duncan228
01-31-2010, 05:22 PM
Post Game Quotes (http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/100131.html)
Gregg Popovich
On the game - It’s a tough loss. It’s a game we should have won, but didn’t because of ourselves. The first disappointment came at the end of the second quarter when they went on a 12-0 run. We had some open three’s, but didn’t shoot well. We lost our poise and attempted four horrible shots. Overall, if you can’t make a basket, you can’t win. Look at our shooting and look at theirs. People need to step up and start making some shots.
When asked about the defense - We’re fine. They made mistakes. We made mistakes. They shot the ball better than we shot the ball.
Manu Ginobili
On the game - It’s frustrating every time we lose especially at home as we had many opportunities where we could have changed the game whether with the three-pointer in the corner that Roger missed to Chauncey making shots as it led to us being down. J.R. got the ball in the wing and made a three, so it was plays like that hurt us. We made too many mistakes as plays like that are not motivating. There was another play in the game where they made a 12-0 run as we came in the locker room at halftime down five. So overall things like that are what kept us from winning the game.
On Parker's absence and how it compared to Carmelo Anthony being absent today - It didn’t mean much, we lost Tony, they lost Carmelo, as those are both very important parts to our basketball games, but it doesn’t matter. Even if we had Tony and they didn’t have Carmelo it really doesn’t matter because on the court we are five against five as somebody always shows up like Kenyon Martin did today by making shots and being huge for them. This is the NBA as it doesn’t matter who’s in front of it.
On if this was a game that you needed to make more than 20 percent - Yes, definitely. Some of them were pretty good shots and some of those we usually make as there were some big ones. There were too many things not going our way today to allow us to win the game.
Antonio McDyess
On the game - Yeah, they hit some tough shots and some big shots. We tried everything we could to get stops but unfortunately we didn’t and they came out with the win.
On Chauncey Billups' performance - Yeah his performance wasn’t a surprise to me as he draws so much attention on the court that you either have to double-team or try to get the ball out of his hands. That’s the thing about him, he makes all players around him better as I tip my hat off to him as he made plays to people like K-Mart who also made big shots.
On if they let Kenyon Martin get perimeter shots to keep him from the basket - No, we weren’t content with it but we wanted to see if he could make the outside shots but he got going as we got on him and contested as he was still making shots. Tonight was just his night.
George Karl
On the game - I thought our team did a great job of not losing their confidence. They played very well tonight, rather than in Oklahoma City. Kenyon was incredible; also I thought Arron Afflalo played special. We were efficient and our bigs in the second half battle Duncan down. Chauncey was a stud today, he know how to win games.
When asked how he feels that his team has the same winning percentage with Carmelo than without him - I hope to say it’s because of our perseverance and mental toughness. We believe and we know Carmelo is extremely important to us. I’ve always believed that injuries are windows of opportunity and our guys understand the strategy will be different, but we can still be a good team.
I thought their game plan for the last couple of game was to run more. We wanted to win the run rebound game. Hill and Ginobili are responsible for that. I don’t remember if they got that going, other than off our turnovers and bad mistakes. In the second half they went to the pick and roll game and our guys kept Duncan away from the ball a lot. Once again Kenyon was incredible. It might have been the best game he’s played for us
Chauncey Billups
On their road trip - It was a good trip. We had three really good teams on this road trip and came out over two of them. I think it was a great trip especially without our best player.
On the Spurs staying around and making a push at the end - We knew they were going to continue to make runs to keep the game close. I thought our execution down the stretch was great. We got a couple plays that we really liked and we ran second and third options out of them. That’s something, for us to take the next step, we need to get better at and I thought we did a great job executing down the stretch.
On their winning percentage being the same with/without Melo - I think that speaks to the fact that we got guys on the bench that are coming in and playing like starters. They’re not going to play like Melo, but they can play like starters. They can fill in and give us two or three people doing a little extra each night, it compensates for missing Melo.
On Martin over the last few weeks - This is definitely the best stretch that he’s had since I’ve been a Nugget. He’s just playing with so much confidence. He’s picking his spots well and getting some opportunities where we’re going to him on the block. He’s knocking his shot down. A lot of time when a player picks up his offense his defense slacks off, and he’s been great defensively. He’s taking the tough matchups. He’s just another great player for us right now. We’re going to need him to continue playing like this down the stretch.
Kenyon Martin
On the game - We just came out with a lot of energy. You know San Antonio. They’re always sound, they always play hard and they’re a well-coached team. We just came out with a lot of energy and attacked the rim and make plays. The guys did an excellent job of moving the ball around. If we come out and play hard and play with a lot of energy every night we’re hard to beat.
On picking up his offense in the absence of Melo - There’s more opportunities there. Most of the sets are run for Melo, so I just have to make plays and make myself more available. I can do it when he’s there, but I do an excellent job facilitating. I’m more likely to pass it to Melo a lot of times, but I can do it when he’s in the game as well. I’ve proven that. I’m just trying to be more aggressive as of late.
On the Spurs giving him the open mid-range jumper - That’s the way they always play me. That’s the way Pop coaches the game. They pack the paint in on people like myself and dare us to make shots. The last couple of games I’ve just been focusing in and trying to make sure to knock them down.
On whether or not Chauncey should have been an All-Star - Two guys made it ahead of him that are behind us in our own division. You do the math. That’s the way it goes sometimes, but he’s an All-Star in our eyes.
Gregg Popovich
On the game - It’s a tough loss. It’s a game we should have won, but didn’t because of ourselves. The first disappointment came at the end of the second quarter when they went on a 12-0 run. We had some open three’s, but didn’t shoot well. We lost our poise and attempted four horrible shots. Overall, if you can’t make a basket, you can’t win. Look at our shooting and look at theirs. People need to step up and start making some shots.
When asked about the defense - We’re fine. They made mistakes. We made mistakes. They shot the ball better than we shot the ball.
Manu Ginobili
On the game - It’s frustrating every time we lose especially at home as we had many opportunities where we could have changed the game whether with the three-pointer in the corner that Roger missed to Chauncey making shots as it led to us being down. J.R. got the ball in the wing and made a three, so it was plays like that hurt us. We made too many mistakes as plays like that are not motivating. There was another play in the game where they made a 12-0 run as we came in the locker room at halftime down five. So overall things like that are what kept us from winning the game.
On Parker's absence and how it compared to Carmelo Anthony being absent today - It didn’t mean much, we lost Tony, they lost Carmelo, as those are both very important parts to our basketball games, but it doesn’t matter. Even if we had Tony and they didn’t have Carmelo it really doesn’t matter because on the court we are five against five as somebody always shows up like Kenyon Martin did today by making shots and being huge for them. This is the NBA as it doesn’t matter who’s in front of it.
On if this was a game that you needed to make more than 20 percent - Yes, definitely. Some of them were pretty good shots and some of those we usually make as there were some big ones. There were too many things not going our way today to allow us to win the game.
Antonio McDyess
On the game - Yeah, they hit some tough shots and some big shots. We tried everything we could to get stops but unfortunately we didn’t and they came out with the win.
On Chauncey Billups' performance - Yeah his performance wasn’t a surprise to me as he draws so much attention on the court that you either have to double-team or try to get the ball out of his hands. That’s the thing about him, he makes all players around him better as I tip my hat off to him as he made plays to people like K-Mart who also made big shots.
On if they let Kenyon Martin get perimeter shots to keep him from the basket - No, we weren’t content with it but we wanted to see if he could make the outside shots but he got going as we got on him and contested as he was still making shots. Tonight was just his night.
George Karl
On the game - I thought our team did a great job of not losing their confidence. They played very well tonight, rather than in Oklahoma City. Kenyon was incredible; also I thought Arron Afflalo played special. We were efficient and our bigs in the second half battle Duncan down. Chauncey was a stud today, he know how to win games.
When asked how he feels that his team has the same winning percentage with Carmelo than without him - I hope to say it’s because of our perseverance and mental toughness. We believe and we know Carmelo is extremely important to us. I’ve always believed that injuries are windows of opportunity and our guys understand the strategy will be different, but we can still be a good team.
I thought their game plan for the last couple of game was to run more. We wanted to win the run rebound game. Hill and Ginobili are responsible for that. I don’t remember if they got that going, other than off our turnovers and bad mistakes. In the second half they went to the pick and roll game and our guys kept Duncan away from the ball a lot. Once again Kenyon was incredible. It might have been the best game he’s played for us
Chauncey Billups
On their road trip - It was a good trip. We had three really good teams on this road trip and came out over two of them. I think it was a great trip especially without our best player.
On the Spurs staying around and making a push at the end - We knew they were going to continue to make runs to keep the game close. I thought our execution down the stretch was great. We got a couple plays that we really liked and we ran second and third options out of them. That’s something, for us to take the next step, we need to get better at and I thought we did a great job executing down the stretch.
On their winning percentage being the same with/without Melo - I think that speaks to the fact that we got guys on the bench that are coming in and playing like starters. They’re not going to play like Melo, but they can play like starters. They can fill in and give us two or three people doing a little extra each night, it compensates for missing Melo.
On Martin over the last few weeks - This is definitely the best stretch that he’s had since I’ve been a Nugget. He’s just playing with so much confidence. He’s picking his spots well and getting some opportunities where we’re going to him on the block. He’s knocking his shot down. A lot of time when a player picks up his offense his defense slacks off, and he’s been great defensively. He’s taking the tough matchups. He’s just another great player for us right now. We’re going to need him to continue playing like this down the stretch.
Kenyon Martin
On the game - We just came out with a lot of energy. You know San Antonio. They’re always sound, they always play hard and they’re a well-coached team. We just came out with a lot of energy and attacked the rim and make plays. The guys did an excellent job of moving the ball around. If we come out and play hard and play with a lot of energy every night we’re hard to beat.
On picking up his offense in the absence of Melo - There’s more opportunities there. Most of the sets are run for Melo, so I just have to make plays and make myself more available. I can do it when he’s there, but I do an excellent job facilitating. I’m more likely to pass it to Melo a lot of times, but I can do it when he’s in the game as well. I’ve proven that. I’m just trying to be more aggressive as of late.
On the Spurs giving him the open mid-range jumper - That’s the way they always play me. That’s the way Pop coaches the game. They pack the paint in on people like myself and dare us to make shots. The last couple of games I’ve just been focusing in and trying to make sure to knock them down.
On whether or not Chauncey should have been an All-Star - Two guys made it ahead of him that are behind us in our own division. You do the math. That’s the way it goes sometimes, but he’s an All-Star in our eyes.