Here is what they said after the Hawks’ 112-109 victory over the Magic Wednesday night:
“It was a game with some big swings. I thought we came out with a lot of energy, particularly offensively. We weren’t getting enough stops in the first half. Then we found a great combination of pace and energy and rhythm offensively and getting stops in the third quarter to build a pretty big lead. Credit to Orlando. They made a heck of a comeback. Some of the shots they made were very difficult. I think it’s more a credit to Orlando in the comeback that they made. We were able to make enough stops, enough free throws, enough big baskets down the stretch to win a road game. I think our mental toughness needs to improve and get better and better if we are going to win on the road. Hopefully tonight was a step in that direction.”
- Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer’s opening statement
“I thought the ball movement was excellent. The ball was really moving and DeMarre ended up with some open 3’s and different people ended up with some open shots. We were getting a lot of good looks and a lot of it was the ball movement and the people movement. Not just the pace getting into the half court but the pace once you are there, setting screens and moving. We want to put that in a bottle and do it for longer.”
- Budenholzer on building a 19-point third-quarter lead
“We have a lot of guys who have played a lot of NBA games and believe in themselves and believe in what we are doing. I have a lot of faith and confidence in them and that is the most important thing.”
- Budenholzer on Hawks keeping composure down the stretch
“Paul, is effort, his leadership, I wish they could put a leadership column on our stat sheet because tonight when we got down it was Paul who pulled them together and kept our group together. All the other (stats) are great and we appreciate the rebounds and the blocks but it’s his leadership. Our group needs that going forward.”
- Budenholzer on Paul Millsap
“I think lots of times off a stop there are opportunities to get backs and get teams in transition, teams in mismatches, teams disorganized. The looks and the opportunities that you get can be as good or better than taking a timeout and drawing something up. Sometimes coaches will call timeout and sometimes they won’t. Sometimes you are wrong and sometimes it works out.”
- Budenholzer on not calling a timeout late in the game
“You do have to have confidence in your group that they know how to play and they are going to find a good opportunity and a good situation and attack and make something good happen. From day one, we’ve been trying to put in a system where they are making reads and making plays and they are playing basketball. We want to put the ball in the their hands and put the game in their hands as much as possible. It’s just one more situation where we could do that.”
- Budenholzer on needing confidence in team for that strategy
“I though Jeff’s aggressiveness and his effort to get to the paint was really good. That set the tone for our entire team. When he is attacking a lot of people can feed off that. It’s a real credit to Jeff and his aggressiveness.”
- Budenholzer on Jeff Teague
“We have to remember that we are an NBA team and not an AAU team. That is really what it boils down to. When we run sets and we execute, we can be really good and score a lot of points. We can be an efficient team. But when we get away from that we have stretches, especially on the road, where we don’t execute. We just come down and try to go one-on-one and try to force something up. As long as we keep on fighting that urge to do that, as long as we do, we’ve shown we can score a lot of points. That kind of mindset feeds into the defensive end too. We have to remember to execute. We have to remember that we are an NBA team and not an AAU team.”
- Kyle Korver on Hawks comeback
“It’s easier to make free throws, to be honest. I hate when I have a terrible shooting night. It wasn’t feeling it but I have to shoot it. That is my game. That is what we work on. I spread the floor. They let me shoot. That confused me a little bit. They didn’t contest. Overall, I’m happy that we won. I was frustrated with my shot from the 3-point line but at the free-throw line I can set my body, I can set my feet and I’m experienced enough to knock them out and I’m happy that I did it.”
- Pero Antic on game-winning free throws
“Paul should definitely make (the All-Star team). He is playing great. If he doesn’t make it, it will be highway robbery. He has been a leader of our team ever since Al (Horford) has been gone and he’s been playing great.”
- Jeff Teague on Paul Millsap
“I was going to play tonight. The last game I didn’t come out with a lot of energy. I didn’t do anything. I wasn’t aggressive. I wasn’t myself. Tonight I was going to make an effort to go out there and be aggressive, be in attack mode, and go out the way I wanted to go out.”
- Teague on being more aggressive
“I was playing with a lot more confidence. I had to go back and look at some film when I was playing well, the things I was doing. I think that helped. I’m going to continue to do that.”
- Teague on recent play
“He did. He said ‘We are going to win this game. We are going to stick together.’ That’s what we did.”
- Teague on Millsap addressing team in final minutes
“I think it’s becoming my job. My 9-to-5. We were falling apart a little bit. They were making a run. We didn’t just want to call it quits then. We needed to regroup and get back on the right track.”
- Paul Millsap on his talk with team
“Give them credit. They hit some tough shots. They executed. They got stops. We turned the ball over a little bit. They hit 3’s and got themselves back in the game.”
- Millsap on Magic comeback
“Jump shot 3’s weren’t falling for us down the stretch, in the fourth quarter. We just had to attack the rim and get some fouls, get to the free-throw line and just finish.”
- Millsap on making effort to get into paint
“Our main focus is on if we win. Who knows? For me personally, I think somebody should represent this team whether it’s me, Jeff, Kyle. We deserve it. We’ve worked hard through the course of the year, especially after Al went down. We’ve done a great job so far and hopefully we can continue to do it.”
- Millsap on All-Star game
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