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Pelicans vs. Spurs: Postgame Quotes 12/26/14

Pelicans Head Coach Monty Williams

On overall consistency:
“I thought we were pretty good, in that regard. Defensively, to hold them (San Antonio Spurs) to 90 points is good for us. We shared the ball tonight at 25 assists and only eight turnovers. A big key for us was keeping them off of the glass. They almost shot 50% and they only got one offensive rebound. A number of things that we did well tonight and a few guys were just special when they needed to be. AD (Anthony Davis) and Ryan (Anderson) were pretty good. We need those guys if we’re going to win. I thought Austin (Rivers) was pretty good off of the bench and John (Salmons) gave us some good minutes off the bench.”

On beating a smart basketball team like the San Antonio Spurs:
“You have to be smart and solid and you can’t give them any actual possessions. They only had had one offensive rebound. Any time you hold a team with Tim Duncan on it to one offensive rebound, you feel like you’ve accomplished something. We got two wins against the defending champs and that’s not something we take lightly because we have a lot of respect for the whole organization in San Antonio so we’ve got to value this and build on it tomorrow.”

Pelicans Forward Ryan Anderson:

On finding consistency:
“I felt tonight we controlled the pace and we played the kind of basketball we wanted to play. We moved the ball well. We played great defense and found the right guys and made the right plays. That’s important for this group and if we can play like that, we’ve proven we can beat the best teams.”

On playing hard night in and night out:
“Obviously practice helps but having a consistent mindset coming in and just controlling the tempo and pace. We just have to prove we can do the same tomorrow night.”

Pelicans Forward Anthony Davis:

On answering the challenge of facing the Spurs:
“I think we did answer the challenge. In the first game, they had 17 offensive rebounds. Tonight, we played them off the line and we got it to where we wanted our limit to be. We rebounded the ball and pushed the transition (offense). A lot of guys played well tonight and that’s what we needed for the win.”

On team chemistry when being double-teamed:
“Coach (Williams) just told me to be a point guard when commanding the double teams. We learn how to find the double-team and just be patient when guys step up, that’s when I find guys like Ryan (Anderson) and Tyreke (Evans) for the shots. I just have to make sure they are wide open.”

On Jrue Holiday:
“He was huge tonight. He played hard for the whole 48 minutes and he is one of our leaders. He makes sure we get it going, especially on the defensive end. They still put pressure on the ball, but we love having Jrue and he showed it offensively tonight.”