Hawks-Spurs postgame quotes

A look at the three keys elements of the Hawks’ 102-100 loss to the Spurs Monday:

“That was a heck of an NBA basketball game. I’m proud of our guys, a very good effort. If we play that long and that hard in games we are going to be OK. San Antonio tests you in a lot of different ways. They test you on both ends of the court. It’s good for our guys to compete the way they competed. We would have all liked to find a way to get it done, but we didn’t. There are a lot of positives to take from how long and how hard we played.”

- Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer’s opening statement

“You can catch it and shoot it in .4 (seconds). We had a couple different options. Just like most good teams, they took away an option. Pero (Antic) made a good read. They defended it well. Our guys executed. It’s tough to get a good shot with .4.”

- Budenholzer on Paul Millsap’s last shot attempt

“I thought our purpose offensively. We’ve been talking a lot about our pace. Our pace was better but our purpose was better. Guys were driving with force and screening and doing everything with a little extra purpose. I think when we do that we are a better offensive team.”

- Budenholzer on Hawks’ offensive effort

“It was good execution. DeMarre switched out on him. Timmy just had a window, a small window, and he took advantage of it and made a good shot. It was good execution on their part. It’s a credit to Tim Duncan. I think DeMarre was right there.”

- Budenholzer on Tim Duncan’s game-winning shot

“Timmy is the greatest power forward ever. He did a heck of a job. I’m happy for him in a strange, (ticked) off kind of way.”

- Budenholzer on reaction to game-winner

“It’s a tough shot, tough look. I really couldn’t get my eyes on the basket.”

- Paul Millsap on his last-second shot attempt

“We were executing our pick-and-roll well. We got a few easy baskets off of transition. Guys knocked down shots.”

- Millsap on Hawks’ offensive effort

“Very. The effort was there. Guys were out there. They were in sync. To go out and lay it all out there and not come out with a victory is kind of tough.”

- Millsap on disappointment in loss

“If we can play like that every single game, or just come with that type of effort, we’ll be all right.”

- Millsap on take-away from game

“It’s tough, man. I don’t think anyone in this locker room should hang their heads. We fought all the way to the end. Throughout the game we made some miscues. We didn’t finish fast breaks, things that could have put us over the top. We had a chance at the end. It’s tough. We really wanted this one.”

- Al Horford on loss

“The pace. The day off did us a lot of good. Jeff came out really aggressive. Shelvin came out really aggressive. Our guards pushing the ball and really getting after it. That kind of pace was the pace we were playing earlier in the year. Somehow we need to bring that effort on offense every night.”

- Horford on Hawks’ offensive effort

“No moral victory but we are learning. It hurts.”

- Horford on take-away from game

“They did a good job running that play. They had guys flying all over the place. (Marco) Belinelli came and set a pin-down on me. At that time, I called the switch. If I had to do it again, I may have tried to chase down Duncan but Belinelli got me pretty good. I have to give him credit. That’s how he was able to get free and get that shot up.”

- Horford on Duncan’s game-winner

“I just shot it, really. I just tried to get a shot up. I knew we needed a 3 to tie the game. I just tried to create a shot. … I just played off instincts.”

- Jeff Teague on game-tying 3-pointer

“That’s all you can ask for really. Tim Duncan makes a big shot. He’s been doing it for years. We had our opportunities. That’s all you can ask for on the road against a very good team.”

- Teague on take-away from game

“I thought they were going to run an iso(lation). I was watching my man and the ball. It happened so fast, I couldn’t get out. I’m usually good at that, cheating and gambling, but I couldn’t get out there fast enough. You have to give them credit. He missed a lot of shots tonight. The only shots he made were on put-backs then he hit that big shot.”