duncan228
01-12-2009, 12:04 AM
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “It was a good game. Both teams competed well. They (Orlando) played well in a lot of ways. They did a great job from the three-point line and really knocked them down.”
“Some nights we don’t shoot as well or get as many shots. That’s just the way it is and that was the difference. It got away from us a little bit in the first half. We had too many errors defensively in the first half. In the second half, we did a very good job. They played well.”
When asked about some of the calls in the game - “We don’t talk about calls. There are a lot of things that you can control to win a game. They played better than we did and shot the ball better. It had nothing to do with the referee calls.”
Manu Ginobili
On the game - “It wasn’t as bad as when we played there, but again we made too many mistakes against a team that, every time you do make a mistake, they punish you. They’re great shooters. They’re going through a good period of confidence. We were not sharp enough to play against one the premier teams in the league.”
On the difficulties the Magic present - “They are just a good squad with a lot of threats...a great player in the paint that you have to pay attention to, and then four shooters that every time you give them a couple feet they punish you. They were really good today. They made the key shots…we didn’t.”
On the Magic’s three-point shooting - “In the first half, three or four of there threes were [defensive] mistakes by us. I can’t tell about the second half because you have to watch the game again. They were just tough. They made two or three down the stretch where they were tough shots and they went in. That really hurt us. You have to give them credit, they played well.”
Tony Parker
On the game - “It was definitely a tough loss. We never really got it going. Even in the fourth quarter we were trying to get stops and they kept making big shot after big shot.”
On the Magic’s three-point shooting - “They shot the ball very well. We tried to not give them any easy baskets in the paint, and they would just knock it down from the three-point line. They shot the ball very well.”
On his last two drives when he missed his floater - “That’s my shot. The tear-drop is my shot and it didn’t go in. The lay-up was just short. I do those shots every day and sometimes that happens. That’s basketball. I can’t worry about that. It just meant that it wasn’t our night.”
On the officiating - “That’s part of the game. We still have to keep playing.”
Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy
On the game - “Well, that’s the first time I’ve ever won in here as a head coach. Most of those haven’t come close, it’s usually we get smacked around then we get back on the bus. So my reaction is…finally. It was a really well played game by both teams. I thought both teams were playing hard, but neither one of us could really stop the other for any length of time. The difference in the game was simply the three point baskets. We shot the heck out of the three and they didn’t get as many attempts and they didn’t make what they got. So that was the difference tonight. Across the board it was pretty even for both teams, but the threes decided it. We got some good performances out of our guys again.”
On Tony Parker in the second half, if any adjustments were made - “I don’t think we did anything differently and I don’t think we stopped him. He missed a couple of shots; (jokingly) he probably got tired from scoring so much.”
On Dwight Howard and Tim Duncan in the post - “I thought Dwight was great. Tim obviously played a great game. I thought Dwight was terrific. Again I don’t think there was much separating each team tonight. What separated us were the three point shots.”
On the three point shots - “When you go 14 for 22 you’re probably going to win the game. That tells you how good (Spurs) they are and how well they played tonight.”
Dwight Howard
On the game - “It feels good. The Spurs have been playing great lately and it’s always good to get a quality win over a great team like the Spurs. It says a lot about our teams growth and maturity. We had a lot of fun out there tonight and we knew that the team that made stops would end up on top and we made the defensive stops at the end of the game.
“Our three point shooting was key. I gave a couple of guys some pointers before the game…no, not really. A couple of guys got hot and when the first few go down sometimes the confidence stays up there. When that happens every open look starts to fall.”
“Tonight was a big game with a big game atmosphere. It’s always a big game, playoff type atmosphere when we come here because the Spurs are always a good playoff team.”
Jameer Nelson
On the game - “It seems like just in the last few week this team has really matured and stepped up. This franchise has done a great job getting veteran guys that know how to win.”
“I have been playing with a lot of confidence latly. Even tonight, the misses felt good coming out. The secret is don’t get discouraged. That’s what the great players do, shoot through it and stay confident. It will turn.”
“We knew the team that buckled down on defense first would eventually win this ball game. That is just what happened. We buckled down first.”
On the game - “It was a good game. Both teams competed well. They (Orlando) played well in a lot of ways. They did a great job from the three-point line and really knocked them down.”
“Some nights we don’t shoot as well or get as many shots. That’s just the way it is and that was the difference. It got away from us a little bit in the first half. We had too many errors defensively in the first half. In the second half, we did a very good job. They played well.”
When asked about some of the calls in the game - “We don’t talk about calls. There are a lot of things that you can control to win a game. They played better than we did and shot the ball better. It had nothing to do with the referee calls.”
Manu Ginobili
On the game - “It wasn’t as bad as when we played there, but again we made too many mistakes against a team that, every time you do make a mistake, they punish you. They’re great shooters. They’re going through a good period of confidence. We were not sharp enough to play against one the premier teams in the league.”
On the difficulties the Magic present - “They are just a good squad with a lot of threats...a great player in the paint that you have to pay attention to, and then four shooters that every time you give them a couple feet they punish you. They were really good today. They made the key shots…we didn’t.”
On the Magic’s three-point shooting - “In the first half, three or four of there threes were [defensive] mistakes by us. I can’t tell about the second half because you have to watch the game again. They were just tough. They made two or three down the stretch where they were tough shots and they went in. That really hurt us. You have to give them credit, they played well.”
Tony Parker
On the game - “It was definitely a tough loss. We never really got it going. Even in the fourth quarter we were trying to get stops and they kept making big shot after big shot.”
On the Magic’s three-point shooting - “They shot the ball very well. We tried to not give them any easy baskets in the paint, and they would just knock it down from the three-point line. They shot the ball very well.”
On his last two drives when he missed his floater - “That’s my shot. The tear-drop is my shot and it didn’t go in. The lay-up was just short. I do those shots every day and sometimes that happens. That’s basketball. I can’t worry about that. It just meant that it wasn’t our night.”
On the officiating - “That’s part of the game. We still have to keep playing.”
Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy
On the game - “Well, that’s the first time I’ve ever won in here as a head coach. Most of those haven’t come close, it’s usually we get smacked around then we get back on the bus. So my reaction is…finally. It was a really well played game by both teams. I thought both teams were playing hard, but neither one of us could really stop the other for any length of time. The difference in the game was simply the three point baskets. We shot the heck out of the three and they didn’t get as many attempts and they didn’t make what they got. So that was the difference tonight. Across the board it was pretty even for both teams, but the threes decided it. We got some good performances out of our guys again.”
On Tony Parker in the second half, if any adjustments were made - “I don’t think we did anything differently and I don’t think we stopped him. He missed a couple of shots; (jokingly) he probably got tired from scoring so much.”
On Dwight Howard and Tim Duncan in the post - “I thought Dwight was great. Tim obviously played a great game. I thought Dwight was terrific. Again I don’t think there was much separating each team tonight. What separated us were the three point shots.”
On the three point shots - “When you go 14 for 22 you’re probably going to win the game. That tells you how good (Spurs) they are and how well they played tonight.”
Dwight Howard
On the game - “It feels good. The Spurs have been playing great lately and it’s always good to get a quality win over a great team like the Spurs. It says a lot about our teams growth and maturity. We had a lot of fun out there tonight and we knew that the team that made stops would end up on top and we made the defensive stops at the end of the game.
“Our three point shooting was key. I gave a couple of guys some pointers before the game…no, not really. A couple of guys got hot and when the first few go down sometimes the confidence stays up there. When that happens every open look starts to fall.”
“Tonight was a big game with a big game atmosphere. It’s always a big game, playoff type atmosphere when we come here because the Spurs are always a good playoff team.”
Jameer Nelson
On the game - “It seems like just in the last few week this team has really matured and stepped up. This franchise has done a great job getting veteran guys that know how to win.”
“I have been playing with a lot of confidence latly. Even tonight, the misses felt good coming out. The secret is don’t get discouraged. That’s what the great players do, shoot through it and stay confident. It will turn.”
“We knew the team that buckled down on defense first would eventually win this ball game. That is just what happened. We buckled down first.”