Gametime

Coach Hollins

On the Grizzlies offense

"Our pace is better, our ball movement has been really good, and we’re attacking teams in the pick-and-roll. The last few teams we’ve played have struggled playing against the pick-and-roll. Tonight Marc (Gasol) got off to a really good start. He made some shots, made some passes, and it just got contagious. We had 25 assists; we had 22 last game. Everybody’s getting assists if you look across the board, everyone’s getting assists. Again, we had good production from our bench. We had 38 points from the bench. We had 43 last game and it’s always good when you see that. Tonight we shot the ball extremely well in the first half. I thought we lagged a little bit in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter they turned it off and they were done so it didn’t really matter. We only scored 34 points in the second half but the first half is where we won the game. We wanted to come out and match them physically. We knew they were physical. They were expecting us to go to the post where they could beat us up but we started playing pick-and-roll and we just attacked them and they couldn’t guard it. We got to the post some and it just wasn’t easy tonight."

On Marc Gasol

"He came out aggressive. I think he wanted to take the challenge of Brook Lopez. Brook is a good player and has had an outstanding year. I don’t know if he made the All-Star team or not, but he probably was deserving of an All-Star berth and I think Marc just wanted to go out and play well against a guy of that caliber."

On Chris Johnson

"He’s played fearless, he’s made shots, he’s gotten offensive rebounds and he’s done a nice job defensively. He doesn’t even know all of our schemes. He’s only had one really full practice and I’m excited about what he’s done. I told him when he came, I said, ‘I don’t know if you can play but you’re going to get an opportunity’, and he’s shown that he’s deserving of the opportunity that he’s got and to just continue with that."

On the slow second half

"It’s just one game, it just happens. We didn’t play as fluent in the second half. Especially the third quarter, we were holding the ball a lot more. We weren’t moving; we weren’t playing in the pick-and-roll. We were doing more post-up and isolation. They did a good job against it, which I thought they would because that’s what they were prepared for. In the fourth quarter, like I said, they shut it down. They only scored ten points and we only scored 16, so it didn’t really matter."

On the Grizzlies defense

"Well they just missed some shots and weren’t able to take advantage of some of the mismatches that they had. We did a good job of getting the ball out of their hands when they did try to. As we were scoring, it’s kind of hard to just isolate and isolate when you’re behind by 20 points. The ball has to move, you have to play quicker, and you have to get more possessions in order to catch up. That took the ball out of their hands a little more and they really didn’t go into the post as hard as they have in the past, even though the kid (Brook Lopez) had 18 points. We’re just happy with the win. Every win we get is exciting and as our team is growing, again, there are so many peaks and valleys in 82 games. We’re trying to climb up out of the valley we were in when we lost three straight by 20 points. Then we’ve won four-out-of-five or five-out-of-six, whatever it is since then. You just play."

Zach Randolph

On the win

"It was definitely a quick start. It’s a great team win. Everybody contributed well and early. Our bench was great tonight. The rookie (Tony Wroten) was sensational. Chris (Johnson) was great. Everybody was great, like Darrell (Arthur). It’s a chipped in team win. We have to come out fast and play our game and do like we did tonight. We have to move the ball and everyone get shots. Everybody was hitting tonight so it was a great thing."

On the Grizzlies’ bench

"The bench did great. We need the bench. They are stand out. The way they have been playing is great. They’re just stepping up."

On being voted an All-Star again

"It’s great. I’m blessed to be in the All-Star Game and to be representing the Grizzlies and representing the organization. Plus, to represent the city of Memphis, it’s a great honor."