Detroit: Lawrence Frank | Greg Monroe | Brandon Knight
Dallas: Rick Carlisle | Elton Brand
(Talk about the amount of turnovers you guys had in the second half and how much that got you off track…) – “Well, guys, did you see the types of shots we were getting? We missed 29 shots within two feet of the basket. So, the problem is we’ve got to make those shots. Then the next thing is that we’ve got to get back. We gave up 35 fast break points. O.J. Mayo, of his 27 points, 18 were on the break. So, look we got some great looks; didn’t fall for us tonight. Well you’ve got to move onto the next play. We weren’t able to recover from that. And then once frustration mounted because of our inability to make shots, and subsequently we started forcing things and having turnovers; whereas we need to be able to collect ourselves and find ways to impact the game – everyone – when the tide starts to turn. You knew they [Dallas] were going to turn it up. And, yet, we have great catches, great shots, and we didn’t make them. Well alright, you’ve got to grind, got to grind. It was just too easy for them to score. We had some great shots, but it was too easy for them to score.”
(How much is it compounded that when you miss close at the rim to then get back on the fast break?) – “Well it is. But, my point is this – I’ve never met anyone who wants to miss. These are great shots, but we’ve got to get back. Is it hard to recover from? Yeah, but to win you’ve got to do hard stuff. In an ideal world you’d love to finish those takes. We didn’t finish them. But, it’s still not any excuse not to get back and get our defense set.”
(Talk about the Mavs offensive rebounding…) – “Well, they had 7 offensive rebounds in the first quarter alone. But the thing is after probably the 5 to 4 minute mark [of the first quarter] I don’t know if they had any more. And then they had 1 in the second quarter. So, that’s why I called the early time out. We had to be sharper defensively. Just not getting the bodies; Marion gets 2 in that stretch, Kaman gets a couple. But with that being said, we didn’t finish the second quarter great either. Brandon [Knight] scores the last bucket, but they had a 7-2 run going during that stretch. But, it just snowballed on us. And when you’re on the road things are going to be a whole lot harder. They’re going to be tougher. And you just have to have that much more resolve; that resolve in terms of executing your stuff, and that resolve in terms of getting stops. And as we talked about before the game, this team [Dallas] relies a lot on O.J. Mayo to get it going. And misses and his easy opportunities in transition turned the tide of the game.”
(On missing close shots): “ I made a few early ones, but then I started rushing my shots. I wasn’t taking my time on the floor…It did start to snowball on me. When you miss a few, it makes it worse.”
(On offensive woes leading to defensive breakdown): “It did definitely. When missing close shots like that you put yourself in trouble to get back in transition. I was trying to play aggressive and get to the rim and they didn’t fall.”
(On Jason Maxiell’s performance): “Max always plays hard, we can always count him to do everything. It’s in the effort he always brings.”
(On second half): “We didn’t get stops and they started hitting a lot of open jumpers…They became very confident and very tough to defend.”
(On 18 points in first half): “It was floor game and I was trying to take better care of the basketball. I wanted to take care of the ball and keep my team going on the floor. My main goal wasn’t to score points, but to help the team perform and take care of the ball.
(On what got the Mavs the win) “We got stops and we got in transition. Detroit was a tired team because they played a hard, physical game last night in Memphis. We struggled in the first half with shot making but we had a lot of good looks. We felt we just had to stay the course and do a better job rebounding. We started out well, hit a lull in the second quarter, and then picked it way up in the second half. That’s what got us the win; the ability to get stops and then get out in transition because they were doing a good job of locking up O.J. (Mayo) in the half-court stuff.”
(On the debut of Derek Fisher) “He ended up a significant plus in the game. It’s going to take some time for him to get his legs. I’ve been saying that all along. I liked when he and (Darren) Collison were together. I thought that was pretty productive lineup. He enhances our situation a lot of different ways. He gives us more options, and his experience, you just can’t substitute what that means.”
(On Elton Brand) “This was a vintage game for him. For whatever reason, his shot making has been up and down. He got into the flow of the game. He got into it and he affected it greatly on both ends. He had blocks and he had rebounds in traffic. He was hitting shots and making passes. It was really a big-time effort when we really needed it most. His effort was enormous.”
(On Bernard James’ play on Seats For Soldiers night) “I thought (James) played really well off the bench. He gave us a lot of energy and ran the floor. It was fitting, given it was Seats For Soldiers night that he would have an impact like that. It was great. “
(What’s been the turning point the last couple of games): “There’s just a real sense of urgency, we needed to get off the snide. We have lost a few games that we thought we could have won. Coach is giving me the opportunity to play and if I’m out there I always think I can help the team.”
(On his defense tonight): “I had the opportunity to get out there and get some minutes and get in the flow. Once we get back we are good. OJ had the opportunity to hit some open 3’s, that gives Darren the opportunity to penetrate and Marion the ability to hit his floaters. We are off and running after we get stops.”
(On Derek Fisher): “Derek fisher solidifies the unit, he keeps us tight, and he’s a proven veteran. There’s not a shot he hasn’t seen, not a defense he hasn’t seen. He’s very heady and very smart out there. Darren collison played his role great. He came off the bench and helped us lock up and created turnovers. He playing his role.”