Postgame Quotes: Suns 103, Timberwolves 105 - Jan. 16, 2009

(On Jason Richardson being first option for final shot of game)
“Yes JR came off open and was the first look, then we had another option for Steve back screening and coming out for another pass, but Richardson was the first look.”

(On Nash mental error at end of game by not calling timeout earlier)
“Yes we had talked a little about that. I said if there was a long rebound we had to push, get a push to try and attack. He just stopped pushing and when he got up to me I just called a timeout.”

(On not calling a timeout earlier on the last possession)
“Hindsight is 20/20 and it was kind of crowded, so Coach had said, ‘look to see if you’ve got something and if not, call a timeout.’ We did that and it didn’t really work to our advantage this time, but it might have and hindsight is easy to second guess.”

(On how to have a successful road trip)
“Play hard. We just have to go out and have great attitude and work our butts off and try to earn it.”

(On taking the last shot)
“It was tough. I definitely want to be one of those guys that take those shots – it’s tough that it could have won the game. But I accept the things that come with missing a shot like that. I could have won the game with that shot.”

(On how the team needs to recover for the long road trip)
“Get the first one – that’s how you start off a road trip. It’s going to be tough to win the game because we go out there tomorrow and play a 12:30 p.m. game Sunday. If we go out there and get the first one, it’ll help us out on this long road trip.”

(On Shaq’s performance)
“Shaq’s got rejuvenated unfortunately for the rest of us; I have to figure out what he’s eating. He’s moving pretty doggone good and he’s very engaged right now. When he’s like that, he’s just a beast. Kevin Love played well; I have been telling people all along. For a 20-year-old kid, that guy rebounds the ball at such a high level, it’s ridiculous. I keep forgetting he’s 20 at times, once he gets his endurance up. He still has the transformation between young man and man; when your endurance picks up, you get stronger, and your body changes and stuff. When he goes through that, he’s good right now and when he goes through that, he’s going to be tremendous."

(On playing well in the fourth quarter)
“When you play good teams and teams that have made it to the playoffs before, you’re not going to blow them out so it’s always going to be a game in the fourth quarter. It’s possession after possession when guys have to make plays on defense and on offense.”

(On guarding Shaq)
“It’s never fun; we just tried to contain him. We did a little bit of the hack-a-shaq down the stretch, but he was knocking down his free throws. It was a big win tonight."

(On winning a big game on the road)
“Mac (Kevin Mchale) always says there is nothing like winning on the road in the NBA. Against a team like this who has three perennial all-stars and great players on their team, it’s a big win for us going into the weekend. We had a tough game against Miami, we bounced back great. We got down nine or ten points down against them, fought back and really got it done in the second half.”