duncan228
03-26-2010, 11:42 PM
Post Game Quotes (http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/100326.html)
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “We certainly need all the wins we can get at this point, and that was a good one for us.”
When asked how he felt about ending the Cavs' 8-game win streak - “We’re just glad we won the game. I don’t know what kind of streak they’re on.”
When asked why he stuck with the same line-up to start the fourth and kept them deep into the quarter - “I liked what they were doing.”
On the challenge of trying to shut down LeBron James and Antawn Jamison - “Well, LeBron is a Hall of Fame player. Jamison is tough for smalls because he’s big and he’s tough for bigs because he’s quick.”
When asked since the Spurs had 26 assist on 37 field goals is that the way the offense has to work - “We’re not a one on one team. We don’t have people who isolate and say, ‘Go do it.’ That’s not the kind of players we have. We need to do it together and they did a good job of that.”
Manu Ginobili
On the game - It was a fun game. Every time you play the best in the league it’s a real challenge. We are very happy to have won this one. We are still a little sad about the last game with the Lakers – we feel we could have won it too – but that shows that even though we haven’t had a great season we are not that far away. If we can get a little bit better every game we will be in good shape.
On the Spurs' recent improvement as a team - We are improving. You can tell by the way we are playing, the emotion, execution, we are doing much better. We are hustling, playing hard so that is something that is fun to see and fun to play. You enjoy every minute more when you play that way. I am proud of what we have done today and if we keep getting better we will have a really good chance.
On his play in the fourth quarter - I just tried to be aggressive. I made a couple of 3-pointers and I went to find open teammates. When our guys make those 3-pointers from the corner then the other team gets worried and I can get to the rim. I think the big key were those 3-pointers that really got me going in the fourth quarter.
George Hill
On how he contributed despite his poor shooting night - I just tried to win the game. It was a tough night for me as far as shooting the ball but it happens. It happens to everyone. One thing I have to do is keep doing things to help my teammates. If I can get a rebound, a steal here or there – it all seemed to work out tonight.
On defending Lebron James - I just tried to do what I do to everyone else. But he is different. I don’t think I can just play behind him. He is too big, too athletic, I just try to front him and hopefully my teammates will have help behind me.
On defending Durant, Bryant, and James in the last three games - Great experience – any time you get to guard some of the best, it’s always a great thing to do and a great learning curve for me especially being so young of a player. It’s fun to have to guard them.
Mike Brown
On the game - “This was a good game for us. San Antonio found a way to win tonight. They chipped at us the whole game. I thought we played good also. If we were ahead or we were down I thought we played good the entire game. Our guys were engaged and executed the entire game. One thing we had against us tonight was being in San Antonio’s building. This is a very tough place to play and you must have a good mentality towards so many things in San Antonio. They don’t get called for many fouls and the Spurs have a very physical defense. San Antonio is also a very well executing team. You must play your game for 48 minutes in order to beat this team. This was a well played game by both teams and San Antonio deserved to win.”
On team play - “I thought we answered San Antonio’s defense well tonight. We had a couple of times when we tried to turn things around to fast and ended up turn the ball over. During the first half we weren’t converting our turnovers into points and during the second half we did. You have to give San Antonio credit tonight. The Spurs did a great job. This was a good game and a very intense game.”
On Manu Ginobili - “Manu has played very well against us this season. I don’t know if Manu has played a bad game when it’s against us. He’s a spectacular talent and he can make plays. Great game by Manu. Not only was he scoring but he was making the right plays for his team.”
LeBron James
On what happened down the stretch towards the end of the game - “They executed great. We may have had one or two blown coverages, but most of the time we played our defensive principles and either Manu made a play for himself or made a play for someone else with an open look. When they shoot the ball well, they‘re very tough to beat because we already know they‘re going to play defense.”
On still having a shot at the end with the free throws - “Absolutely. We’re a team that was never going to give up no matter how far we were down, as I am proud of the way we stuck in the game no matter what the point difference was. Down the stretch we were able to extend the game and give ourselves another chance, but being down eight with forty-something seconds it was very tough but we extended the game.
On whether he was frustrated by the double teams by the Spurs tonight - “I don‘t think none of us got frustrated, me personally I didn‘t get frustrated. I‘ve seen every coverage before so I got past the frustration stage. They did a good job with keeping bodies sometimes double-teaming, other times trapping, as sometimes we didn‘t find the open man.”
On if the physical play like tonight gets him ready for the playoffs - “Well both teams are ready for the playoffs as every game matters for both teams. San Antonio is still trying to work their seating as we‘re trying to get the number one spot throughout the playoffs. Every game is a playoff game for both teams as that was the type of game it was tonight.”
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “We certainly need all the wins we can get at this point, and that was a good one for us.”
When asked how he felt about ending the Cavs' 8-game win streak - “We’re just glad we won the game. I don’t know what kind of streak they’re on.”
When asked why he stuck with the same line-up to start the fourth and kept them deep into the quarter - “I liked what they were doing.”
On the challenge of trying to shut down LeBron James and Antawn Jamison - “Well, LeBron is a Hall of Fame player. Jamison is tough for smalls because he’s big and he’s tough for bigs because he’s quick.”
When asked since the Spurs had 26 assist on 37 field goals is that the way the offense has to work - “We’re not a one on one team. We don’t have people who isolate and say, ‘Go do it.’ That’s not the kind of players we have. We need to do it together and they did a good job of that.”
Manu Ginobili
On the game - It was a fun game. Every time you play the best in the league it’s a real challenge. We are very happy to have won this one. We are still a little sad about the last game with the Lakers – we feel we could have won it too – but that shows that even though we haven’t had a great season we are not that far away. If we can get a little bit better every game we will be in good shape.
On the Spurs' recent improvement as a team - We are improving. You can tell by the way we are playing, the emotion, execution, we are doing much better. We are hustling, playing hard so that is something that is fun to see and fun to play. You enjoy every minute more when you play that way. I am proud of what we have done today and if we keep getting better we will have a really good chance.
On his play in the fourth quarter - I just tried to be aggressive. I made a couple of 3-pointers and I went to find open teammates. When our guys make those 3-pointers from the corner then the other team gets worried and I can get to the rim. I think the big key were those 3-pointers that really got me going in the fourth quarter.
George Hill
On how he contributed despite his poor shooting night - I just tried to win the game. It was a tough night for me as far as shooting the ball but it happens. It happens to everyone. One thing I have to do is keep doing things to help my teammates. If I can get a rebound, a steal here or there – it all seemed to work out tonight.
On defending Lebron James - I just tried to do what I do to everyone else. But he is different. I don’t think I can just play behind him. He is too big, too athletic, I just try to front him and hopefully my teammates will have help behind me.
On defending Durant, Bryant, and James in the last three games - Great experience – any time you get to guard some of the best, it’s always a great thing to do and a great learning curve for me especially being so young of a player. It’s fun to have to guard them.
Mike Brown
On the game - “This was a good game for us. San Antonio found a way to win tonight. They chipped at us the whole game. I thought we played good also. If we were ahead or we were down I thought we played good the entire game. Our guys were engaged and executed the entire game. One thing we had against us tonight was being in San Antonio’s building. This is a very tough place to play and you must have a good mentality towards so many things in San Antonio. They don’t get called for many fouls and the Spurs have a very physical defense. San Antonio is also a very well executing team. You must play your game for 48 minutes in order to beat this team. This was a well played game by both teams and San Antonio deserved to win.”
On team play - “I thought we answered San Antonio’s defense well tonight. We had a couple of times when we tried to turn things around to fast and ended up turn the ball over. During the first half we weren’t converting our turnovers into points and during the second half we did. You have to give San Antonio credit tonight. The Spurs did a great job. This was a good game and a very intense game.”
On Manu Ginobili - “Manu has played very well against us this season. I don’t know if Manu has played a bad game when it’s against us. He’s a spectacular talent and he can make plays. Great game by Manu. Not only was he scoring but he was making the right plays for his team.”
LeBron James
On what happened down the stretch towards the end of the game - “They executed great. We may have had one or two blown coverages, but most of the time we played our defensive principles and either Manu made a play for himself or made a play for someone else with an open look. When they shoot the ball well, they‘re very tough to beat because we already know they‘re going to play defense.”
On still having a shot at the end with the free throws - “Absolutely. We’re a team that was never going to give up no matter how far we were down, as I am proud of the way we stuck in the game no matter what the point difference was. Down the stretch we were able to extend the game and give ourselves another chance, but being down eight with forty-something seconds it was very tough but we extended the game.
On whether he was frustrated by the double teams by the Spurs tonight - “I don‘t think none of us got frustrated, me personally I didn‘t get frustrated. I‘ve seen every coverage before so I got past the frustration stage. They did a good job with keeping bodies sometimes double-teaming, other times trapping, as sometimes we didn‘t find the open man.”
On if the physical play like tonight gets him ready for the playoffs - “Well both teams are ready for the playoffs as every game matters for both teams. San Antonio is still trying to work their seating as we‘re trying to get the number one spot throughout the playoffs. Every game is a playoff game for both teams as that was the type of game it was tonight.”