DeMarre Carroll has backtracked on his remarks as to why he wasn't on the floor for the end of the Atlanta Hawks' loss in Game 3 at the Washington Wizards.

Paul Pierce hit a buzzer beater off the glass for the win.

Carroll attributed his absence on the final play to physical discomfort.

"Coach (Mike Budenholzer) did put me in, but I didn't feel comfortable at the time, so I'll take that one," Carroll said Saturday. "I should've been in the game. I didn't feel comfortable as far as physically."

Pierce was ultimately guarded by Dennis Schroder on the play after Kyle Korver was screened hard by Will Bynum.

Carroll, regarded as the Hawks best perimeter defender, explained the situation on Sunday.

"To clarify what went on last night, me and Coach discussed the situation and we discussed the sub, and we felt like that was the best group at the time," Carroll said. "I hadn't played for a quarter and a half. That's what we felt."

Carroll had been inserted into the game on the previous defensive possession with the Hawks trailing by one with 23 seconds remaining.

"I know a lot of people are going to say a lot of things because I'm supposed to be the top defender on the team, but I guess y'all can talk to Coach and he can answer the rest of the questions," Carroll said. "Me, personally, I have a lot of faith in my guys. We have a lot of good defenders on this team. That's the beauty of this team: We're not selfish."

Budenholzer defended his decision Sunday and echoed Carroll's account of the decision.

"We went with the group that gave us the best chance to get a stop. That's the decision," Budenholzer said. "Obviously, Paul Pierce made a heckuva shot, made a tough shot. We always go with the group that gives us our best chance."