Pelicans-Cavaliers postgame quotes 1-2-2017

PELICANS COACH ALVIN GENTRY “We lost a little bit of our aggressiveness, I thought. Then they did a good job of spreading the floor and creating switches. Then they had all shooters out there, all three-point shooters out there, and they hurt us in that way. The other thing is that we missed a couple of assignments. We missed Channing Frye on a couple of transition defensive things that we should’ve never done and gave up three-pointers in that department. When you’re playing the NBA Champs on the road and you have an opportunity like that, you got to be able to execute and you got to be able to seize the moment. We just kind of let it slip away.” On missed opportunities: “I thought we did a good job defensively. At some stage, LeBron is going to be LeBron and he’s going to put you in isolation situations. The thing that hurts there is that he just always makes the right play. Not necessarily shooting the basketball, but he always makes the right play and gets it to the right people and you’re forced to help or he takes the ball to the basket. So they put you in the situation, but we had a cushion, a 10-point cushion, and we let it slip away way too easy.” On Kay Felder’s play: “He’s a good player. I mean, he was a scorer in college and he shoots the basketball well. Anybody that has been around and watched the camps and watched Chicago and things like that understands that he’s a good player. There’s a reason that he made the team. He didn’t just make the team because he’s a good guy. He made the team because he’s a heck of a basketball player.” PELCIANS FORWARD ANTHONY DAVISOn the fourth quarter: “We just missed a lot of open shots, mainly myself. (I missed) too many easy shots around the basket that I missed. It’s on me. I have to play a lot better. Everybody else played well. We got the looks we wanted and we just missed them in that fourth quarter. They brought all shooters in around LeBron and spread it out, so they had us scrambling. I think because we played pretty well offensively and in that fourth quarter we couldn’t find a way to put it in the basket, mainly myself. In order for us to win, I just have to play better overall. On missed opportunities: “We got a lot of open looks, shots that guys always take and always make, we just missed them. In the course of a game, you’re going to miss shots. I wasn’t really concerned. But late in the stretch when we needed buckets, the team relies on me a lot, and I wasn’t able to capitalize. I think that we have to find a way to put it in the basket and it starts with me.” PELICANS GUARD BUDDY HIELDOn the adjusting in the second half: “Yeah, I was trying to mix it up a lot and tried to be consistent. I was trying to get to the foul line and get to the rim a little bit. I was just trying to be an all-around player. I missed a couple of floaters that I feel like I could make. That’s the game sometimes.” On the game: “We can play with anybody. They’re the World Champs and they have their title on their backs. If we can play with these guys, we can play with anybody in this league, I feel like. We just have to bring it every night. We can’t take a night off.”