What they said after the Hawks’ 108-98 loss to the Pacers Tuesday night.
“Right now, what we need to do is play better for longer stretches. Sometimes, it’s how we start the game isn’t where we want to be and how we want to start. Other times it’s different periods during the game. I think our group battled despite the poor start. Getting down 20-plus in the first quarter goes without saying that that is not where you want to be. I think the group continues to be resilient, continues to fight, continues to stick together and play together. That is our goal and what we are talking about – sticking together and battling. That is the only way you can get yourself out of a tough stretch. I’m confident that our guys will do that.”
- Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer's opening statement
“It is interesting because Paul (Millsap) and Mike (Scott), at times, have been a combo that we have liked. It’s unique. It has its strengths and its positives. They can really spread the court and we have a lot of shooting and guys who can make reads and decisions. Obviously, we are a little undersized on the defensive end and undersized on the boards. Playing Paul and Mike is something we have confidence in. We tried to rotate those guys, Elton (Brand), Paul and Mike, at the 4 and 5. Then late, I thought Cartier (Martin), I don’t think he’s played any 4 for us all year. Obviously the game was somewhat decided by Cartier got some good minutes at the 4 and showed that he could help us there.”
- Budenholzer on playing with only one center after Gustavo Ayon injury
“We talked about that in one of the timeouts early. I think at that point they were 15-for-17 from the field. We basically said we are playing poorly defensively and we have to improve that and at some point they are going to miss a shot. I don’t think we were playing very good and they were obviously shooting very well.”
- Budenholzer on Pacers’ hot start
“The ball didn’t move the way we want it to move for a stretch in the third quarter. We ended up down again.”
- Budenholzer on Pacer’s third quarter
“Migraines. I get them often. I take a lot of pain medicine for them. I have a couple pills in my system. I should be fine.”
- Lou Williams on leaving game with migraine
“No, absolutely not. I’ve been getting them for the last 10 years of my life. It’s common for me.”
- Williams on whether he will be affected Wednesday
“I thought they did a good job of breaking the ice first. The first game back from the All-Star break is usually a tricky game. It’s all about who comes out with the energy first. As you can tell, both teams were turning the ball over, throwing it everywhere. Right after that, they began to make shots. They shot 80 percent (at one point) in the first quarter and it was hard for us to come back.”
- Williams on Pacers’ hot start
“Continue to fight. Nothing magical is going to happen. You have to continue to play with the guys we have in the locker room and just try to turn the tide.”
- Williams on trying to end six-game losing streak
“They were making shots. We had a lot of turnovers in the beginning. They were a lot of live ball turnovers. But they were just coming out and making shots. That is a good team.” It’s tough to beat when a team gets rolling like that. They are a good team any way.”
- Jeff Teague on Pacers’ hot start
“We’ve got another coming up tomorrow. We have to get prepared and get off this skid.”
- Teague on trying to end six-game losings streak
“It’s tough. All year long, we’ve been finding a way. We still have three bigs who are healthy. We can’t wait to tee it up tomorrow. Then guys are going to turn around. Pero (Antic) is not far away. We’ll see what is going on with (Ayon).”
- Elton Brand on being only healthy center
“It’s tough. DeMarre (Carroll) is our defensive stopper and he’s been averaging 15 points a game. We need him to win games. … A lot of things are going on but we have to find a way. I think our group is resilient enough to try to find a way. We are not going to give up.”
- Brand on playing with makeshift lineups due to injury
“They deny everything. They are a good help defensive team. And they are big and athletic down low. All that put together makes a good defensive team. A lot of stuff was unforced. A lot of the turnovers, we play ourselves.”
- Paul Millsap on Pacers defense
“It’s tough man. Rotation-wise it is tough. You never know who you are going to be in the game with. The chemistry might not be there completely because you are in the game with different guys. We are just limited with guys. Through all that, we still have to find a way to win games.”
- Millsap on playing with makeshift lineups
“Keep working. That is all we can do right now. Go out there and put our best foot forward and see what happens.”
- Millsap on six-game losing streak
“I thought we did a good job of coming out and hitting first. We were able to build a pretty good lead. They made a run in the second quarter. But we maintained control of the game for the most part.”
- Pacers’ David West on team’s hot start
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
