SONICS COACH NATE MCMILLAN:

On Rashard Lewis' performance:
I thought he played a solid game. You see the maturity. It seems like every game I’ve been talking to him like he’s playing old. He’s slowing down and making good decisions when he has the ball. When he has a small, he’s taking his time getting the good shot. He’s moving the ball. When he has a big, he’s taking him out and being aggressive and his stroke is going. Defensively he’s making an effort on the defensive end of the floor, just playing solid basketball.

On the Lakers:
That’s a hard team to match up with, (a) small lineup. They have a lot of guys who shoot the ball. They missed a lot of open looks the first half. I thought we did a better job in the second half tightening up, and staying closer to those guys. Kobe (Bryant) was just trying to put them on his back and carry the team. He did a good job of isolating, attacking the basket. I thought our zone did a good job of getting them out of their comfort zone, and forcing them to play against a defense that you don’t see a lot of in the NBA. I thought that slowed them down just enough for us to get some stops, and create some offense for ourselves.

On the Sonics ball movement:
I thought the assists were great. We had ball movement. Whenever you have a small team like that, you need ball movement, you need execution. Tonight, 28 assists showed that our guys were setting screens and getting guys open.

On Jerome James' effort:
I thought he was active. He was lively that first half. The big fella was moving. He was very aggressive. We saw him a couple of times going to the basket. He was aggressive attacking the basket. Defensively, he was a presence in the paint for us.

GUARD RAY ALLEN:

On the game:
We’re learning how to play with each other. I think we get better and learn things every game. It’s one thing for me to score, but for it to come from Rashard like it came tonight, almost 40, it’s tough to stop a team that way. We have guys now that have confidence to play basketball. In the end it’s not just Rashard, but it’s A.D. (Antonio Daniels) and Luke (Ridnour). And Vlade (Radmanovic) and Jerome stepped up tonight. Those guys who can step like that can make a big difference.

FORWARD RASHARD LEWIS:

On his performance:
I just felt comfortable coming to the game tonight. My shot was falling for me and I felt like it was going to go in for me every time I shot it, so I didn’t want to hesitate. It’s a good feeling. Everything you shot feels like it’s going to go in. Regardless if you’re being guarded or not, it just feels like every time you release it, it’s going to fall through the net.

Notes: