s the thing about the NBA, the other team is always coming back, always making plays. Can you find a way to withstand that charge and come out on top?”
- Budenholzer on Hawks' response after Knicks closed to within five points in the fourth quarter
“You have to be ready at all times. It’s one thing I learned early in my career. You never know when your name is going to be called. You never know what situation you are going to be in.”
- Paul Millsap on returning to starting lineup
“He is a tough guard because he can do so many things well. We tried to make it tough on him tonight, have good help-side defense and make his shots difficult. I thought we did a pretty good job of that.”
- Millsap on guarding Carmelo Anthony
“Those guys stepped up real big for us tonight. They did a great job coming off the bench and sparking the energy for us.”
- Millsap on bench play
“We were ready for it as opposed to the last game. We were ready for it and we knew what they were going to do and we were able to adjust to it and try to get the ball down low and play inside out.”
- Millsap on adjusting to Knicks’ switching defense
“We knew we were going to get an opportunity to play, especially coming off a back-to-back. Everybody did a great job of staying ready.”
- Shelvin Mack on bench play
“We felt the game (in Atlanta) we were a step away and we let it get away from us.”
- Mack on previous game with Knicks
“I saw that they were switching off the ball screen. So I tried to come in and be aggressive. I’ve been watching Jeff out there working hard. I saw an opportunity for me to come in and do the same thing.”
- Mack on scoring early
“We played with a lot of energy. That is our job. Come off the bench and play with a lot of energy, defend, defensive rebound and play together offensively.”
- Mike Scott on bench play
“We just attacked them. That was the difference. Going down (low) to Paul and Al and attack their bigs if they wanted to switch. We really didn’t do that in the first game. I think this game we definitely went at them.”
- Scott on Knicks’ switching defense
“The breakdowns are coming from all over the place. Right now, we are not playing well as a basketball team and that is on me as the coach.”
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson
About the Author
