Here is what they said after the Hawks’ 101-100 loss to the Warriors Friday night:
“I thought our guys competed tonight, particularly coming out to start the second half and for most of the second half. The effort and the defense was something we can really build on. Giving up 37 points in the fourth quarter, first you have to give them credit. They hit some tough shots. We had some turnovers that led to some baskets. That is where we need to improve - our execution, taking care of the ball and finishing the game with a defensive effort in the fourth quarter when we need to get stops. But the competitiveness and the defensive effort really for the majority of the game was really very good. That is a very, very good team. It’s a tough loss. We have to shake it off and move forward and get better.”
- Mike Budenholzer’s opening statement
“I think our execution wasn’t where we needed it to be offensively. I thought we had a couple of good looks that didn’t go in. Their defense forced some turnovers and there were some difficult situations that resulted in turnovers. It all just came together where we couldn’t hold the lead.”
- Budenholzer on losing 15-point fourth-quarter lead
“We wanted to stay connected to everybody. We thought they would go to one of their shooters. I think we defended the initial play pretty well. Steph Curry just demands a lot of attention. We got the ball out of his hands and they made a tough shot. It’s a credit to Iguodala. It’s a credit to Curry to make the pass. Two good players made a good play.”
- Budenholzer on final defensive play
“We talked a lot about our defensive effort, our competitiveness. If we put that effort forward every night, no matter who we are playing, we are going to have something to build on defensively. We just have to get better.”
- Budenholzer on message to team following loss
“There were a lot of things we were going through. We didn’t want to give them a 3. We didn’t want to foul them, try to keep them in front of us and try to make them take a tough shot. It didn’t work out quite like we wanted to.”
- Kyle Korver on last defensive play
“Pero just saw (Curry) go down and thought he could trap him. Steph made a great play and Andre made a great shot.”
- Korver on final play
“We just can’t have those stretches like that, especially in the fourth quarter. There is a lot to learn from that game.”
- Korver on loss
“It’s easy to put it all on that last play but there we so many plays where we didn’t execute and had bad turnovers and gave them some good looks early. It’s easy to blame it on the last play but there are a lot of things the whole game that we can correct.”
- Korver on mistakes
“A couple of mental mistakes cost us that game. That’s the NBA. Some nights energy is good and can win you games but you can’t just rely on playing harder. You have to play smart too. We just had a bunch of mental mistakes.
- Korver on mistakes
“We had them in a good spot and we kind of started cruising a little bit. They are a good team. That is a team that has been together. They had some success last year in the playoffs. They have some guys who want to be great and that’s when those players step up in the fourth quarter. … We should have won that game and we know it. It’s definitely a frustrating loss.”
- Korver on losing 15-point lead
“We stopped playing. We started looking at the clock. We stopped running and playing fast and we started looking at the clock, praying time would go down. They started picking up their tempo and their pace and making shots.”
- Jeff Teague on losing 15-point lead
“It’s one of the worst losses of my career. We played so well and for a guy to hit a shot like that, I guess they deserved it.”
- Teague on loss
“Even if you have best game, the team has to win. It’s all about the team for me. That is how I’m raised. That’s how they teach my in Europe. If the team loses, you can score 40 and it doesn’t matter. The team loses. This is team sports.”
- Pero Antic on setting career highs in points(16)and rebounds (7)
“I saw him fall down and I was thinking to go and double-team but he got up and give fast pass to Iguodala and he just shot it.”
- Antic on final defensive play
“We started getting stops. We talked about starting with getting one stop, and then another stop, and then another stop. Then we got some quality looks.”
- Warriors coach Mark Jackson on comeback
“I started thinking if my man leaves, I’ll be open. (Curry) hit me b ack and I made the shot.”
- Andre Iguodala on game-winning shot
