Here is what they said after the Hawks’ 109-102 loss to the Magic Sunday night:
“I thought our group competed tonight and left everything on the court. I think it wasn’t one of our sharpest games and there are lots of areas to improve. Defensively, our transition defense, if we let them score it’s going to put a lot of pressure on us. Our half-court defense at times was good. Our transition offense going the other way, I think we need to improve significantly there. The effort and the commitment is very high and very good and I’m proud of that. I’m proud of our competitiveness and that is what is most important.”
- Mike Budenholzer’s opening statement
“I don’t know when fatigue comes in. Obviously we had enough to come back and take the lead. I think you have to give Orlando credit more than anything. They made some plays. Their defense picked up and we weren’t able to execute. We just have to execute down the stretch. We have to make more plays down the stretch on both ends of the court.”
- Budenholzer on whether Hawks were tired
“We turned it over and we couldn’t get a good shot and we got late in the shot clock. I think their defense was good. We talked about needing to move the ball a little bit and set better screens. When we were driving and getting to the paint good things were happening. There was that little stretch there where we couldn’t get to the paint, we could attack. They got deflections and steals.”
- Budenholzer on costly fourth-quarter turnovers
“I think different guys didn’t have their legs. We missed some free throws. We had some bad turnovers. It’s always a factor but we still had a chance to win. We have to keep getting better.”
- Kyle Korver on whether Hawks were tired
“We got the lead just on effort. After giving that effort we hit a little lull and had some bad turnovers, missed a couple shots, missed a couple free throws and they hit a couple shots.”
- Korver on Hawks late-game execution
“We give them credit though. They made shots and they played hard. I don’t want to say they won because of fatigue. I think they are better than their record looks like. They are a pretty talented team. Guys were tired. Three overtime games. Travelling. An early game today. As much as fatigue played a part, them being a pretty good team played a part in it as well.”
- Elton Brand on difference in game
“We built this team based on having depth and having other guys being able to step in when their number is called. We didn’t anticipate having to use that because of injury but now that is the circumstance for us. Other guys like Elton (Brand), Pero (Antic), Mike (Scott) and Gustavo (Ayon) collectively have done a good job.”
- Lou Williams on playing without Al Horford
“They played well and we missed some shots coming down the stretch. It’s been a couple long games for us. I think our legs were a little tired. It’s part of the game though. We’ll bounce back.”
- Jeff Teague on difference in game
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