duncan228
11-15-2009, 12:48 AM
Post Game Quotes (http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/quotes_091114.html)
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “Oklahoma City had more people play better. As individuals and as a team they executed better then we did for more minutes in the game, thus they got the victory and they deserved it.”
When asked if Manu banging his knee in the first half had anything to do with keeping him out of the game - “I didn’t keep him out because of the knee. I kept him out because of his hamstring. It’s been tight. He hasn’t practiced since the Dallas game and it tightened up in this game. I thought that it is best to be conservative and not have that hamstring get worse.”
On George Hill tonight - “George has had a fine year thus far. He’s the most improved player and he continues to do a good job for us. I was happy with his play. We just didn’t have enough people join him and play well as individuals or as a team. George deserves the praise that he’s getting. He’ll keep getting better.”
Tony Parker
On the game - “We played against a very good team tonight. They played good defense and made shots when it counted. Give them a lot of credit they played really well.”
On George Hill - “Yeah, he played well and Manu was hurting a little bit, I thought Pop made the right decision with George playing well. He’s been playing well lately, with great defense and has been knocking down the 3-point shot lately.”
Tim Duncan
On the Thunder - “They played well and shot the ball well. We controlled the first half defensively and in the second half they just shot the ball well.”
On George’s defense on Kevin Durant - “I thought he did a great job. George works hard and with his length and anticipation I thought he did a really good job. He did a good job of taking (Kevin Durant) out of his game and obviously the weak side defense was big for him to help him out and be able to take some of those chances. He really did a good job getting up into him and making him uncomfortable.”
On keeping Manu out of the second half - “It’s a long season and Pop is about not taking risks and keeping his players healthy – that pays off in the long run. Whether we like it or not on a night to night basis it’s what pays off in the long run.”
On his ankle - “I had a pretty good night. I didn’t reinjure it and came out pretty unscathed. It’s not 100% but it feels pretty good.”
Thunder Head Coach Scott Brooks
On the game - “I just like the way we played tonight. We played very physical and we bet one of the best teams in basketball. I have a lot of respect for Coach Pop and I love what he does and what he’s about. We played really well tonight. We battled and played well in the stretch. This team was making winning basketball plays tonight. We rebounded well and blocked shots. Russell Westbrook was had one of his best games he was leading the team and making the right calls on the floor.”
On Third Quarter turn around - “We were playing very stagnant offense in the first half and the Spurs had the opportunity. I was trying to isolate Kevin Durant during the first half and that’s not how we play. We really needed to keep moving the basketball. The Spurs are a good team and they have a lot of weapons. Tonight the Spurs played well they play hard and they play together.”
Closing comments - “I like the way our team competes. All I ask from these guys is to play hard and play for each other the success of the game will come.”
Kevin Durant
On the emphasis of this win tonight - “This was a good road win for us to come win here on their floor where they‘ve won championships. To come in a game where people said that Oklahoma City had no chance and then fight through adversity, we did a good job in making apush in the third quarter which I believe led to our win. ”
On the team’s performance in the fourth quarter - “Everyone was clutch tonight. Any given night anyone can step up, when we played the Clippers it happened to be my turn, tonight it was Russell‘s, people on the team made some big plays in the fourth quarter as any player in any given night can step up which makes me feel good about our team.”
On the Spurs showing up on defense tonight - “They were extremely aggressive and we had a lot of good looks that we missed early and that‘s tough when you‘re on the road but you got to keep playing and I thought that when we got behind a little bit our shot selection suffered as we could have gotten better shots, we could have moved the ball better. You have to credit them for how they play and I’m disappointed with how we played simple as that.”
Russell Westbrook
On playing well tonight - “Yeah it‘s good, last game I took a setback. I‘ve been getting treatment as the training staff has been doing a good job with getting me in and out the training room trying to get me right. ”
On what contributed to their lack of performance tonight - “When you‘re out there playing you really don‘t think about it. But on the floor I know my teammates have my back so I just try and give my best.”
On if this win was a confidence builder - “It does a lot for us especially with this being a win on the road. But we have another game tomorrow, so we have to get our minds right, embrace this win, and once tomorrow hits get prepared to play the Clippers. They will be looking for some revenge so we will be ready.”
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “Oklahoma City had more people play better. As individuals and as a team they executed better then we did for more minutes in the game, thus they got the victory and they deserved it.”
When asked if Manu banging his knee in the first half had anything to do with keeping him out of the game - “I didn’t keep him out because of the knee. I kept him out because of his hamstring. It’s been tight. He hasn’t practiced since the Dallas game and it tightened up in this game. I thought that it is best to be conservative and not have that hamstring get worse.”
On George Hill tonight - “George has had a fine year thus far. He’s the most improved player and he continues to do a good job for us. I was happy with his play. We just didn’t have enough people join him and play well as individuals or as a team. George deserves the praise that he’s getting. He’ll keep getting better.”
Tony Parker
On the game - “We played against a very good team tonight. They played good defense and made shots when it counted. Give them a lot of credit they played really well.”
On George Hill - “Yeah, he played well and Manu was hurting a little bit, I thought Pop made the right decision with George playing well. He’s been playing well lately, with great defense and has been knocking down the 3-point shot lately.”
Tim Duncan
On the Thunder - “They played well and shot the ball well. We controlled the first half defensively and in the second half they just shot the ball well.”
On George’s defense on Kevin Durant - “I thought he did a great job. George works hard and with his length and anticipation I thought he did a really good job. He did a good job of taking (Kevin Durant) out of his game and obviously the weak side defense was big for him to help him out and be able to take some of those chances. He really did a good job getting up into him and making him uncomfortable.”
On keeping Manu out of the second half - “It’s a long season and Pop is about not taking risks and keeping his players healthy – that pays off in the long run. Whether we like it or not on a night to night basis it’s what pays off in the long run.”
On his ankle - “I had a pretty good night. I didn’t reinjure it and came out pretty unscathed. It’s not 100% but it feels pretty good.”
Thunder Head Coach Scott Brooks
On the game - “I just like the way we played tonight. We played very physical and we bet one of the best teams in basketball. I have a lot of respect for Coach Pop and I love what he does and what he’s about. We played really well tonight. We battled and played well in the stretch. This team was making winning basketball plays tonight. We rebounded well and blocked shots. Russell Westbrook was had one of his best games he was leading the team and making the right calls on the floor.”
On Third Quarter turn around - “We were playing very stagnant offense in the first half and the Spurs had the opportunity. I was trying to isolate Kevin Durant during the first half and that’s not how we play. We really needed to keep moving the basketball. The Spurs are a good team and they have a lot of weapons. Tonight the Spurs played well they play hard and they play together.”
Closing comments - “I like the way our team competes. All I ask from these guys is to play hard and play for each other the success of the game will come.”
Kevin Durant
On the emphasis of this win tonight - “This was a good road win for us to come win here on their floor where they‘ve won championships. To come in a game where people said that Oklahoma City had no chance and then fight through adversity, we did a good job in making apush in the third quarter which I believe led to our win. ”
On the team’s performance in the fourth quarter - “Everyone was clutch tonight. Any given night anyone can step up, when we played the Clippers it happened to be my turn, tonight it was Russell‘s, people on the team made some big plays in the fourth quarter as any player in any given night can step up which makes me feel good about our team.”
On the Spurs showing up on defense tonight - “They were extremely aggressive and we had a lot of good looks that we missed early and that‘s tough when you‘re on the road but you got to keep playing and I thought that when we got behind a little bit our shot selection suffered as we could have gotten better shots, we could have moved the ball better. You have to credit them for how they play and I’m disappointed with how we played simple as that.”
Russell Westbrook
On playing well tonight - “Yeah it‘s good, last game I took a setback. I‘ve been getting treatment as the training staff has been doing a good job with getting me in and out the training room trying to get me right. ”
On what contributed to their lack of performance tonight - “When you‘re out there playing you really don‘t think about it. But on the floor I know my teammates have my back so I just try and give my best.”
On if this win was a confidence builder - “It does a lot for us especially with this being a win on the road. But we have another game tomorrow, so we have to get our minds right, embrace this win, and once tomorrow hits get prepared to play the Clippers. They will be looking for some revenge so we will be ready.”