Pelicans Coach Monty Williams
On the game
“They got 39 free throws. Some of the calls, Alexi gets pushed out of the way and I’m just like ‘man, our guys are playing physical basketball. They got to the line so many times down the stretch. They made play after play. They scored 39 points in the fourth quarter, which was tough on us and we couldn't score as efficiently as we did in the second quarter. I didn't expect to score 39 points a quarter, but we were playing against a set defense because they were getting to the free throw line so many times. It’s just a tough, tough game physically. We had eight guys available and everybody scrapped and I thought some of our guys got a bit tired. The last shot A-Mo (Anthony Morrow) doesn't miss shots like that, not that badly. I thought he was a bit tired. It was just hard to play against a set defense like that because they got to the line so much. It was tough.”
On the Rockets run in the fourth quarter
“When (James) Harden sets a screen, you’re looking at him and not paying attention to what’s happening, but that kind of stuff happens. That didn't lose us the game. We just couldn't effectively score at the same rate they were scoring. When they brought Dwight back in, he was shadowing the rim and it was hard to get there. When he was out of the game effectively. When he was in the game, if we didn't knock down those shots, he was at the rim either blocking the shot or distracting it.”
On playing with only eight players
“We got a lot of production from a number of our guys. Austin (Rivers) could have had a triple double. Alexi comes up with 17 and Luke (Babbitt) had 24. You look at their minutes, 41, 44…our guys are just not used to playing that many minutes. We had a chance to win. I think we led for 47 minutes. I just felt like we couldn't get the stops and we kept fouling them and putting them on the line.”
Pelicans forward Luke Babbitt
On the game
“I thought we battled for really the whole game, but for forty seven minutes. I thought we played real well. It was the last minute that hurt us, but you have to give them credit. They played well down the stretch and they spread us out and they ere able to make shots.”
On the Pelicans second quarter run
“We’re just out there playing hard for each other. That’s what coach is preaching and we’re buying into that. It doesn't matter who we have out there, we have a lot of guys injured right now and our guys are going to step up and we’re going to play with the eight or nine guys. Austin Rivers is going to play a lot of minutes, so that’s the way it is right now and we’re going to make the most of it.”
Pelicans center Alexis Ajinca
On what happened in the fourth quarter
“A couple of mistakes that cost us the game. We played eight guys tonight, so everybody had to step up and that’s pretty much what everybody did. It was a great opportunity for the bench guys to get a chance to play a lot. It’s unfortunate we didn't get the win.”
Pelicans guard Anthony Morrow
On the Rockets fourth quarter run
“Basically, we didn't execute down the stretch like we needed to. Offensively, the last few plays that we ran, any time you’re not organized offensively and don’t execute, it’s almost like a turnover against a team like Houston. They hit a couple of big threes and cut the lead to one and we just couldn't get over the hump. We knew Houston would pick up their defensive intensity. They are a good team and very talented, they had a great crowd and they shoot the threes so well. Anytime there’s like a bad shot, it’s like a turnover. Houston made us pay.”
Pelicans guard Austin Rivers
On the Rockets fourth quarter comeback
“We made a couple of mental mistakes, a couple of key turnovers and our execution and we had a couple of mishaps and you combine those three things and it’s going to be tough to win. This was a really frustrating loss. We were up the whole game and played well the whole entire game. We were up forty seven minutes and for forty seven minutes we had the lead and in the last minute, they made a couple of plays and we don’t and we lose the game.”