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POSTGAME QUOTES
OCTOBER 20, 2002


On the Rockets:
"Another big blow with Kenny (Thomas) being out. He hurt his thumb. I don't know when he is going to be ready. That's a big setback, especially with Mo (Taylor) not being able to play the first five games. That is something we didn't need. I loved Mo. He really battled and made some big, big plays defensively. Tierre (Brown) has been great. He made the big offensive play (tonight) and then he came down and made the big defensive play. These guys have really battled. It's really been a camp where everybody has played so well. I've never been in a position like this before. Usually somebody will cut themselves but everybody has played so well."

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On Yao Ming:
"It's a great feeling (seeing him). He's looking well. He's eager to go. Once we get him out there and get him acquainted out there on the floor, it's going to be a lot of fun. We're just very excited that he is here."

On the game:
"That was a good tune-up. They (Orlando) throw a lot of stuff at you. They have a lot of great athletes and guys that work very hard and are good on the defensive end. It helps us prepare for situations like that because we are going to see them from time to time."

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On the game:
"That was the first time we faced a team like that with such big guards and talent. Everybody (on that team) can shoot the ball. I think we did a good job. Our guys came in in the fourth quarter and did a good job of keep the lead. It's preseason but our bench was beating their bench which was good for us."

On Yao Ming's appearance:
"I'm just glad that he is here now. It's been so long. He can adjust, start working in practice and we can see what he can do."

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On Yao Ming's arrival:
"I think it was good for everybody on the team to meet the big guy, Yao. I think it was great for the fans to be able to meet him at the airport."

On the Rockets:
"It's going to be real exciting. Once we continue to blend and continue to iron out the kinks, things will be good. We've got a guy who is eager and real, real hungry to play basketball and who wants to come in and play hard:

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On the comeback in the fourth:
"The comeback certainly helps you feel a lot better about the outcome. One of the things I told my guys is that they were going to be in again in the fourth quarter. This is the first game (of the preseason) where we were actually down. The other two games we were up and gave up leads, and we lost the game."

On Darrell Armstrong's minutes:
"I wanted to take Darrell out. I kept saying that we needed to take Darrell out. But, the logic says you don't take out a guy who just got his team into the game. He ended up playing 29 minutes. That's too many minutes in my opinion for a guy like him in the preseason."

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On playing 29 minutes:
“Whether it's preseason or the regular season, it's my job to help my team win. I felt that I shot well, and I'm glad I was able to get us back in it. All our guys played well, though. It's on me to lead us there (to a win)."

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On his play:
"Obviously, it's early and we're just trying to get into things. I had a decent game in the minutes that I played. I shot well from the (free throw) line. I feel good about things."

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