duncan228
03-11-2010, 01:49 AM
Post Game Quotes (http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/100310.html)
Gregg Popovich
On Malik Hairston - I was very happy (with his game). He came out and competed on every play on both ends of the court. He showed good awareness and did a good job. He’s getting better and he’s getting more and more comfortable. Tonight he helped us win a basketball game.
On the defense - We held them to 18 less than they usually score. I’m pretty happy with that.
Malik Hairston
On defending Danilo - Just defend him. He is a good player and very talented but I have to try not to be super physical and get into one of those kind of matches but at the same time use my quickness and length.
On Danilo’s over the head shot - Oh yeah. I thought it was pretty good defense but he tried to put me on Sportscenter. It was a pretty good shot.
On his playing time tonight - I definitely appreciated the trust that Coach Pop has in me. It was great to be out there and compete. I have to be smart, aggressive, listen to the calls, execute and if the opportunities are there be aggressive with the basketball and defend aggressively.
You never really know because you have to always stay ready. I have to keep learning as the season progresses and whenever I get an opportunity be prepared.
Keith Bogans
On tonight’s game - It was a tough game; they kept scrapping and never gave up. We made turnovers coming down the stretch and didn’t make shots but we still hung in there and pulled it out.
On the defensive effort tonight - I don’t think Coach Pop is ever going to be pleased with defense because we can always get better. We are going to continue to work at that and keep trying to get better every night.
When the Knicks closed the gap in the fourth quarter - We were in that situation the other night at Cleveland. It was a close game and we didn’t make plays coming down the stretch. Tonight we made those plays and learned from the other night in Cleveland.
On Manu Ginobili’s offensive effort - I always feel that way when Manu comes out, he is such a good offensive player. We just sit back and I find myself watching him out there sometimes – he is fun to watch.
Mike DAntoni
On the second half - We picked up the tempo and pushed the ball. I feel like we gave ourselves a chance to win. I think our defense was good throughout the entire game. We really have to make our shots to beat a team like the Spurs and tonight we didn’t do it.
On team play - It's hard to second guess a player. Tonight we all had opportunities to get the job done but we were reckless and didn’t play well which compromised the game. We were able to step up during the second half and we were given our opportunities tonight but as I mentioned we just didn’t do it.
On Manu Ginobili - Ginobili is good. He’s just as good as he is sharp. When it’s on the line and he’s coming at you it’s very difficult to stop.
On tonight’s match-up - When you play against a team like the Spurs you know it’s going to be tough. I think we played hard and competed. The Spurs really didn’t play well tonight but we competed. These are games we want to be in. We want to be competitive in every game and we want to win some. We need to compete in every play and put ourselves in a position to win. Win or not we better be competing.
Eddy Curry
On his right calf pain that made him not play in tonight’s game - I first felt it four days ago as it was just one of those things. It felt similar to training camp and we just don’t want to push it if it’s going to have the same kind of outcome. It’s pretty much just going to be game by game. I’m going to see if I can get it warmed up, see if we can massage it to get it better but we’ll see what happens.
On if the injury is in the same area as the one that occurred in training camp - No, the injury moved to a different spot on the outside. I’ve just been overworking it, overcompensating because of the knee injury but right now we’re just not going to let anything crazy happen and just take it game by game.
On if he will practice tomorrow - Yeah I will definitely go early as always, try to loosen it up, get up and down a little bit and see how it is.
Toney Douglas
On the Knicks defensive performance in the second half - I love defense so it was fun for me picking up and messing with the ball handlers and bringing the ball up and not letting them get into their place easily and make them feel uncomfortable. We got into a rhythm defensively and on the offensive end I was just trying to push it so we could get easy buckets and catch back up.
On taking advantage of mismatches on the defensive end - They had some mismatches at times with Duncan but for us I know at times I had to fake to get them out of rhythm and to get steals. I thought we did pretty good coming back but we just waited too late in the second half. If we start from the game from jump, we’ll be just fine.
On what it takes to catch up - Yeah we were catching up and they hit a three and that just did it for us. But we have to keep our motor going and if I’m in the game I’m going to try to start it on the defensive end.
Gregg Popovich
On Malik Hairston - I was very happy (with his game). He came out and competed on every play on both ends of the court. He showed good awareness and did a good job. He’s getting better and he’s getting more and more comfortable. Tonight he helped us win a basketball game.
On the defense - We held them to 18 less than they usually score. I’m pretty happy with that.
Malik Hairston
On defending Danilo - Just defend him. He is a good player and very talented but I have to try not to be super physical and get into one of those kind of matches but at the same time use my quickness and length.
On Danilo’s over the head shot - Oh yeah. I thought it was pretty good defense but he tried to put me on Sportscenter. It was a pretty good shot.
On his playing time tonight - I definitely appreciated the trust that Coach Pop has in me. It was great to be out there and compete. I have to be smart, aggressive, listen to the calls, execute and if the opportunities are there be aggressive with the basketball and defend aggressively.
You never really know because you have to always stay ready. I have to keep learning as the season progresses and whenever I get an opportunity be prepared.
Keith Bogans
On tonight’s game - It was a tough game; they kept scrapping and never gave up. We made turnovers coming down the stretch and didn’t make shots but we still hung in there and pulled it out.
On the defensive effort tonight - I don’t think Coach Pop is ever going to be pleased with defense because we can always get better. We are going to continue to work at that and keep trying to get better every night.
When the Knicks closed the gap in the fourth quarter - We were in that situation the other night at Cleveland. It was a close game and we didn’t make plays coming down the stretch. Tonight we made those plays and learned from the other night in Cleveland.
On Manu Ginobili’s offensive effort - I always feel that way when Manu comes out, he is such a good offensive player. We just sit back and I find myself watching him out there sometimes – he is fun to watch.
Mike DAntoni
On the second half - We picked up the tempo and pushed the ball. I feel like we gave ourselves a chance to win. I think our defense was good throughout the entire game. We really have to make our shots to beat a team like the Spurs and tonight we didn’t do it.
On team play - It's hard to second guess a player. Tonight we all had opportunities to get the job done but we were reckless and didn’t play well which compromised the game. We were able to step up during the second half and we were given our opportunities tonight but as I mentioned we just didn’t do it.
On Manu Ginobili - Ginobili is good. He’s just as good as he is sharp. When it’s on the line and he’s coming at you it’s very difficult to stop.
On tonight’s match-up - When you play against a team like the Spurs you know it’s going to be tough. I think we played hard and competed. The Spurs really didn’t play well tonight but we competed. These are games we want to be in. We want to be competitive in every game and we want to win some. We need to compete in every play and put ourselves in a position to win. Win or not we better be competing.
Eddy Curry
On his right calf pain that made him not play in tonight’s game - I first felt it four days ago as it was just one of those things. It felt similar to training camp and we just don’t want to push it if it’s going to have the same kind of outcome. It’s pretty much just going to be game by game. I’m going to see if I can get it warmed up, see if we can massage it to get it better but we’ll see what happens.
On if the injury is in the same area as the one that occurred in training camp - No, the injury moved to a different spot on the outside. I’ve just been overworking it, overcompensating because of the knee injury but right now we’re just not going to let anything crazy happen and just take it game by game.
On if he will practice tomorrow - Yeah I will definitely go early as always, try to loosen it up, get up and down a little bit and see how it is.
Toney Douglas
On the Knicks defensive performance in the second half - I love defense so it was fun for me picking up and messing with the ball handlers and bringing the ball up and not letting them get into their place easily and make them feel uncomfortable. We got into a rhythm defensively and on the offensive end I was just trying to push it so we could get easy buckets and catch back up.
On taking advantage of mismatches on the defensive end - They had some mismatches at times with Duncan but for us I know at times I had to fake to get them out of rhythm and to get steals. I thought we did pretty good coming back but we just waited too late in the second half. If we start from the game from jump, we’ll be just fine.
On what it takes to catch up - Yeah we were catching up and they hit a three and that just did it for us. But we have to keep our motor going and if I’m in the game I’m going to try to start it on the defensive end.