HEAD COACH MIKE BROWN
(On tonight’s game):
“We had a lot of solid performances after we got out of our little funk early on. We came out and we were flat to begin the game, especially defensively. I thought we had some decent looks that did not go in, but we weren’t the defensive aggressors and we have to be. We have to force our will upon people on that end of the floor for as close to 48 minutes as possible and we’re not doing that all the time…In the second half, we were the aggressors and I thought we stepped it up a notch. It was also phenomenal to only have seven turnovers for the game.”

(On the second quarter):
“I thought us getting to the line was a huge turn of the table in the second quarter. I think we had only (three) free throws in the first quarter, but increased that dramatically in the second. Our aggression defensively also turned up our aggression on the offensive end of the floor.”

(On Shaq’s performance):
“When we kind of stalled out, we said, ‘let’s throw it into Shaq and have him get something for us’. It’s nice to be able to throw the ball into him, space the floor, and if they go double or lose vision, we slash. He’s such a willing passer and guys stepped up and made plays by either scoring or getting that ball inside out.”

(On bench performances):
“It was several different guys; Jamario kept himself ready and did a good job for us. I thought Gibson did a solid job, not only shooting the basketball, but defensively in making his guy work.”

LEBRON JAMES
(On what ignited the defense):
“We just played with a sense of urgency. Early on we couldn’t make any shots, but our defense kept us in the game. When we start knocking down shots, it just brings a lot of energy to our defense and we just lock down on that end.”

(On really noticing the Shaq effect on the offensive end):
“We just sit there and if they double, we put ourselves in position to make sure he has an outlet and give him the ball right back. He made some great post moves and he finally made his free throws so that is a plus not only for me but for everybody else.”

(On adjustments at the half to hold them to 36 points in the second half):
“We made some adjustments. We started to be a little more aggressive on Gilbert’s (Arenas) pick and rolls. He is a really good player and everybody else just buckled down and helped each other. To hold a team with that many scorers to just 36 points in the second half was a really good game for us.”

(On looking forward to Thursday’s matchup against Chicago):
“They’re a very talented team, young team but very talented. We are looking forward to the challenge; it is still early, but we are looking forward to the challenge. With it being a TNT game, it is going to make it fun but at the same time, we are going to try to get better. We approach every game like it’s our last but continue to get better and do the things we do in practice and try to implement them into a game situation so it is going to be a good one.”

SHAQUILLE O’NEAL
(On the Cavs’ offensive surge in the second half):
"The ball was moving, guys were passing and guys were hitting their shots. We were feeling pretty good out there, but I think that our defense helped with that a little bit.”

(On their defense turning the game around):
“We are getting better. We didn’t really step up to the challenge (in the first quarter). Caron (Butler) got going and Gilbert (Arenas) got going, but we clamped down there in the end of the second quarter and going into the third and fourth and we were able to pretty much take over the game.”

(On him and Zydrunas playing at the same time):
“Z is a fabulous player. He is going to be on the wing a lot so if teams do double, I’m going to be looking for him. I think, at times, it will be a difficult matchup for teams that don’t really have two seven-footers out there like we do.”

(On getting assists and his teammates involved):
“I have been known as one of the best passing centers in the history of the game. I like to get my teammates involved and I was doing that in the first three games. A couples times I could have taken the shot, but I am looking to get my guys involved. I have got to make sure they are comfortable first because I am going to get mine.”

WIZARDS HEAD COACH FLIP SAUNDERS
(On the game turnaround):
“I told our guys the indications of the score are not how well we played at times. Then, the final indication of the score is how bad we played at times. We played really well early there’s no question. When our bigs got into foul trouble, the momentum changed just from the standpoint that we could not be as aggressive around the basket. It took us out a little bit with some of the things we were doing offensively. We just weren’t as aggressive. It was tough to get the ‘mojo’ back. They’re a good team at home and Shaq (O’Neal) played well, he made free throws and they played well as far as the second (quarter), third and fourth.”

(On what happened to the scoring of Butler and Arenas after the first quarter):
“What happened was that we had bigs setting good screens and doing things. And, when the bigs got into foul trouble, it was tough to get some of those and they (Cavs) put a little more emphasis and we didn’t have as much of an inside presence at that point. So, they (Cavs) could lock down more as far as on the perimeter. And, they chased us, we made some shots and we missed some shots. When you play against good teams, you’ve got to exert your will, and we didn’t quite do that. They did.”

(On the Wizards):
“I think when we play how we want to play, execute, trust each other, we’re pretty good. When we don’t do that, when we start doing too much, we get stagnant. When you’re not scoring, it affects you defensively, it sucks the energy out of you sometimes. There were times when we played pretty good defense, and there were times when we struggled. But, we rebounded well, but to show you our offensive execution, we had 12 assists and that’s not how we have to play. We’ve got to be in the 20s for sure.”

(On the Cavs 3-point shooting in the second half):
“What happened was they got up, they had some penetration, and when you’re not scoring the basket, you’re in transition defense, you’re in a scramble situation, and those guys, like Boobie (Gibson) came in and hit them. The guys that really hurt us was their perimeters. Three point shots probably did us in as much as anything because those were kind of back breakers at the time.”

BRENDAN HAYWOOD
(On Wizards bigs in foul trouble and its affect):
“You hope you get the calls the next game. We had something going, you look out there, we had 12 fouls from our bigs alone (in the first half). You read in between the lines what you want to. It’s not hard. The game is played a certain way until a certain point. I don’t think we lost our steam, we tried to the best of our ability, but it definitely took away our aggressiveness. I couldn’t be as aggressive, no one could be as aggressive as they wanted to because you knew you were strapped with fouls.”

(On what to do with foul situation):
“Try to play through it man. We tried to play through it, but it didn’t work out well for us. There’s nothing you can do. It’s a tough situation because you don’t want to talk bad about the referees, but you feel one way about how the game was called. I was just frustrated with how the game was called. I think that’s a fair assessment and I can’t get into any trouble with that.”

ANDRAY BLATCHE
(On foul situation as a factor):
“That’s not one of our bigger problems. We have to play more as a team, fight through things as a team. We’ve got to stick together no matter what. Everybody has to trust everybody. Fouls are going to come, but you have to fight through that.”

(On what happened after good start):
“After awhile, everybody tried to make their own plays when we got down. We stopped sticking to the things we were doing. That kind of messed our rhythm up.”