Pelicans Coach Alvin Gentry:
On the death of Ingrid Williams, wife of former Pelicans Coach Monty Williams:
“It’s really, really tough. Anybody that knows Monty and his family knows the high character and the class that they are. To lose a wife and a mother when you have five kids is such a tragic thing. Our hearts go out to his whole family.”
On if the death of Ingrid Williams was discussed prior to the game:
“We talked about it before the game. We said a prayer together. It’s just really, really tough when you know a guy like Monty and what he’s all about then you realize that it’s just a basketball game. That’s all it is.”
On the game:
“I thought we played hard and competed. We played against a team that’s been playing really good basketball. They won seven straight.”
Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday:
On the death of Ingrid Williams, wife of former Pelicans Coach Monty Williams:
“Words can’t really describe how you feel. I know I’m praying for him and his kids and his family. I just keep on thinking about my wife. Just praying for him, and keeping him in our prayers.”
“The players who were here with Monty and his family definitely felt it (throughout the game). Obviously, we’re all blessed to play this game of basketball, but family comes before that. I know the guys just keep on thinking about our families, his family. Even the coaching staff, when they walked in before and we had a moment of silence and just prayed for them, you could hear it in their voice, you could see it in their eyes.”
Pelicans forward Anthony Davis:
On the fourth quarter effort that won the game:
“We needed to get stops and that’s what we did. We made free throws, executed defensively, and executed offensively. And I was able to make some shots. I had kind of struggled all night, so it was just good to get a win.”
“I just shot the ball with confidence, and tried to play hard knowing that all the shots I took were good shots. There were no bad shots, they were just bouncing around the rim and falling out, so I knew they were going to fall.”
Jazz Coach Quin Snyder:
On overall thoughts about the play:
“I think obviously last night took something out of us. New Orleans did a great job. I thought they were just a little more focused, a little more urgent. I thought especially the guys coming off the bench had a lot of juice with Jrue (Holiday), Alonzo Gee, (Toney) Douglas who gave them really good minutes all the way around. We just gotta keep working. It’s the same thing. It’s 82 games, and we’ve played better. This is a hard place to come into and win. These guys are good at home. I wasn’t dissatisfied with our effort. I thought we could have played better, but I think we’ve improved.”
On defending Anthony Davis:
“Obviously the three-point shot comes to mind. I thought Jrue Holiday made plays. They got him the ball. The other thing that really hurt us was the offensive rebounding. He had one offensive rebound put-back. You could feel them. They weren’t just little lay-ins. It was like he got a rebound and dunked it or whatever. So I thought that hurt us on the glass. He’s gonna get some of that other stuff, but the three-point shot and the offensive rebounds from him (Anthony Davis) really made it hard.”
Jazz guard/forward Gordon Hayward:
On defending Jrue Holiday:
“He’s tough. He is looking both ways, looking for his floater, and going through all his cuts. I just tried to get back in front of him and make someone else beat us, but tonight he was really good. ”
On bouncing back from this loss:
“We’re not going to let this loss hurt us. It was a tough night, but overall we’ve been playing good basketball. We are confident heading into the break. Unfortunately, the ball didn’t fall our way tonight, but we’re going to learn and get better from here.”
Jazz forward/center Derrick Favors:
On Gordon Hayward’s play over this season:
“He’s been playing great for us, but that doesn’t surprise me. He has always made big plays for us and down the stretch tonight he did that. He is a great player and one of the leaders of our team. When G (Hayward) has it going it gets everyone else going.”
On mentality heading into the All-Star break:
“I feel good. We have had a lot of really good games. A number of different guys have had to step up this season with all the injuries we have had, and they have stepped up. I feel pretty good where we are at overall as a team, and we look forward to continuing to play well after the break and get better.”