Pelicans Coach Monty Williams
On the main factor that caused tonight’s loss
“Rebounding. You know it was tough for us to play defense, force them to miss, and then they get rebound after rebound. We missed a lot of shots and layups in the paint. But the rebounding tonight was not good at all, we shot almost fifty-four percent. We shot thirty-two free throws, but we gave up twenty-two offensive rebounds. That’s hard to overcome.”
On Eric Gordon’s strong start and late game performance
“It hurt once he got into foul trouble. Once he got his fourth I think that probably broke his rhythm. He had a few opportunities. He had one in the paint, but he missed it. He had a three that didn’t go down. Obviously, when he gets off like that, you want him to sustain it. But when he gets into foul trouble, I think that puts his rhythm off.”
Pelicans Center Jeff Withey
On if not having Anthony Davis hurt the team
“Yeah. He is a freak athlete. He helps the team out a ton. Last game he had 21 rebounds. Obviously, with a guy that can rebound like Anthony, it is hard to make up for that (if he is not in the game).”
On his first start
“I am pretty happy with the way that I played. I felt pretty comfortable out there starting. Before the game, I was pretty nervous. I wish that we would have won. That’s the only thing. I’m pretty happy with it (the way that I played).”
Pelicans Guard Anthony Morrow
On the loss
“We are just trying to find a way to get over the hump. For whatever reason it is, we just have got to understand the moment. Every game is not the same. It was a big win last game against Boston. We figured it out. This game, we didn’t figure it out. They had a lot of offensive rebounds. It’s just understanding that moment and what is beating us at the time. We have to figure it out as a team.”
On needing to play better defensively
“Defensively, we played well. I think they only shot 42 percent. That’s what we want to keep teams in that range. Like I said, they were throwing it up on the glass. We were contesting shots and doing well in the half-court defense. They were getting on that glass pretty tough on us. It’s a team thing. We all have to gang rebound.”