Kings Head Coach Michael Malone
On the keys to victory
”We’re a very physical rebounding team, and to outrebound them 47-30 and 22-4 in second chance points, I give a lot of that credit to DeMarcus (Cousins), to Reggie (Evans). Quincy Acy played 18 minutes gets four offensive rebounds. When you can dominate the glass like that, you’re going to give yourself a chance every night, and we find a way to do that on most nights.”
“The first half defense was not very good, especially in that second quarter, but we came back in that second half and held them to 42 points on roughly 42 percent from the field, and we bludgeoned them on the glass. It’s a very good win for us on the road against a team that’s playing well.”
On the play and development of Ray McCallum
”Ray McCallum continues to amaze me. Ten assists, one turnover, rookie point guard, and in that fourth quarter he hit some really timely baskets. You can see his confidence level just growing every game that he plays. I think Isiah Thomas is getting a little bit nervous.”
“I think he learned a valuable lesson tonight. He was trying to get to the rim, but they have length and they have shot-blocking and he wasn’t finishing. They were getting their hands on a lot of those shots he was shooting. I told him “Look for the pull-up,” and that pull-up jump shot worked for him in that fourth quarter.”
Kings Guard Ray McCallum
On his play tonight
"I got a great opportunity in front of me. Coach (Malone) gave me the opportunity to play. I want to make the most of it and perform well for me and my team and try to do anything I can to help the team win."
On using his pull-up jumper late in the game
“It’s something I’ve been working on, to make that shot. If you’re a point guard in this league that’s a shot that you have to be able to make. I was looking at it at halftime and I had that shot, but I didn’t really use it in the first half. Everybody was setting great screens and I was getting to my spot and rising up for the shot.”
Kings Forward Rudy Gay
On the team’s defense in the game
"It’s kind of been our Achilles heel the whole year. We let it get away from us in the first half a bit. They were shooting at a crazy clip. Then in the second half we stopped their easy buckets and took care of the ball a little more."
On the play of Ray McCallum
“Today was his day. What more can you ask of him? This is a guy that was on the bench to start the season and now he’s starting and contributing and really playing with energy.”