SONICS COACH NATE MCMILLAN:

On the comeback:
Well, we made some plays; I thought a couple of our plays in the second half we got exactly what we wanted. We picked up on what they were doing defensively, set up a few plays and executed the plays well. We’ve got to do a better job at executing in the half-court. Seemed like we were just working too hard - all of our shots were tough, we were making tough shots, and there is going to come a point in time where we are going to have to execute our half-court game a little better.

On Antonio Daniels' performance:
I think that’s a huge part of why we’re having success, the fact that we do have, or are having guys that come off the bench, and give us something off the bench. We have guys other than Rashard (Lewis) and Ray (Allen), who are playing well different nights, some guys are pretty consistent. I think Antonio Daniels has been pretty consistent with his effort, Luke (Ridnour) has had his nights, (Vladimir) Radmanovic has had his nights, and it’s important that we continue to get that. I felt like that would be a key to the season, that our supporting cast have solid seasons in order for us to have an opportunity to win games.

On starting 9-1:
No we won’t worry about that. We’re not even talking about the record, we’re not talking about the string of games or the streak, we’re talking about what we need to do to win the next ball game, and the team we’re playing the next night. And the record, I think if we play the game the right way, we play hard, we continue to try and improve, then we’ll win games, and that’s what this team’s been doing. I haven’t really talked about the record at all; they’re just going out and playing basketball.

On the current road trip:
We’re coming out and the goal is to get the first one and then we go from there, and we’ve been able to get the first three. We’ll go into Boston and prepare for those guys, and try to put together a solid game on both ends of the floor, and keep trying to find ways to improve and get better.

TORONTO COACH SAM MITCHELL:

On the Sonics comeback:
We start games with emotion and energy but not in the third quarter, we turn the ball over, we’re not focused. I don’t know. It’s been like that every game, even the games we’ve won. The third quarter has just been killing us, we just dig ourselves in a hole every third quarter.

On the Sonics shooters:
They shot the ball well, but it’s a lot easier when you get a lot of shots. Our players, I don’t know if they understand who they’re guarding. Most of these guys have been in the league a long time. They know who Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen are. We've got to give help, when these guys come off screens. The bottom line is, if you’re guarding these guys, you've got to bust your hump and get after them. You can’t lose them, you can’t get sucked in. You can’t leave Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis to double Danny Fortson. That’s no knock against Danny Fortson, but you make Danny Fortson score 25 and beat you.

On his main concerns:
My main thing is that we’re just making little mistakes. If you look at that third quarter, we’re trying to be a fast breaking team and we turned the ball over on steals, we turned the ball over when we got a three on one, four on one, we throw a bounce pass to guys running full speed. Those are things you’re taught in high school, not to make those passes. We’re throwing cross-court passes. This is the NBA. You can’t throw cross-court passes, especially when a guy is standing ten feet away from you, wide open. We’re looking past one guy, trying throw the ball to another guy. Take what the defense gives you and move the ball, make simple basketball plays, and when we do that, we’re not always making shots but we are getting wide open looks on the weak side.

FORWARD VINCE CARTER:

On the rumored trade involving him and Jalen Rose:
I found out through him (Jalen). He called me. I didn’t know what was going on, and I still don’t. I’m not worried about it. My job now is to come out and play until whatever happens.

On his performance:
You have to take what they give you. I tried to get some easy baskets out there, get some fouls and get some free throws. We are kind of in a slump right now and we just have to find our way. We surprised some teams early but we will be alright.

FORWARD CHRIS BOSH:

On a lack of energy during the second half:
If you don’t make shots with that kind of fresh energy coming out of halftime, if you miss a couple shots you’re going to hustle a little harder the next time.

On fans booing Carter:
He’s not worried about the fans, you know, he went through that last year. If we start winning it won’t be like that.

GUARD JALEN ROSE:

On the third quarter:
I think the third quarter talk is becoming a crutch. If you look, we were up five points at the end of the first half and we were down by two at the end of the third quarter. It wasn’t the third quarter; you’ve got to play four quarters to win. We shot the same amount of field goals; we shot the same percentage from the field. They rebounded harder, they got more shots at the basket, and they made more three-point shots. They had a couple of guys grab double-digit rebounds and that ended up being the key.

On careless passes and turnovers:
We only had two more turnovers than they did. We had fifteen, they had thirteen, like I said I think it was the effort plays, the loose balls, the offensive rebounds. They got a few big bodies. The difference between getting a wide-open lay-up like Antonio Daniels and a couple of guys got to the basket, they've got those big guys that are able to step up and make you make the extra pass.

On whether he was surprised Carter was booed:
To be honest, no. We talked about it before the game, it comes with the territory. Every time you talk about trading some guys, every missed shot, every bad play, every loss, that’s just going to feed into the speculation.

Notes: