Tonight's Game Quotes

[m33p0]

*are we allowed to post it in it's entirety? if not, just bleeping delete it*
What the Spurs and Nuggets said Sunday night
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...-sunday-night/

Here’s a sampling of the post-game comments from the Spurs and Nuggets after the Spurs’ 110-97 victory Sunday night at the AT&T Center.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich

(On if this was a game where Tony Parker got aggressive to get things going)

“We had a really poor first quarter and a really good second quarter. Tony and Manu had a lot to do with that. That was probably the best part of the game…going down the way we did and then keeping our composure and digging ourselves back into the game. That was a good thing for us.”

(On the difficulty of sustaining a lead in the NBA…was this a game where they had to work hard to maintain focus?)

“No, it’s not hard. We didn’t have that big a lead…I guess we had a 15-point lead…but they’re a very talented team, very aggressive, very physical and losing focus against Denver is pretty difficult to do.”

(On if Tiago Splitter’s dunk at the end of the game was scary)

“Of course; that would scare anybody. He says he’s fine. His butt bone must be made out of steel.”

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili

(On the key to the second-quarter surge)

“We really pushed the ball, made a lot of threes. It was great offense, mainly. Then defensively we started to play better, but we didn’t start the second quarter defending that well, but the second half of it, we played really well. I think the most impressive thing was the offense. I think we scored more than 30, 35 or something like that, so it was a very important part of the game.

On the Spurs making 14 shots in a row)

“I could feel that we were making a lot of shots and we were attacking well and even drawing fouls. Of course I didn’t have that stat but if I’m not mistaken we went on a 20-0 run or close to that. We were down nine and went up 13 pretty quick, so it was a great run.”

(On Tiago Splitter gaining more confidence tonight)

“That’s the only thing he needs, to play and to feel good about himself and to feel confident again. Of course it’s not easy to play in a few games and then all of a sudden have to provide things for the team right away. He’s going to have the opportunity depending on how long Matt [Bonner] is going to be out. We all trust in him. We know he’s a great player, he just needs to feel important.”

(On Tony Parker taking control of the offense)

“Tony was huge scoring today. They just couldn’t stop him getting to the rim. He was showing them (his) midrange (game) and then closed the game with two threes. He had the whole package today. He was impressive. They just couldn’t stop him.”

Spurs guard Tony Parker

(On the key to the second quarter)

“We made stops, made shots. When you make stops, it creates opportunities for easy baskets. I got a couple layups, my teammates made some big threes, and we got it going. In the second half, we played better on defense, a better job on Carmelo [Anthony] and I think that was the key to the second quarter.”

(On how the Spurs feel with a 35-6 record)

“Feel great. We have to keep it going, can’t be satisfied and we just keep pushing. We have a long road trip coming up so that’s going to be a big one. We need to stay focused and keep playing well.”

(On if Carmelo Anthony isn’t playing his best)

“No, he’s playing, he’s playing aggressive. We threw everybody at him, double team, triple team, so we try to slow him down. He’s one of the best scorers in the league and one of the best players and we try to slow him down, but he’s definitely playing hard.”

Denver Nuggets coach George Karl

(On what happened in the second quarter)

“It was a bad offensive and bad defensive quarter. Most of the time I think sometimes our offensive patience in passing the ball sometimes gets us frustrated and drains our energy in playing defense the right way. Ginobili and Parker have been going at a lot of teams this year where their penetration is just really difficult to stay in control of. And so we were bad offensively and bad defensively and they got the lead. I thought we fought and tried to hang in there but they seemed to have all of the energy on their side most of the game, especially in the second half. We just didn’t play well enough to win against one of the best teams on the road.”

(On Carmelo Anthony’s performance tonight)

“They gave him a lot of looks, they also doubled him a lot and force him into a crowd a lot – they do a really good job of that. We got him some easy ones in the second half but we didn’t get him any easy ones in the first half. We got a little frustrated but we need to play as a team on both ends of the court with a little more confidence and a little more togetherness and tonight we didn’t do that. ”

(On the key to winning is needing to control Ginobili and Parker)

“You need to start by keeping the ball away from the rim and we did a pretty good job of that except for the explosion in the second quarter. The three ball and the free throw line hurt us more tonight than normal. They are a great 3-point shooting team and they started making theirs threes in the second half.”

Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony

(On the loss)

“It was a tough loss for us, knowing how well we’ve been playing in the last week and a half. We won in three straight games by like 25 points, but we come here against a team that is, as people say, one of the best in the NBA right now. It was a tough one for us.”

(On being double and triple-teamed)

“That’s the M.O. They did a great job. Every time the ball looked like it was coming my way, two or three guys came at me. That was just something I was seeing a lot.”

(On being asked if it was his last game)

“No. I’m going to play Wednesday against Oklahoma City, then against the Lakers, then Indiana.”

[boutons_deux]

“That’s the only thing he needs, to play and to feel good about himself and to feel confident again. Of course it’s not easy to play in a few games and then all of a sudden have to provide things for the team right away. He’s going to have the opportunity depending on how long Matt [Bonner] is going to be out. We all trust in him. We know he’s a great player, he just needs to feel important.”

Happy to see that Pop realizes what Tiago's problem is.

Tiago carried a big load in Europe, took responsibility for the outcome of the game, for being a significant contributor. Here, I don't think he has assumed that responsibility, gotten the confidence and mental toughness, yet. And of course he has to adjust his game to NBA. I assume the staff is giving him plenty of help, esp next summer.

He's not a taunter/chest beater/look-at-The-Great-Me-make-one-shot, but I'd sure like to see him with that at ude, if not the gestures.

[will_spurs]

Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony

"... but we come here against a team that is, as people say, one of the best in the NBA right now. It was a tough one for us.”

"as people say"? What a jerk.

[Fireball]

"as people say"? What a jerk.

Absolutely. There is no question the Spurs are one of the best teams. But Melo always says dumb things. Remember last season at halftime he said the Nuggets would still win against the Spurs despite a deficit. Of course, Nuggets lost ...

[Ice009]

“That’s the only thing he needs, to play and to feel good about himself and to feel confident again. Of course it’s not easy to play in a few games and then all of a sudden have to provide things for the team right away. He’s going to have the opportunity depending on how long Matt [Bonner] is going to be out. We all trust in him. We know he’s a great player, he just needs to feel important.”

Happy to see that Pop realizes what Tiago's problem is.

That quote is from Manu, not Pop.

[TinTin]

(On being asked if it was his last game)

“No. I’m going to play Wednesday against Oklahoma City, then against the Lakers, then Indiana.”

[blizz]

So Melo is being a jerk demanding who to be traded to...BUT...he's saying the right things in interviews...gotta give him credit for that. He's got so much talent...if he ever puts it all together he could be amazing. I think...and I'm sure I'll get flamed for it...that he COULD be better than Lebron. I think he's more mature than him that's for sure.

[benefactor]

*are we allowed to post it in it's entirety? if not, just bleeping delete it*

No. The E-N contacted LJ and told him that we were stealing their "intellectual property" and to stop posting articles in their entirety.

[ElNono]

Here's the original source from Spurs.com, which doesn't seem to have a problem with re-posting here:

http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/quotes_110116.html