Pelicans Coach Alvin Gentry
“I thought we played well. (We) didn’t shoot the ball really exceptionally well. We didn’t even shoot it poorly. It was atrocious really but I thought we hung in and found a way to win.”
On the difference in the third quarter:
“I thought we played with a little more pace. I thought we had a little more ball movement and then I thought we did a good job of executing. We just had better all-around execution. The ball movement was much better and then we made shots.”
On the coach’s request that the team take better care of the basketball:
“Yeah we did. I didn’t think we had any of the glaring turnovers. We had some trying to do the right thing, which is a different kind of turnover but we didn’t have the ones that were unforced and live turnovers that lead to easy baskets. I thought we did a good job there.”
On the team’s defense:
“I thought we did a good job. I know that he made some shots but I thought we did a pretty good job on Swaggy (Nick Young). He made a couple but we never really let him get going because he can really make them in bunches when he does. I thought he made and couple and I thought we locked in on him again and took some of the stuff away that he usually does.”
Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins
“It feels good. It feels good to finally get one under the belt. It eases off some pressure, so (it’s) time to keep building on the ground.”
On working well with his teammates:
“I think we were in this game, I think that’s obvious, and it’s hard to learn on the fly. It’s hard to break that set chemistry when you add a piece like myself. It’s a hard transition, and to say we’ve got it down pat would be a lot, but I think we definitely are getting better each game.”
On regaining control in the game:
“We remained poised. We came up with some big stops, we executed on the offensive end, and we just gutted that one out. We could’ve easily let that slip away, but like I said, we gutted that one out.”
Pelicans forward Anthony Davis
On the first win with DeMarcus Cousins in the lineup:
“It feels good to finally get a win. We’ve got a tough team tomorrow night in a tough environment, and they’ve [Utah Jazz] been playing well all year, but it feels good to get a win. We obviously have to move forward and try to get some more.”
On their offensive play:
“That’s what the coaches talked about, to make sure that we have high hands and try to force a lot of turnovers. I think we did a good job with that tonight. When they (Lakers) come off, they like to throw it to the weak side and we got a lot of steals off of that, so it led us to some easy points on that end.”
On potentially making the playoffs:
“It’s very realistic for us. Four games out, and (we have to) just put some wins together .That’s really it. We control our own destiny, and we just have to take it one game at a time.”
Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday
“Obviously coming off a loss like last time, we wish we could’ve gotten that one, but this is a good one. I think they kind of made a run at the end and we capitalized on the run.”
On the close end of the game:
“You just have to keep calm (and) confident. Again, we’ve got two guys that can take over a game and I kind of think at the last game, you can’t really compare to anything.”
On the third quarter:
“We just tried to come out with some fire and physicality, and again just tried to speed them up and rush them, so we tried to make it tough for them.”