Quotes From The Q: Cavaliers Fall To Hawks 98-84

HEAD COACH BYRON SCOTT

"It was another solid effort by our guys, but we ran into a little bit of a buzzsaw in the third quarter. They go 10-for-10, and we played some pretty good defense. As good as they are, and as athletic as they are, then obviously it's an uphill battle. Again, I thought our guys fought to the end. We played another very good basketball team." 

"That's what great players do. The last four or five games, it's been Dwyane Wade, Granger, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson. Those guys are difference makers. Joe's not an All-Star and one of the better players in this league for nothing. When they needed some big shots, he seemed to make the timely ones." 

ANTHONY PARKER

(On guarding Joe Johnson): "I tried to make it tough on him. I just tried to do the best I could, knowing that we had instilled a game plan. At the end, those were tough shots. I don't think I was defending him at the time, but he got it going and made two or three three's to get the separation they needed." 

"You can't guard guys like that individually. It's more of a team effort."

ANTAWN JAMISON

"We just have to continue to stay positive and continue to work, and hopefully we turn things around." 

HAWKS HEAD COACH LARRY DREW

"We got off to a great start in the third quarter. Coming in at halftime, I didn't think we played a very good first half of basketball. I thought our bench guys did a good job of bringing energy, but I thought our starters were a little sluggish. I didn't think they moved very well, and I don't think they executed very well. Defensively, they blew numerous assignments. And at half, I had to let them know my way. They came out in the third quarter and responded very well. I thought Josh Smith did a great job, made some very good decisions on the perimeter. But overall, we got into a rhythm in that third quarter." 

"Joe looks like he's starting to find his rhythm again, and I wanted to ride that. We ran quite a few plays for him. He made some nice decisions down the stretch. But I thought in the third quarter, we picked up the tempo. Defensively, we tightened up a little bit. What we did in the third quarter carried over into the fourth quarter. I think we gave up 15 points in the fourth quarter."

JOSH SMITH

"Joe came back without any practices, and he finally found the stroke. I think he's getting the minutes he needs in order to get his timing back, and be able to get back in shape. He played lights out tonight." 

(On the third quarter): "It was big. We didn't want to let up, and didn't want to have any letdowns. We had to come out and get established on the defensive end. That's what we did. We were able to make them call the first timeout." 

(On playing the Cavs this season as opposed to in the past): "It is (weird). But their guard play is still so dangerous and demanding that you really can't have any letdowns. They get a couple buckets, they can get on fire and you can be in for a long night."

JOE JOHNSON

"We came out in the third quarter and kind of opened it up a little bit." 

(On winning eight straight at home): "We have started to figure it out here at home, now we have to figure it out on the road. It was a total team effort (tonight). You have to give the bench a lot of credit. Those guys came in. Things we're going so well. When our energy was low, they picked us up and we were able to finish it off."