Pelicans Head Coach Monty Williams
On the game:
“That was a confidence win for us. To go 2-2 [on the road trip] says a lot about the grit of this team. We’re building toughness. We had a number of guys play well for us. We gave up 32 points in the third and then we came back with a 22-point defensive quarter. The mark for this team and for this trip was the ability to defend down the stretch and then make plays.”
On Anthony Davis tonight:
“I told him at the end that I don’t take that for granted, a guy who can go for 43 and 14 off of a back-to-back with that kind of energy. It was a special night for him. He didn’t want to come out of the game, but we had to get him a break. He never lost his rhythm. We know he’s a special player and he’s just starting to scratch the surface, but tonight was a big time night for him.”
On Gordon Hayward:
“Jrue [Holiday] took ownership of saying ‘I got him’. He scored a couple of times but Jrue makes it tough on a lot of guards and small forwards to score. Gordon’s a really good player. He can shoot it, he can pass it, he can get to the basket. He’s so big and strong. I thought that was a really good matchup. He still ended up with 30-plus points and in this league it’s hard to stop elite guys like that.”
Pelicans Forward Anthony Davis:
On the team’s effort tonight:
“We were coming in here 1-2 [in the road trip] so we wanted to make sure we go home .500. We had to come out with that force, energy and effort that we had in that second half against Sacramento.”
On the team so far this season:
“We are going to be fine. We have a couple guys that are hurt. All of our bench guys step up and we look forward to them stepping up in future games. I think we’re going to be great. How hard we play and the pace that we play at is all great for us.”
On his rhythm tonight:
“I was being aggressive. My team helped me a lot. I just had to go out there and be aggressive from the beginning of the game. Jrue [Holiday], Tyreke [Evans], Austin [Rivers], Jimmer [Fredette], all of our guards were finding me and making sure I got the ball in my sweet spots. So then it was my job to knock them down. It’s a testament to my team.”
Pelicans Guard Jimmer Fredette:
On the game tonight:
“We were playing hard. Sometimes off of a back-to-back you can let your energy slip, but I thought we did a good job not letting our energy slip and we played as hard as we could. It was an unbelievable effort tonight.”
On returning to Utah tonight:
“It’s awesome. It’s great to be back here to see family and friends that I was so close with the four years I was at BYU. It’s also fun to come back and reminisce and see everyone.”
On his fan support:
“It’s always great to have fans. I appreciate all of them and the support they’ve given me. I hope that it continues to happen. I wouldn’t be here without the fans, so I appreciate them.”
Pelicans Forward Ryan Anderson:
On the game tonight:
“It’s important for us to play consistent and to play hard through the entire game. We had a small stretch where they had a little run but it was great to see us counter back and fight back against that. We did a great job of completing and finishing off this game.”
On the pick-and-roll offense:
“When Anthony [Davis] and I are on the court teams just tend to stick to me so I don’t have a lot of space which means that Jrue [Holiday] or Tyreke [Evans] or Anthony [Davis] will have a wide open lane to the basket and that’s what happened a bunch of times. That’s a huge play for this group, it’s a play that we want to run a lot. Obviously, Anthony is such a great finisher at the basket, so it’s a great way for us to play.”