Here is what they said after the Hawks’ 113-84 loss to the Rockets Wednesday night:
“Obviously, a tough game. For three quarters we put ourselves in some positions where we had opportunities and we battled. In the fourth quarter, we weren’t able to find a way to sustain that effort and keep it close. You have to give them a lot of credit. They are a very good team. They understand how they want to play. They understand their system. We are still building that identity a little bit. We are still building our understanding and being able to sustain it for four quarters is something that we have to be able to do. We’ll continue to work. We’ll continue to learn. We’ll continue to improve day to day.”
- Coach Mike Budenholzer’s opening statement
“They’ve got some bigs inside with Dwight Howard and (Omar) Asik off the bench. Terrence Jones blocked a couple shots as an athletic power forward. I think their defense was good. I think it probably wasn’t one of his better games. You have to give the defense credit.”
- Budenholzer on Rockets limiting Jeff Teague to four points
“Once he got back in, he got into a rhythm. He still played a lot of minutes. I think it threw him off early but he still had a heck of a first half and found a way to have a good game for us and contribute.”
- Budenholzer on Cartier Martin’s two early fouls
“Their bench, you could say was the difference in the game. Francisco Garcia hit some really tough shots. He got some open looks that he made also. There were times when we were all over him and he still managed to score. Aaron Brooks was really similar. He had some open looks that he made, then he made some tough baskets. They’ve got some depth. All those guys came in and contributed and the bench was a big difference.”
- Budenholzer on Rockets’ bench play
“They really made shots. They’ve got a great combination of attacking the paint, attacking the rim, and then spreading out the court and finding open shooters. Tonight, I think their shooting was the biggest counter, the biggest difference. They made a lot of shots.”
- Budenholzer on Rockets ability to stop Hawks rallies
“They made some great shots. They shot the ball well from the outside. They just played a great game. They got the ball and played inside-out. We didn’t execute as well.”
- Cartier Martin on difference in game
“It didn’t disrupt us as a team. It definitely was a downer for me. Thirty-six seconds and two fouls. That’s not an excuse for what happened tonight.”
- Martin on two fouls 36 seconds into game
“They did a good job. I felt like we weren’t being aggressive enough at times on the offensive end. We did get some good looks. We just didn’t knock them down. They have a lot of fire power over there. Garcia, Parsons. They made 14 3’s. That makes a big difference.”
- Al Horford on difference
“They just turned the intensity up a little more. We had an opportunity in the third where we really cut it down but we turned the ball over, took a bad shot and they got to scoring. They kept finding ways to expand the lead. You have to give them credit.”
- Horford on failed comebacks
“Honestly, we just have to put this one behind us and focus on Friday. That is a big game for us because then we are going to be on the road again for another couple of games. Friday is a must-win for our team.”
- Horford on take-away from loss
“It’s been awhile since I really got some run like that. I felt really good. I felt comfortable. There were too many turnovers on my part. But I shot the ball well.”
- John Jenkins on expanded role
“That is pretty frustrating. They just kept being persistent. They moved the ball around and we had to help and recover and they were knocking down shots.”
- Jenkins on failed comebacks
“It’s just the way it is. We are a talented team. A lot of guys are working out and have a lot of energy that are ready to play. When Jeremy (Lin) goes out guys are stepping up and are ready to play.”
- Aaron Brooks on Rockets’ bench play
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