Head Coach Kenny Atkinson, Brooklyn Nets
On what hurt them the most this afternoon:
“Our Start. Somehow, for some reason, we weren’t ready. I don’t understand how that happens. I’m a little upset with our group that we weren’t more ready mentally, physically. You give up 36 points in the first quarter, it’s like, that team is too good. Too good to let that happen. We did show some fight with our bench. I thought they came in and gave glimmer of hope there. But too big of a hole against a very talented team.”
On If it’s frustrating seeing the deficit grow knowing the Nets’ ability to go on runs:
“You just know against this team, as athletic as they are, as long as they are as talented as they are, you cannot. You have to be ready from the get-go and I’m very disappointed in that. Again, they’ll take the positive out and that’s Caris (LeVert) and Nik Stauskas and that group came in and gave us a little bit of a shot there, but we were in too deep of a hole.”
On if the Bucks length and athleticism played a part in today’s game:
“Against some of the best teams in the league, we’ve competed and we’re ready, but we were on our heels from the start. And if you do that against a bigger team, a more athletic team, that’s just going to happen. You have to take 36 on the chin. So we just weren’t ready for the fight. I thought (Eric) Bledsoe set the tone. I thought he was the difference. He was an absolute ball of fire out there. We couldn’t stop him. Obviously, Giannis (Antetokounmpo) is going to do what he’s going to do, but Bledsoe really set the tone for them and dominated us.”
Spencer Dinwiddie
On the fast start from Milwaukee:
“Like coach said, we weren’t ready to compete from the jump and they just did a better job than us in all
facets of the game. Outrebounded us, I believe, made more shots than us, at least in the first, got to the
free throw line, made three’s, got stops.”
On not being able to get off to fast starts:
“Like coach said, we all have to look in the mirror as a man, and do our jobs and have a certain focus and
compete level from the beginning.”
On the rebounding battle:
“Rebounding is a collective thing, it’s a team effort and I think that it’s part of that focus and compete
level for sure like you were eluding to. We have to play better team defense, we have to finish our team
defense with rebounds, and do a better job collectively and individually.”
On the late run to make it a close game:
“I think Caris [LeVert] and D-Lo [D’Angelo Russell] did a great job picking up the pace, Staus [Nik Stauskas]
hit a big shot. I think Joe [Harris] had great energy, DC [DeMarre Carroll] was part of that run as well as
Quincy [Acy], so I think those guys should be attributed for that run. Give all credit to those guys for
getting us back into it, obviously we didn’t get close enough.”
Joe Harris
On how the slow start affected the rest of the game:
“It goes back to the beginning of the game and our start, it just cascaded from there. It’s tough to dig
yourself out of a hole and obviously everybody knows that in the NBA, it’s a game of runs. Teams make
runs and there’s a lot of big swings but you can’t dig yourself a hole like that in the beginning and expect
to come back against a good team, especially a team like Milwaukee where they play fast. You do have
chances to get back into games but they have so much talent they’re going to take advantage of any
mistakes you make.”
On the tough road ahead:
“We have a really tough stretch ahead before the All-Star break, and I think it’s more of a mental thing
than anything else. It’s about staying tough until the All-Star break, not packing it in early and everybody
this time of year has the tendency to start thinking about their vacations or whatever they have going into
the All-Star break and looking forward to the break. We need to be able to stay strong mentally and finish
things out.”
On Milwaukee’s play disrupting the Nets:
“I think you should definitely give them credit defensively. They did a good job contesting shots and they
are a very long, athletic team. But again, it’s on us missing shots, and sometimes missing shots can be a
little contagious. Sometimes guys have to see the ball go in and when everybody’s collectively missing
shots, it’s tough. Tough to feel the momentum and the rhythm when everybody’s having an off night.”