Suns-Pistons Quotes: 2/8/2009

(On their play this season): “That's something, for the most part; we've done a pretty good job with this year. We've talked a lot about not settling for jump shots. Obviously, we've got the two big fellas, but we talked a lot about putting it on the floor and attacking them with dribble penetration. I thought our guys did a good job. There was a stretch where we started settling for jump shots and allowed those guys to get back in. They are a good team and they are going to make runs. I was just pleased for us to start this trip off the way we did.”

(On his performance and assists): “I’d like to give credit to my teammates that made the plays, got open for me and found some lanes to get in the paint. They deserve a lot of credit.”

(On his game): “It feels good to finish in the paint again with the and-ones. That is something that I’ve been good at the past four years, just finishing.”

(On trade rumors): “It doesn’t matter to me what they are going to do, it is about what they are trying to do financially. My job though is to go out there as hard as I can to get this team wins. I think that once the ball goes up at the beginning I don’t have the trade on my mind and my focus is on the game and getting a win.”

(On having a similar game to McDyess): “We have similar games. He is super athletic, a freak of nature on that court still playing well after those injuries. He has had a solid career and persevered from those injuries.”

(On Steve Nash): “He had 21 assists - heck of a job. He was hitting guys in their open areas. They’ve been trying to get back to more of an up-tempo team. That’s where he flourished, when he can get out in the open court, make plays and he did a really good job with that.”

(On Rodney Stuckey being in a slump): “We saw the same thing. I don’t know where he’s at fatigue-wise. He says he feels good. I think, especially for him, that we need to take care of these next two games and the four-day break should be pretty good, even though he’s playing in the Rookie game.”

(On their fourth-quarter play): “It was the same thing we ran into with Milwaukee. Pick-and-rolls with (Allen) Iverson - it depends on how you play it with them. We thought he was one of our playmakers, especially when (Rodney) Stuckey is not out there. He’s one of our guys that have to create plays, and sometimes he does it right and sometimes he takes it all the way to the baseline and throws it back. I thought he did a pretty good job of keeping us in the game, giving us a chance to compete, and I thought guys that came in the third quarter when we were down – (Arron) Afflalo, Rip (Richard Hamilton), Dyess (Antonio McDyess) - gave us a good boost and a chance.”

(On opportunities to win the game): “We had all the opportunities in the world to win the basketball game. We felt good about winning the game. We did a lot of good things out there on the basketball court. We just didn’t do enough to win the basketball game. They played well tonight and they executed offensively.”

(On first-quarter start): “I was in a real good rhythm in the first quarter and I sat out for a while in the second and I came in kind of stiff. That’s why I rode the bike during halftime and came out in the second half and I felt good. There were shots that I could make with my eyes closed but I just didn’t knock them down. I think it was a domino effect.”