SONICS COACH NATE MCMILLAN:

On the game:
I liked the effort. We came out tonight and worked hard. Our main goal was to go right at the Nuggets and play our game. Our defense was solid. We made them earn their points and take tough shots. We had movement on offense. We controlled the game. Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen are getting open looks and they are good enough to make the shots. Our guards are delivering the ball to them. We just want ball movement. We have some guys to knock down the shots and we’ve been able to control the boards.

GUARD RAY ALLEN:

On playing more physical than the Nuggets:
We have learned to appreciate the referees and know we talk to them. We’ve backed off on aggressiveness to the referees, but our hard physical play continues. We got results we wanted tonight. I’m getting better shots than last year and we’re rebounding better. Danny Fortson does the dirty work for us and comes up with the ball. We’re getting possessions we probably shouldn’t get. Our lives are dictated by winning and today was a good day.

FORWARD RASHARD LEWIS:

On the game:
I thought this was a good win for us. We are still trying to find our identity. It feels good early, but we still need to stay focused. We’re leading with the ball to the open man. Ray and I are both getting our shots in.

DENVER COACH JEFF BZDELIK:

On the game:
You can’t win basketball games when you get manhandled in the paint like we did. They out rebounded us 45-29 and we only shot 54% from the foul line. They almost got as many offensive rebounds as we got defensive rebounds. When you are in this kind of funk nothing seems to go your way, but you can’t sit around and feel sorry for yourself. We need to just keep on playing and try to play our way through this funk.

FORWARD CARMELO ANTHONY:

On the game:
It’s getting ugly. We’ve got to find a way to get through it. They outboarded us tonight by a lot. I don’t think you can practice that; it’s effort. We’re not shooting well from the field or the free-throw line. Seattle is a team you can’t sleep on. They don’t have a lot of shot-blockers - they are smaller - but tonight they brought their three-point shooters. We quit at the end. When the coach made the subs at five minutes, I could tell we gave up as a team. If I could speak to the fans, I would say it is early to give up on us. We have 77 more games, and that is a lot of basketball.

FORWARD BRYON RUSSELL:

On starting 1-4 :
We’ll be fine. I promise you that. Everybody is frustrated. The game is meant to be fun. When we lose we lose bad. We’re a good team and good teams turn things around. I promise you we are going to turn things around.

2004-05 Postgame Quotes/Notes Archive