duncan228
12-19-2010, 01:02 AM
Post-Game Quotes (http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/101218.html)
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “We’re excited about the overtime win and I thought we did a great job of hanging in there and continuing to play on a night when mentally, I thought we were very subpar. They did a great job of scoring and we had a lot of mental errors at both ends of the court. I thought it was a sloppy game on our part, but we did maintain our effort and the effort never let up and finally got us an opportunity to win it at the end. Sometimes you have games like that and we’ll certainly take it.”
When asked if this was one of Tony’s most impressive offensive games - “Tony’s been like this for awhile. He started the year great. He had a couple of games where maybe he wasn’t quite as good, which is understandable and if you look at what he’s doing, even in the Denver game, he and Timmy were amazing, but everybody just remembers what Manu did at the end. They were both tremendous again tonight. Tony brought us home. Manu played well, but without what Tony did all night long, we wouldn’t have been there and even had a chance."
On Antonio McDyess and the defense he played on Zach Randolph - “I think Dyess did the best job on him all night long. We switched up defenses when Dyess went in and without his “D” we probably wouldn’t have the opportunity to win. He did a great job on him.”
On Chris Quinn stepping up in the absence of George Hill - “That’s why Chris is here. He can run a team. He’s a good shooter. He’s a smart player. It was great for him to get an opportunity and play so well.”
On the rebounding battle - “Zach Randolph is maybe one of the best rebounders that we’ve seen in the league, especially at the offensive end. He does that all the time. It’s no surprise.”
Manu Ginobili
On the game - “Not easy at all. We made tons of mistakes. They’re a good team; talented. They were playing without one of their best players which is something that usually makes everyone else play better. We were not as sharp as the games before tonight. At least we got the win. We played better in overtime, especially defensively.”
On the last play in regulation turning out the way it was supposed to - “Not exactly. I saw him wide open. I thought he had the layup. He thought he might get a charge or a block, so he found Richard wide open, too. It’s a 14-foot open jumper. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to do, but I think we were trying to do something different.”
On his alley-oop to Jefferson late in the 4th - “I thought it was a good look. Richard is unbelievable in those situations. I don’t know if he lost it or if it was a bad pass. I don’t care. I thought it was good in the situation though. I could have gone with something safer, but at that point I thought that is was a good look.”
On Chris Quinn’s contribution tonight - “We made a great run with him on the court. He made three very important jumpers and the team played well. It’s basically his first game with us with good minutes and we’re all happy with the way he performed.”
On if it is difficult to prepare for the new-look Suns on Monday - “Yes because we don’t know exactly what to expect. It’s a different team, so we’ll see what we do. We have to control Nash and their pick-and-rolls, but of course it’s going to be a different look based on the Suns we are used to.”
Tony Parker
On the game - “I was just trying to be aggressive out there. From the get-go I hit a couple of tear-drops that got me some confidence.”
On getting tired of these games coming down to the wire - “As long as we’re winning I’m okay with it. I think tonight everyone was a little tired. It was our third game in four nights and maybe we felt it a little bit with some bad decisions. But then we made some smart plays in overtime to win the game.”
On the final play in regulation - “I was ready, but I thought he made a great pass to Timmy. I thought Timmy was open, but he passed the ball to Richard. Everyone was being unselfish and Richard had a good look but it just didn’t go in. We did a better job in overtime to win the game.”
On playing against Nash Monday - “Everyone knows I love to play against Nash, everyone knows that. He’s one of the best point guards in the NBA and it’s been like that for a long time. I’ve always had some success against them and hopefully that continues.”
Grizzlies Head Coach Lionel Hollins
On the game - “Our guys came out and played hard. We took them into overtime and we had a couple of turnovers. Defensively, Tony Parker had quick moves and had an unbelievable game on us.”
On turnovers - “We battled them right at the end and then they came back at us and we tried our best. We were trying to get three pointers and they had some good lay ups. Tony made his shots and Randolph was a beast; he came up with rebounds and he’s a workhorse. The Spurs players have been together for 10 years. Ginobili is healthy, Parker is healthy and they have another gear as far as professional. Tony was running down the court 900 miles an hour. If we had executed better options, then we would have made better choices.”
How important was it on competing - “It was very important to compete, but I thought we should have won the game. We played hard enough and competed, but we didn’t.”
O.J. Mayo
On coming back to force overtime - “We should’ve won the game as we played so well, now it was all for no reason. [Spurs] are the number one team in the league now but we still had a chance to win the ballgame.”
On his clutch shot to tie the game in the fourth - “I simply tried to get free for a shot. I did some pump-fakes, Ginobili and Jefferson went for them and the shot became open. I took a step back and just tried to get a good look and knocked it down.”
On how to stop Parker after his season high performance tonight - “I don’t know. You can either try to get around the screens or trap him to give the ball up. The team also has Ginobili, another playmaker, as they simply just have a solid team. They’ve won world championships, so it’s tough.”
Zach Randolph
On the game - “We played hard tonight but we just did some things that caused the game for us. On the defensive end, we got some stops in which we had plays that we should’ve taken advantage of. Overall, we gave a good effort as everyone stepped up. O.J. played great, Tony Allen came in and played great as everyone contributed.”
On Tony Parker - “Tony’s an all-star, why wouldn’t you want a guy like that on your team. He’s one of the best point guards in the league as he penetrates the ball, gets to the basket and knows how to find guys. He’s just a great all-around player.”
On his performance tonight - “I just tried to come out tonight and be aggressive. I tried to come out, crash the boards, and just get what the offense was giving me. Overall, tonight I was just trying to play my game."
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “We’re excited about the overtime win and I thought we did a great job of hanging in there and continuing to play on a night when mentally, I thought we were very subpar. They did a great job of scoring and we had a lot of mental errors at both ends of the court. I thought it was a sloppy game on our part, but we did maintain our effort and the effort never let up and finally got us an opportunity to win it at the end. Sometimes you have games like that and we’ll certainly take it.”
When asked if this was one of Tony’s most impressive offensive games - “Tony’s been like this for awhile. He started the year great. He had a couple of games where maybe he wasn’t quite as good, which is understandable and if you look at what he’s doing, even in the Denver game, he and Timmy were amazing, but everybody just remembers what Manu did at the end. They were both tremendous again tonight. Tony brought us home. Manu played well, but without what Tony did all night long, we wouldn’t have been there and even had a chance."
On Antonio McDyess and the defense he played on Zach Randolph - “I think Dyess did the best job on him all night long. We switched up defenses when Dyess went in and without his “D” we probably wouldn’t have the opportunity to win. He did a great job on him.”
On Chris Quinn stepping up in the absence of George Hill - “That’s why Chris is here. He can run a team. He’s a good shooter. He’s a smart player. It was great for him to get an opportunity and play so well.”
On the rebounding battle - “Zach Randolph is maybe one of the best rebounders that we’ve seen in the league, especially at the offensive end. He does that all the time. It’s no surprise.”
Manu Ginobili
On the game - “Not easy at all. We made tons of mistakes. They’re a good team; talented. They were playing without one of their best players which is something that usually makes everyone else play better. We were not as sharp as the games before tonight. At least we got the win. We played better in overtime, especially defensively.”
On the last play in regulation turning out the way it was supposed to - “Not exactly. I saw him wide open. I thought he had the layup. He thought he might get a charge or a block, so he found Richard wide open, too. It’s a 14-foot open jumper. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to do, but I think we were trying to do something different.”
On his alley-oop to Jefferson late in the 4th - “I thought it was a good look. Richard is unbelievable in those situations. I don’t know if he lost it or if it was a bad pass. I don’t care. I thought it was good in the situation though. I could have gone with something safer, but at that point I thought that is was a good look.”
On Chris Quinn’s contribution tonight - “We made a great run with him on the court. He made three very important jumpers and the team played well. It’s basically his first game with us with good minutes and we’re all happy with the way he performed.”
On if it is difficult to prepare for the new-look Suns on Monday - “Yes because we don’t know exactly what to expect. It’s a different team, so we’ll see what we do. We have to control Nash and their pick-and-rolls, but of course it’s going to be a different look based on the Suns we are used to.”
Tony Parker
On the game - “I was just trying to be aggressive out there. From the get-go I hit a couple of tear-drops that got me some confidence.”
On getting tired of these games coming down to the wire - “As long as we’re winning I’m okay with it. I think tonight everyone was a little tired. It was our third game in four nights and maybe we felt it a little bit with some bad decisions. But then we made some smart plays in overtime to win the game.”
On the final play in regulation - “I was ready, but I thought he made a great pass to Timmy. I thought Timmy was open, but he passed the ball to Richard. Everyone was being unselfish and Richard had a good look but it just didn’t go in. We did a better job in overtime to win the game.”
On playing against Nash Monday - “Everyone knows I love to play against Nash, everyone knows that. He’s one of the best point guards in the NBA and it’s been like that for a long time. I’ve always had some success against them and hopefully that continues.”
Grizzlies Head Coach Lionel Hollins
On the game - “Our guys came out and played hard. We took them into overtime and we had a couple of turnovers. Defensively, Tony Parker had quick moves and had an unbelievable game on us.”
On turnovers - “We battled them right at the end and then they came back at us and we tried our best. We were trying to get three pointers and they had some good lay ups. Tony made his shots and Randolph was a beast; he came up with rebounds and he’s a workhorse. The Spurs players have been together for 10 years. Ginobili is healthy, Parker is healthy and they have another gear as far as professional. Tony was running down the court 900 miles an hour. If we had executed better options, then we would have made better choices.”
How important was it on competing - “It was very important to compete, but I thought we should have won the game. We played hard enough and competed, but we didn’t.”
O.J. Mayo
On coming back to force overtime - “We should’ve won the game as we played so well, now it was all for no reason. [Spurs] are the number one team in the league now but we still had a chance to win the ballgame.”
On his clutch shot to tie the game in the fourth - “I simply tried to get free for a shot. I did some pump-fakes, Ginobili and Jefferson went for them and the shot became open. I took a step back and just tried to get a good look and knocked it down.”
On how to stop Parker after his season high performance tonight - “I don’t know. You can either try to get around the screens or trap him to give the ball up. The team also has Ginobili, another playmaker, as they simply just have a solid team. They’ve won world championships, so it’s tough.”
Zach Randolph
On the game - “We played hard tonight but we just did some things that caused the game for us. On the defensive end, we got some stops in which we had plays that we should’ve taken advantage of. Overall, we gave a good effort as everyone stepped up. O.J. played great, Tony Allen came in and played great as everyone contributed.”
On Tony Parker - “Tony’s an all-star, why wouldn’t you want a guy like that on your team. He’s one of the best point guards in the league as he penetrates the ball, gets to the basket and knows how to find guys. He’s just a great all-around player.”
On his performance tonight - “I just tried to come out tonight and be aggressive. I tried to come out, crash the boards, and just get what the offense was giving me. Overall, tonight I was just trying to play my game."