duncan228
03-21-2010, 11:28 PM
Post Game Quotes (http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/100321.html)
Head Coach Gregg Popovich
“This was a good one. Both teams competed hard. It was the worst case scenario going to overtime on a tough back-to-back and then losing in overtime. It would be better to have won tonight. The second quarter was really tough for us we had to fight back from that. We also had 10 turnovers in the first half. That equated to points off those turnovers. That really changed the whole momentum of the game we really had to dig it out in the second half. I thought the guys did a great job of that. (Al) Horford hit a couple of jumpers down the stretch and we had a couple of turnovers and that was the game. We didn’t execute down the stretch and they did. They made their shots and we turned it over.”
Richard Jefferson
“There’s no excuses for this loss on a back-to-back. Popovich does a great job of getting us prepared for games. It’s not the best case scenario to play in a overtime loss but it’s been done before. This was an important game and you have to play like it’s important no matter the circumstances. This game was going to be hard regardless. We have to play more consistent and tonight we had great opportunities. Give the Hawks a lot of credit, they made the plays when they needed to. We put ourselves in a good position to win on the road against a quality team. A bounce here, a steal there we would have been able to get a win.”
Hawks Head Coach Mike Woodson
(On Joe Johnson’s last shot in regulation): “Joe had a great look at it, twice, before it actually went into overtime. But you’ve got to get a win however you can get it. I thought we stepped up after that first quarter. They came out and established themselves right off the bat. We didn’t respond really well in the first quarter and in the second quarter we picked it up from a defensive standpoint so we could get back into the game.”
(On Joe’s assists): “He’s capable of doing that. He’s done that a lot since he’s been a part of our ball club. I just thought, offensively, it was a total team effort coming down the stretch, especially in the fourth quarter when we needed buckets, needed some key offensive rebounds that we got put back in. We got some key stops, we rebounded the ball when we had to rebound it. It was a tough game. (Gregg Popovich’s) team’s always compete and they play well here in Atlanta for some reason. It was a great game to watch.”
Mike Bibby
(On clinching a playoff spot by beating a top team): “It was good, we played hard. That’s been a top team, with a top coach, for years, before this, and probably, years after this. We pulled it off, it was a great win.”
“It wasn’t looking good for us. But we got the first couple points in overtime, and got the stops that we needed, and we turned them into baskets.”
(On coming back from 14-point deficit): “Basketball’s a game of runs. It happens. So once you get down, no matter how many you’re down by, basketball’s still a game of runs.”
Al Horford
“They really came out at us, but I think our bench was the key, keeping us in it in the second quarter, and we finished the second quarter out with the lead which was real important. We really kept fighting back, we were down four with 1:10 to go, and we never quit.”
(On Ginobili): “He’s a tough matchup. He’s everybody’s responsibility. A guy like that, he’s so crafty and so finesse with his game…we were trying to do the best we could to just try to stay in front of him.”
Head Coach Gregg Popovich
“This was a good one. Both teams competed hard. It was the worst case scenario going to overtime on a tough back-to-back and then losing in overtime. It would be better to have won tonight. The second quarter was really tough for us we had to fight back from that. We also had 10 turnovers in the first half. That equated to points off those turnovers. That really changed the whole momentum of the game we really had to dig it out in the second half. I thought the guys did a great job of that. (Al) Horford hit a couple of jumpers down the stretch and we had a couple of turnovers and that was the game. We didn’t execute down the stretch and they did. They made their shots and we turned it over.”
Richard Jefferson
“There’s no excuses for this loss on a back-to-back. Popovich does a great job of getting us prepared for games. It’s not the best case scenario to play in a overtime loss but it’s been done before. This was an important game and you have to play like it’s important no matter the circumstances. This game was going to be hard regardless. We have to play more consistent and tonight we had great opportunities. Give the Hawks a lot of credit, they made the plays when they needed to. We put ourselves in a good position to win on the road against a quality team. A bounce here, a steal there we would have been able to get a win.”
Hawks Head Coach Mike Woodson
(On Joe Johnson’s last shot in regulation): “Joe had a great look at it, twice, before it actually went into overtime. But you’ve got to get a win however you can get it. I thought we stepped up after that first quarter. They came out and established themselves right off the bat. We didn’t respond really well in the first quarter and in the second quarter we picked it up from a defensive standpoint so we could get back into the game.”
(On Joe’s assists): “He’s capable of doing that. He’s done that a lot since he’s been a part of our ball club. I just thought, offensively, it was a total team effort coming down the stretch, especially in the fourth quarter when we needed buckets, needed some key offensive rebounds that we got put back in. We got some key stops, we rebounded the ball when we had to rebound it. It was a tough game. (Gregg Popovich’s) team’s always compete and they play well here in Atlanta for some reason. It was a great game to watch.”
Mike Bibby
(On clinching a playoff spot by beating a top team): “It was good, we played hard. That’s been a top team, with a top coach, for years, before this, and probably, years after this. We pulled it off, it was a great win.”
“It wasn’t looking good for us. But we got the first couple points in overtime, and got the stops that we needed, and we turned them into baskets.”
(On coming back from 14-point deficit): “Basketball’s a game of runs. It happens. So once you get down, no matter how many you’re down by, basketball’s still a game of runs.”
Al Horford
“They really came out at us, but I think our bench was the key, keeping us in it in the second quarter, and we finished the second quarter out with the lead which was real important. We really kept fighting back, we were down four with 1:10 to go, and we never quit.”
(On Ginobili): “He’s a tough matchup. He’s everybody’s responsibility. A guy like that, he’s so crafty and so finesse with his game…we were trying to do the best we could to just try to stay in front of him.”