1/09/2023 Hawks Postgame Comments

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1/08/2023 Hawks Postgame Comments

[Lauren L Williams](https://twitter.com/williamslaurenl?s=21&t=5AabPFDj71lslITb_aZdcQ)

Nate McMillan on 2Q: “I thought our guys came out and they wanted to finish this road trip .500. We talked about that in our last game, we still have an opportunity to make this a successful good road trip. And I thought they came out focused and played solid basketball from start to finish. It’s really good team in the Clippers team. The first quarter, I thought was pretty good, made shots and it was close, first quarter… And then 2Q we got to run. I thought our bench really gave us a lift coming in the end of the 1st & start of the 2nd. Frank came in gave us really good mins. Jalen came in & gave us some really good mins along w/ Aaron & that second group &we was able to have a big quarter.”

On the Clippers come back in 3Q: “Well, they do what good teams do. They come out, they came out much more aggressive in that third quarter, looking to attack more and they won that third quarter. They had a big third quarter, 35 points. But I thought we stayed with it. They made their run and then we were able to execute in that fourth quarter to make our run and eventually win the game. So I love the fact that we just stay calm, stay poise. You know, it was we knew it was going to be a tough game, a tight game… And our execution on both ends of the floor was going to be big. And you know, we didn’t rebound well until the last minute or two in this game. And we made plays and got the rebounds when we needed them.”

McMillan on Trae’s closing tonight: “Yeah, we wanted to get some movement in our action in our offense and I thought he did a good job of getting us into our sets, looking to attack and closing…a guy like that, you know, he’s really one of our closers, and we’re going to put the ball in his hands and allow him to make decisions. And I thought tonight, he made some good reads and he was able to to finish.”

McMillan on Hunter’s defense: “I thought his defense was really good. Tonight, you know, players like Kawhi I mean, you’re not going to stop those guys. If you can make it tough on them and don’t allow them to get to the Free Throw Line… That’s about as good as you can do. And I thought De’Andre was was solid all night long. I wanted to try to match his minutes with him and the thing was to just try to stay in front of him. And I thought most of his shots, they were contested, good contest, without fouling.”

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Trae Young on 2Q: ” I think we just got out and made shots and we played fast. I think that was a big key for us tonight, getting out in transition and running and playing just fast paced. And I think that really helped us in the second quarter get a big lead.”

Young on the bench’s play tonight: “They did a great job of not (I think this is a Lauren typo??) being aggressive coming in, locked in. I think our bench this year is a lot younger than previous years, these last couple of years… So I think it’s very important for our guys to come in and be aggressive and play with confidence. You don’t have to necessarily tell the vet that… But young guys like, like we have come off the bench, we’re just always continuing to tell them to stay aggressive and be ready when they get their time. And, they did a great job in that.”

Young on McMillan’s 750th win: “it was really cool. I know he has a lot of wins, obviously. But we didn’t know that it was a 750th one tonight… But I’m happy anytime my teammates and coaches reach a certain milestone because not everybody hits 750. So that’s a big mark and I’m happy he got it with us.”

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De’Andre Hunter on his approach to guarding Kawhi Leonard: “Just to be locked in. He’s a guy I used to watch a lot in college (and) high school. So I just knew that he was, you know, he’s Kawhi… So I just had to be locked in. I’m the defender on the team, I knew I was gonna have that assignment and just had to play hard.”

On what Hunter thought of his steal on Batum that led to the dunk: “Next play. I don’t remember to score but still was a close game, still had a lot of stops to get. So, I was worried about was just next play.”

Hunter on if his and John Collins’ dunks at the end of 2Q changed the momentum: “I think it is added on to it. I think the first time we were just flowing. I think everybody was, you know, touching the ball. Everybody was getting shots… Everybody was playing defense. I think we just had a good rhythm to our team. And I think that was just like, the icing on the cake for the first half.”

Hunter on how they get this season back on track: “We just gotta keep building on it. We can’t take no steps back. We got to learn from what we see on film, and not make those same mistakes and just get ready for Milwaukee.”

by ahend1999