Pelicans Head Coach Monty Williams
On finding a rhythm after a slow start
“Well you know we had a rough couple of days, tough loss in Minnesota, and we were going to practice and on our way to practice we had to get out of Minnesota so we’ve been ripping and running a lot like them (Celtics). I thought that we weren’t sharp because we hadn’t practiced, but that was no excuse for the sluggish play in the first half. I thought they (Celtics) did a good job of being physical with our guards; we really couldn’t initiate any offense because of Bradley’s (Avery) pressure. Down the stretch we just found ways to make plays. They killed us on the boards; it seemed like all day they were getting second chance points, I know they had 13 in the first half. I don’t know what they ended up with, 28 for the game, so we struggled there. We just found a way to grind it out and get a big win.”
On Evans, Gordon and Holiday playing together
“We believe that either one of those guys can make a play. Jrue (Holiday) was certainly off tonight, but Tyreke (Evans) and Eric (Gordon) were making plays. I like the fact that on the defensive end they just knuckled up and got us stops. I didn’t feel like, besides Bradley’s (Avery) 3, I didn’t feel like he and Crawford (Jordan) had the impact that they typically have. But those three guys were sometimes undersized with that group and it poses problems with other teams especially off the dribble.”
On tight win before Indiana and Miami
“You don’t think in those terms, you are just thankful for the win. We’ll deal with Indiana tomorrow, but right now we’re just concerned with Ryan (Anderson) and his condition. How we play tonight; the NBA is just a tough grind, you’re going to have a schedule that at some point you’re going to look at it and just laugh, but you got to do your job and that’s what we’ve been trying to do all year.”
On Anderson's status
“I can’t really disclose that stuff. We are just praying for his health. He looked like he was ok. I was more worried about his mother, I know she’s at home a nervous wreck so hopefully she hears this message and is cool with the fact that he’s ok and in good hands.”
Pelicans forward Anthony Davis
On Ryan Anderson
“It was tough. It’s a sad situation. You don’t want to see one of your guys go down, especially one of your leaders. We just prayed for him, but at the same time we’ve got to try and win the game. From that point on we just tried to win it for him.”
On grabbing a hold of the game
“Both teams were battling. They got a lot of second chance points, but we executed well. We got a lot of execution down the stretch and evened out the game; got that big rebound.”
On Indiana coming up
“They're probably, if not the best, team in the league. We definitely got to come out and compete. In the NBA when you have back to backs you have to come out and compete, and guys need to step up so we will do the same thing tomorrow.”
Pelicans guard Brian Roberts
“Feels good to have the confidence of the coach and my teammates in a situation where we need to put free throw shooters on the floor. Coach kind of designed it where I was the guy who was going to come get the ball so it felt kind of good to go out there and knock them down.”
On the lovely weather here
“Well I’m from Toledo, OH so I’m kind of used to this kind of weather, maybe not so much all at once, but it’s a little colder than New Orleans for sure.”
On the difference in end
“I think we just executed. We got some crucial rebounds and I think defensively we put them in some tough situations down the stretch and we were able to rebound. That’s where they kind of had an advantage is offensive rebounds so once we cleared that up we were able to pull up.”