SONICS COACH NATE MCMILLAN:

On Rashard Lewis' shoulder injury:
He could have come back in the game, but (Trainer) Mike (Shimensky) told me that if we didn’t need him to keep him out. We were able to make a run so we didn’t take the chance. I don’t know exactly what the injury is. I haven’t talked to Mike yet.

On the game:
I thought we were pretty good, except for the third quarter. It’s hard to play with that type of lead. They got the momentum and we’re able to make some shots. In the third quarter, we normally come out more aggressive, but we didn’t do that. Teams don’t lay down, so you have to put teams away. You have to play for 48 minutes and have to do things that are successful.

On Ray Allen and Lewis having off shooting nights:
This has been the story of the season; other guys came in and made some shots in timely situations.

On the Sonics start to the season:
It’s early. It’s still November. We’re still in the first month of the season and that’s all I’m saying. We can’t get happy with what we’re doing. We’re doing some things that we’ve got to improve on, so 12-2 is 12-2. It doesn’t guarantee us anything. We still have 60 or 70 games to go. We’re doing some good things, there’s no question about that, but in every game there is an area we can improve on.

FORWARD DANNY FORTSON:

On his fan favorite status at KeyArena:
It makes me play harder. I think it does that for everybody to play harder for the crowd.

On the game:
Every win for us is satisfying. We’re getting better as a team and we play hard whatever team we’re playing against. We’re building character every day.

On the Sonics 12-2 start:
I’m not surprised. During the summer I knew there was talent here. All we have to do is come together.

On his battle with Alonzo Mourning:
Alonzo is a great competitor. I’m not going to say anything bad about him. I respect him a lot. Anyone that can come back from that type of thing and still be a presence out there, I give him all the respect in the world. The guy plays his heart out out there.

On whether he lets up at all because of that:
No. Not at all.

On whether he frustrated Mourning:
He was frustrating me too. I guess that's what our jobs are, to get on peoples’ nerves. We got on each other’s nerves tonight.

NEW JERSEY COACH LAWRENCE FRANK:

On the game:
You have to give Seattle a lot of credit. They are the best team in the NBA right now. They are playing at a very high level. The way we played in the third quarter is that way we have to play in order to give ourselves a chance to win games. I have to give Seattle a lot of credit. Like I said, they have the best record in the NBA and Nate's done a phenomenal job.

On what changed at halftime:
It had nothing to do with me. Guys just raised it up another level. That’s the way we have to play. We have to give maximum effort at all times and all people … starting with me. We were able to get that done in the third quarter.

On the Sonics:
They have a lot of weapons. I thought Fortson, for the second straight time we played them, has been an X-factor defensively. They have kept this team together. They have been able to grow together. They have a very talented perimeter team.

FORWARD ERIC WILLIAMS:

On the game:
They are a good team. We just didn’t have much energy and we got way behind. You can’t win like that on the road, especially against some of the good teams. They are playing very well early. You just can’t have mental breakdowns like that.

On the Nets:
It’s pretty much the man looking in the mirror. We’re all professional athletes. Nobody likes to lose. We keep losing and in that nature so we just have to look in the mirror and want to compete and get the job done.

Notes: