SONICS COACH NATE MCMILLAN:

On the Jazz:
We knew this team would get after us tonight. We were up 3-0 on them and they’ve been sitting here waiting. They came out aggressively defensively and just kept the pressure on.

On Raul Lopez's impact on the game:
I thought we were able to do some things to stay close and when we got close, they made some big shots. Maybe two, three shots with the clock running down. You know he (Lopez) threw up one going to the basket with his eyes closed and when you’re making shots like that, it’s their night.

On the Jazz:
I thought they came out and did what they had to do. We didn’t have the ball movement we’ve had in the last couple games, and defensively, in the second half, we just didn’t stop anybody.

More on Lopez:
Lopez was good. He was aggressive going to the basket and aggressive looking for his shots. He’s capable of shooting the ball. He’s the one guy on their team that can shoot the three.

On whether his team was flat:
They looked like it. I didn’t see it in their faces. They were quicker to the ball, the long rebounds, and a couple times we got caught flat-footed as opposed to anticipating those long rebounds and ran them down. Tonight they were quicker to the ball then we were.

FORWARD RASHARD LEWIS:

On the game:
I think we’re a better team than they are. Like coach said, we beat them at the free throw line those three games we won and tonight they beat us. They got to the free throw line and I thought they were the more physical team tonight. The last three games we was the more physical team, but tonight we just didn’t have it.

On not sweeping the season series:
It would have been really nice to sweep this team because the past couple years, this team has dominated us and I think, this year, we got up and beat them three games, and this is the first time they beat us. We’ve always had trouble against the Utah Jazz. We’ve always struggled against them, except for this year we pretty much dominated them.

GUARD RAY ALLEN:

On the Sonics defense:
I guess it’s how you look at it. As much as they scored, we didn’t get stopped but I thought they executed well. Some things went their way and some things went against us. That’s the NBA. It’s a game of runs and you really have to try to maximize your runs and minimize your opponents. Tonight, they maximized theirs.

On the difference between tonight's game and Sunday's Sonics win in Seattle:
I thought the games were pretty identical. I’d say statistically we didn’t pass the ball well. Offensively we were so-so. We weren’t good. We were average tonight. I thought they played well. They were sitting home rested, they played well.

On Andrei Kirilenko's importance to the Jazz:
He’ s the heart and soul of the team. People feed off him and he does a lot of little things to help the team win.

UTAH COACH JERRY SLOAN:

On the game:
I thought our guys played really hard, and I thought we did a better job defensively. The Sonics might have been a little bit tired having played last night but we have to do whatever we can to win the game. And I thought our guys played hard and came away with a win.

On the Jazz's defense:
We didn’t make to many mistakes and did a much better job trying to keep them (the Sonics) in front of us, for the most part.

We executed against their defenses and we recognized what we wanted to try to do a little bit more. But, more importantly, we stayed in front of them so they didn’t get on top of the basket every possession.

On Lopez:
I thought he had good game, and I thought he played really well. He seemed to play with a lot more confidence than what he’s played with.

On Kirilenko's energy:
He has his moments. I don’t know how anybody can wear a brace and play basketball. He’s always been a very lively guy.

He made shots, got on top of the basket a couple of times and I thought he took the shots that were there, and for the most part I thought he took the shots that were there.

GUARD RAUL LOPEZ:

On the game:
It was a good game because everybody played really hard today, our defense was so much better, and we had the talent offensively. We were just trying to be more careful with our defense, that’s what happened tonight. We played so much aggressive on defense, when we play like that we can win a lot of games.

On moving into the starting lineup:
I’ve always tried to be prepared mentally for everything, you know if I’m going to play more or less minutes. I’m a member of the team, and that’s where I want to be. If I have to play more minutes, that’s perfect because everybody wants to play.

On hitting an off-balance shot late in the game:
I thought the referee called foul, for that reason I shot it kind of pressured. But he didn’t call the foul. It was a lucky shot, you know.

On the difference in his performance from Sunday's game:
I don’t know ... maybe ... I don’t know. Just played better. Maybe it was the fouls, but it's not just about you. When all the team plays better, you tend to play better. When everybody plays bad, it's harder to be on your game.

GUARD RAJA BELL:

On the game:
I thought we contained penetration a lot better. We did a better job of closing them out and running them off of threes. Not the whole game but when it really mattered. When you get beat by a team three times, you should learn something.

On beating the leaders in the Northwest Division:
It feels really good. We beat some good teams, and then we’ve had letdowns coming on the backside of them. We’ve got another good team in Minnesota, they’ve been struggling a little bit; we’ve been struggling too. We need to keep the ball rolling if we have any hopes of doing some things toward the end of the season.

On Lopez:
You know he’s tired when I got the ball at the end of the game at the top of the key. He filled up the stat sheet. He played his heart out tonight, and that’s what this league is all about. It’s about when you get your opportunities, stepping up and taking advantage. He did it like a true pro.

2004-05 Postgame Quotes/Notes Archive