featured-image

Game Quotes: Cavaliers at Miami Heat - March 16

(On the game): “We (Cleveland Cavaliers) have been on the road for quite some time this month. The Miami HEAT played well. We just didn’t have our normal energy and bring our normal game. We have to try and fight through it.”

“We did not have our normal ball movement tonight or our normal pace. We paid for that.”

“The NBA schedule can be rough and it might have caught up with us tonight.”

“We wanted to try and give it one more run in the fourth quarter tonight. We were almost there to do it but we just sputtered.”

“I thought that we showed that we were not giving up during the fourth quarter. We stayed in there; we played hard. I didn’t see the Miami HEAT let up. We just came up short.”

(On LeBron James): “He (LeBron James) has been playing a lot of very good basketball. Like everyone else, he looked a little bit tired. He played through an injury tonight but he didn’t do any worse than anyone else.”

(On the Cleveland Cavaliers): “We have 14 more games to go. We are fighting and will fight, probably till the last days for what looks like the second position in the Eastern Conference.”

“This was a successful week for us. We didn’t finish well, but it still was successful for the team.”

“We have to finish in second place. Where and if there is a chance to rest guys, we will. We certainly want to do as well as we can to finish as high as we can.”

(On the game): “We took a hit tonight versus a very good team, they’re fighting for a playoff spot. They were making shots and our defensive breakdowns cost us since we were playing catch up all night. The flow of the game tonight wasn’t in our favor but we kept trying to fight. LeBron (James) tried to get it going in the fourth quarter as much as possible but it’s hard to play down (by that many points) in someone else’s home. Their intensity was at a high level and they made shots, you have to give them credit. Not every game is going to be perfect for us, it’s part of the game and we understand that. We just have to watch film, learn from it and go from here.”

(On fatigue setting in from last game of road trip): “I want to get something straight, obviously we are not going to make excuses for ourselves. They were the better team tonight, we had defensive breakdowns that cost us and that was the flow of the game. We fell behind they went up, continued to make shots, continued to attack the paint. Their penetration got them open threes and it felt like they didn’t shoot a lot of threes but it seemed like they made a ton (of threes).”

(On going down during the game): “I banged my quad, I’ll be alright.”

(On the game): “They [Miami HEAT] came out and wanted to push the tempo and go up and down the court. They did a great job of that. Every game presents different challenges. You learn from your mistakes. You learn from the things that you did well. This was a tough stretch for us [scheduling-wise]. I felt that our legs just kind of gave out.”

(On if the Miami HEAT are motivated to play against him): “Of course. Of course”

(On his increased energy in the fourth quarter): “I made shots. I stuck with it and found a good groove in the fourth quarter and try to put some pressure on their defense.”

(On his health): “I was a game-time decision. I went through my extensive treatment throughout the whole day. I felt pretty good when I was done with it all, so I gave it a go [tonight]. I need to get out there for my teammates. Every game is another opportunity for us to get better. If I’m able to go, then I’ll be out there with my teammates. That’s just how it is. Everything hurts, but I’m alright.”

(On Dwyane Wade): “He [Dwyane Wade] has been a good groove the last couple of weeks. He did it again [tonight]. When his pull-up [shot] is going, then you can’t do much with him [to stop him]. He even took one off the glass, so you knew he has a good groove. It was good to see him play with a bounce in his step for sure.”

(On the road trip): “It was a great road trip. We are in a good groove. Tonight, it’s something that we can learn from, for sure. I’m confident in the team’s abilities.”

(On the game): “Good win. Our guys wanted it very badly tonight. We understand what the playoff race is right now. It felt like an old Miami Heat game with the normal Miami Heat huddle - guys screaming at each other, a lot of passion in this game and it was much needed.”

“There is a human element to this game. I don’t think any of the guys had to look on the schedule to see who we were playing, but the bigger part of the picture is we’re in an absolute playoff hunt right now. We’re playing for our playoff lives.”

(On Dwyane Wade’s play): “He’s been playing great basketball. He really has. Since he was able to get into rhythm and he understands moments as much as anybody in this league; and what his basketball team needs and it needed him to play with great force tonight, which he did, and guys really fed off of that. It was easy to play with confidence when you’re best player is leading you and playing the game like that.”

(On Luol Deng’s play against LeBron James and how that set the tone for the rest of the team): “It has to be a great effort.”

“Luol is a dynamic wing defender with a lot of versatility. He plays all of his minutes to exhaustion and that’s what you need to do against a great player like LeBron.”

“Our perimeter really competed on the ball so our ‘bigs’ didn’t have to clean-up as much as they typically have to.”

(On Hassan Whiteside’s play): “He was able to adjust as to how the game was playing and he gave us a big presence in the paint. We need it. He’s learning and applying on the run, in a playoff hunt. [It’s the] first time he’s had this responsibility and we love it, because he’s pure. He comes into work every single day to try and get better. Sometimes that result is not always going to be what everybody wants, but he’s working at it and I commend him for that.”

“He needs to keep his composure, but the fine line is, he has to give us a physical disposition and a presence in the paint [and] at the rim. That’s who he is. He’s a physical player, so he has to be that for us but obviously in the confines of the rules.”

(On Goran Dragic’s play with Dwyane Wade): “He’s a playmaker. You need great play making in this league to win - that’s why we went after him so hard. You never get the sense that Dwyane and he are taking turns. There is a collaboration. They are playing basketball. They are playing off of each other, but they are both very capable playmakers.”

(On tonight’s game): “It was a great atmosphere with one of the greatest players to play the game. You always want to bring your best when you are going against the best. We needed it as a team, we needed this game. We knew we had to win on our home floor, no matter who was coming in we needed to win on this floor to be in the playoff race. We just all worked together.”

“This is who we are right now. We have to figure out ways to win, we have enough to win games, and we just have to understand that it is hard to win games. We have can’t just come into a game and feel it out, we have to go from the beginning to the end. If we want to win games and give us a chance, we have to play that way. Our teammates played very aggressive today. Everybody was playing together on both ends of the floor. It was one of our better home wins.”

(On Luol Deng guarding LeBron James): “He did a great job.”

(On Hassan Whiteside): “He was a little bit more aggressive. He played a good solid game. I don’t know his numbers but I know he was big for us. He was active. That is the way that we want him to play.”

(On the game): “When we share the ball, we’re a whole different team. We had 20-plus assists and when we move the ball like that with low turnovers, I feel that we can beat anybody. We are a whole different team when the guys share the ball like that.”

(On LeBron James returning to Miami): “When LeBron comes to town it rallies the fans up, it’s a different atmosphere and we feed off that. He’s a great player.”

(On facing LeBron James): “We just tried to keep him in a crowd and keep him off balance. I was trying to really plug the lanes up for him and not let him get any downhill, full-head of steam dunks and just try to keep him contained.”

(On Dwyane Wade): “I didn’t even know he had that many points till after the game. DWade (Dwyane Wade) is a Hall-of-Famer anyway. It doesn’t even surprise me.”

(On his development): “I feel the guys trust me more in the post. I have been really working on my free-throws; taking my time. In practice, I can make 20 straight as crazy as it is. Then in the game, I’m missing them. I just watch video, watch what I’m doing, and just take my time. The guys foul me a lot more.”

(On his jump-hook shot): “Until the end of my career, you’re going to see that hook.”

(On his injury at the end of the third quarter): “I got the wind knocked out of me but it’s a physical game. I just kept playing through it.”