What They Said!! Grizzlies vs Mavericks 02-06-16

POST GAME QUOTES

GRIZZLIES 110, MAVERICKS 114 [OT]

 

GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH DAVE JOERGER

On the game:

“That was a good game, certainly dramatic. We looked a little heavy-legged to me; they looked to have the fresher legs. They beat us to the punch getting to basketballs. It seemed like we were scrambling a little too much. They shot a lot of threes and that’s what they do. The difference in the game was the three-point shots and the free throw attempts. The disparity in the makes there was basically what it came down to. It seemed like we had a lot of open shots, we just didn’t get the ones to fall when we needed them to fall. We turned the ball over a couple times down the stretch there, but they did a great job. They only had six turnovers, which is very difficult to do. Generally, we force a lot of turnovers. The second night of a back-to-back, both teams played hard. I just told our guys we have to be ready for Monday. Dallas is the first team with a winning record we have played since January 12. So it’s going to get more difficult from here.”

 

On the fatigue:

“They just broke us down too many times by getting in the paint and then having to help, creating longer close-outs.”

 

On the defense:

“We got off to a slow start after a quick start. Then we just kind of lulled into the game. They have a lot of guys that can stretch out. And if you go flying by one guy, then the next guy you have to give help to stop the ball and then they swing it around and get open shots.”

 

On the rotations:

“I felt like we were a lot more switchable defensively. So we had three guys that we were trying to be switchable to give us some length. I wanted to play Matt (Barnes); I felt like he had a hot hand and is able to shoot over the top of their defense in a bail-out situation. Then just to give us more size to be able to switch and play Dirk (Nowitzki) and give him different looks.”

 

On Dirk Nowitzki’s three-pointer at the beginning of overtime:

“I think it was a good play. I think they caught us thinking maybe they would run it down a little bit. It seemed all of a sudden it was bang-bang. It was a good play, and it was a play they’ve run before. We were thinking they were going to play some pick-and-roll. We had a pick-and-roll coverage ready to go and he came blazing off of that. It’s difficult if a guard screens for a big for a perimeter shot. It’s hard for bigs to get out there. We kind of got caught in the wash. He got a good look and we have certainly been watching that for too many years.”

 

GRIZZLIES CENTER MARC GASOL  (22 points, 6 rebounds)

On the game:

“I don’t know if it was because of the missed free throws or we just couldn’t get enough stops at the end. Every time they wanted a bucket they got a shot. They won the game.”

 

On if he was healthy:

“I have some issues but you have to push through it. I’m never going to use not being 100 percent as an excuse. It’s just not me. I’m going to push through it and give whatever I have to my team. That’s how I’ve always been, and that’s how it’s going to be. I gave everything I had tonight and that’s all that matters.”

 

On Portland:

“They have two guards that are really aggressive. They spread the floor and play better defense than what they get credit for so you have to be really physical with them and try to slow the two guards down and try to make someone else make plays.”

 

MAVERICKS HEAD COACH RICK CARLISLE:

On the game:

“A lot of guys stepped up and played huge. We played 12 different guys and we needed every one of them. Starting with {Chandler} Parsons, who played a brilliant game on both ends, from start to finish. Dirk {Nowitzki} was great. Deron Williams was a big impetus for play making. Our bench was big. Justin Anderson was huge, played great minutes, gave us force presence, made some shots. {Dwight} Powell played terrific and had one particular big shot on the baseline in the fourth so we needed everybody. It’s a very difficult league right now as evidence by both last night and tonight. I’m proud of the way our guys held the line.”

 

On this game being a confidence builder:

“Confidence is not a problem. We got to rest tomorrow. We got to have a good practice day on Monday. Tuesday is our final game before the break against a hard opponent. Utah is a difficult team. They are physical. They are rough and tumble. They are quick and athletic. We have got to get ready for the one. That’s where it’s at.”

 

On Justin Anderson:

“He’s being doing a lot of good things for the last week or 10 days. He’s been getting opportunities to play which he has earned with consistency, hard work, with understanding his role on the team. Tonight he made some rebounds in traffic that I haven’t seen anybody make in the last seven-plus years. I don’t know how you duplicate his enthusiasm and exuberance for the game and his teammates. We knew he was a special kid when we drafted him. It’s been an arduous process getting to the point where he is now where he understands what his job is on the team and how to really funnel his energies. He’s doing a good job. He’s just got to continue with it.”

 

On how Raymond Felton impacted the game:

“Well, Ray is fearless. He’s had a lot of big performances late game. Tonight was a combination of shot-making, rebounding, defense on the ball; you name it he was involved with many, many big plays. After the difficult year he has last year with the injury and everything else, it continues to be very gratifying to see how he’s bounced back. He’s a major part of our team.”

 

On needing this win:

“It’s pretty obvious. Miami was close and we lose that one and we made a lot of little mistakes in that one. Last night was a demolition. It was a lousy way to show for our team. You just don’t want to go through that. Today we had to show character. We had to show resolve. We had to show togetherness. We did those things and so I am proud of those guys.”

 

MAVERICKS GUARD/FORWARD JUSTIN ANDERSON (10 POINTS, 5 REBOUNDS)

On coming up big for Mavericks:

“How we’re playing C.P. (Chandler Parsons) at the four, I knew I had a chance to get in there and I just want to make sure I bring a lot more energy and just play as hard as I can to try to help our team win. I think as a whole, we really sacrificed ourselves and we played extremely hard. I think when we play like that, we’re a tough team to matchup with. I think overall we all had a great night.”

 

On rebounds:

“When you have guys down there like Green (Jeff) and Hollins (Ryan), you have to get up there and get it because with those guys being pretty strong, boxing them out and trying to win that war is something that they’re used to. So, I try to get it at its highest point and bring it down so we can get our transitions. It’s just a part of the energy plays, hustle plays that I have to try to bring to give our team a little spark. It’s just me trying to find whatever I can do to help our team succeed.”

 

On recovering after tough loss last night:

“There wasn’t that much talk about it. I think we knew what we had to do. Everybody kind of felt really embarrassed about how we lost the game last night and you could just see it in everyone’s eyes in the locker room. The locker room was pretty quiet going into tonight’s game, everyone was super focused. Once we got going – the bench activity, talking on the bench, guys are up screaming and yelling for each other, we’re making extra passes – we just got back to who we are. Just like other teams who drop a couple that they don’t feel they should have lost, they’re hungry going against us and that’s how we felt. We were hungry, we knew that we wanted to come in here and put together our best basketball and I think we gave ourselves a chance tonight.”

 

 

MAVERICKS FORWARD DIRK NOWITZKI (18 POINTS, 7 REBOUNDS)

On coming back off last night’s tough loss:

“We just talked about competing. Sometimes, when our offense isn’t going we’re letting down a little bit on the defensive end and we’re just not good enough if we don’t defend. So, we just have to play for each other on the defensive end and fight and scrap, fight guys in the paint to get the rebound and don’t worry about offense that much. I thought that’s what we did tonight even though we were down 10 right away again, which wasn’t pretty, but we hung in there and by the end of the first we had it tied. I liked the grit, I liked the fight. They kept coming back, but we hung in there and kept fighting with a tough team. We knew they won 10 out of 11, so this was a good win for us.”

 

On what Justin Anderson contributed:

“Energy. We obviously know we have an older crew and he can impact the game for us with energy, with going hard on both ends of the floor. When he got two rebounds out of the air, it was really impressive. He got us going with the big three out of the corner, so that’s his role – bringing energy to the team. Over the first few months, he’s gotten a lot better. He’s playing more in control. He looks like he knows more what he’s doing out there and he’s been a nice little change of pace for us.”

 

On limiting turnovers against Grizzlies’ aggressive defense:

“They’re really good obviously with Conley (Mike) and Tony Allen, they have two of the best steals guys in this league, but we did a good job protecting the ball.”