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POSTGAME QUOTES
NOVEMBER 19, 2002


On how confident he was even with a close score:
"I just felt we could get good shots. In the first half we wound up only with a seven-point lead. We had missed dunks and layups and things like that and open shots. I just felt like we could get good shots."

On playing against ex-Rocket John Lucas:
"There are so many ex-Rockets that have been coaches…..there is (Mike) Dunleavy and John Lucas. You take all of that out of there and you just concentrate on your job. I don’t try to make it a special game or anything like that. I think that’s when you start having problems."

On Maurice Taylor’s play:
"I thought everybody moved the ball well. Mo’s (Maurice Taylor) doing a good job of finding the big guys underneath. I’m really happy with his play. He got a charge. He’s taken a charge in just about every game he’s played."

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On the Rockets' 6-3 start:
"We’ve got everybody back this year. We’re smarter now and we are taking better shots. Everybody is involved. We’ve got a lot of starters who score 17, 18, 19. It’s a great feeling."

On the play of Yao Ming:
"I love him. What people fail to realize is that he has been here for four weeks. He’s doing well. He’s not Shaquille O’Neal or Tim Duncan. He’s Yao Ming and Yao Ming does the best he can do."

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On the game:
"I think our offense is the result of whatever the defense gives us. I think we did a good job of passing the ball around and finding guys in open positions and guys were able to hit shots."

On the play of Jason Collier:
"It was good because he ran the floor great. He was able to beat Ilgauskas down the court a couple of times and get us some quick buckets at the beginning of the game."

On Yao Ming:
"I think he is feeling more comfortable. He’s relaxed. He’s getting the ball where he wants it and he is making good decisions when he gets the ball."

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On the game:
"Once we got control on the defensive end, that made a difference in the game. We would love to have every game like this where we are in control but we know it is not going to happen like that. We were fortunate to be able to pick it back up and get the W tonight."

On the Rockets sustaining Cleveland’s run:
"When they came back we went in the huddle and regained our focus. We wanted to come back and do the things we are capable of doing and that got us the lead back."

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On the game:
"We played very well for a long time but they just wore us down. There was some selfish play on the part of some of our players at the end of the game and I would like to see us more unselfish."

On his team’s early season play:
"We are doing a lot of great things and we still don’t have everybody healthy. Our growth this season will be in the development of our young players. We play hard every night but we may not always play smart."

On the Rockets' play:
"Mobley took over the game and dominated us in the second half. Ming is so tall and he did a lot of good things on the court. Houston is a very good basketball team."

On his team’s shooting:
"When we shoot over 40 percent that is a good shooting game for this team. Z (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) got some real good looks but Ricky (Davis) didn’t shoot the ball well."

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On the key to the game:
"They hustled better and wanted the game more than we did. We did a poor job of boxing out on rebounds."

On playing against Yao Ming:
"He has a good future in this league. He has very strong legs, a soft touch and it is in his hands because he definitely has the tools to do it all."

On the Cavs' early season play:
"Every time we get close, the other team makes a big run and we can’t overcome our mistakes."

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On the key to the game:
"Cuttino got hot in the third and fourth quarters and that hurt us. We lost our concentration on Mobley and it cost us. Houston got hot in the second half and I don’t remember them missing much. They have a lot of good shooters."