Detroit: Maurice Cheeks | Andre Drummond
Atlanta: Mike Budenholzer | Jeff Teague | | Al Horford
(On starting lineup tonight and moving forward): “I liked our energy. I liked the way we played. We had some turnovers late in the game that made a difference. Clearly they made a difference. But I liked their effort. I liked their energy. Josh is one of our top players. He’s not going to be on our bench. Things happen.”
(On team play tonight): “Like I said, I liked the way we played. I liked the energy we played with. Towards the end of the game we had some turnovers. Probably if we had not had those turnovers, it would have gave us the chance to get a shot up and make a bucket. But, you can’t overcome turnovers late in the game. Again, I liked the way we played and the energy we played with.”
(On losing): “Like I said the other day, double-doubles are great, but if you’re not coming out with wins then it doesn’t feel the same.”
(On turnovers) “We got it rolling with those last couple minutes. Coming out of the stretch, we got to slow it down a little bit. We get excited down those two minutes in the stretch and we kind of turn the ball over; make the core defensive movements, and make good baskets. It’s a long season, we can’t keep using the same excuses. We’re a new team, we just have to come together, that’s really what it boils down to. We just have to figure it out.”
(On Game): "I think what we did at the end of the game there; starting with Jeff Teague's block and DeMarre Carroll tracking down a couple of transition put backs and 1’s. Al Horford sprinting back in transition defense and getting the steal and getting a lob and going from offense to defense and defense to offense when the game is on the line, is what we have been talking about."
(On team play): "I thought we were good in stretches and I thought we were sloppy in stretches, but we found a way to win on the road and that is important for us."
(On Jeff Teague): "If you want to be a great player then the first person you look at is yourself. Even though there were a lot of things that he did well, I think that there are things he wants to do better. Our entire group needs to do things better and so if he is being reflective then that is a good sign. I think he is going to get better and better if that is his approach."
(On block of Brandon Jennings late in fourth quarter): “I just made a good play on the ball defensively. I could definitely tell it changed the momentum of the game. We got stops on defense when it mattered most.”
(On season): “We've been on a good stretch lately. We learned from the beginning of the season and we're on a good stretch right now.”
(On win tonight): “This was a big win for us. We battled and guys stepped up. Jeff (Teague) made a great play at the end of the game and (DeMarre) Carroll hit some big baskets.”
(On season): “We're getting better. We've played games in that same situation and we've lost the game. We're making strides and we're trying to be a better team every game, and tonight was a big step for us.”