SONICS COACH NATE MCMILLAN:

On the game:
We made plays when we had to and were able to pull this game out. We struggled, we didn’t have a rhythm, and defensively, we didn’t do a good job of stopping this team. We had enough breaks in the fourth quarter to regain the lead and win this game.

On the Warriors hot shooting down the stretch:
The way the Warriors shot the ball, I thought everything for them was going in. A couple times we had our hands down, they made shots, and a couple times when we had our hands up, they made shots. You need a break sometimes, and we got that break tonight.

On the Sonics ball movement:
We just have to remember what got us to this point: scrapping, defense, unselfish play, and ball movement. Our last two games, we’ve had 12 assists. We’re not getting the ball movement that we had earlier, we’re not getting defensive stops, and we’re just not doing the things that we did early in the season. We have to get back to that point. I know we have some guys are tired and bodies are aching, but the break is a few weeks away and we have to finish this thing out strong.

On whether Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis dominated:
They did. I thought they did a good job of being patient and not forcing anything. They took good looks when they had them, and we knocked down a couple big shots. We got enough breaks to come out of here with a W.

FORWARD RASHARD LEWIS:

On the game:
We jumped out on them early, but I think we lost our focus. We went out there thinking the game was going to be easy to win, that we were going to put them away. But they played hard and got back into the game. It came down to getting shots and keeping it on the offensive end.

On his success in Oakland:
I guess this is a good place for me. The style of ball that the Warriors play is what I like to play. It’s a fast, simple game, and there’s just something about this gym.

On the Sonics:
We feel like we’ve been playing .500 ball this month, we’re trying to pick it back up because the end of the season is going to be hard for us. We don’t want to play .500 basketball throughout the rest of the season.

FORWARD REGGIE EVANS:

On playing with a big lead:
It’s not hard if you come ready to play, if you have the right mindset. The hard part is maintaining, especially on the road, no matter who you’re playing. That’s the biggest thing, just maintaining for four quarters.

On how the Sonics maintained:
We tried to stay focused, not argue with each other, you know, stay grounded. Take it one possession at a time. The only way you can win is to play solid basketball, and towards the end we pulled it out.

GOLDEN STATE COACH MIKE MONTGOMERY:

On the game:
We can live with this kid of effort. The objective of the game is to win, but I felt like everybody’s head was in it, everybody was really working hard to make plays. I thought everybody was really unselfish in terms of trying to do the right thing. And that’s a huge step, that’s just the way we have to play. We played with heart; we played together; we had a great contribution off the bench. I think everybody was trying to do the job. More often than not, if we can get this kind of effort, good things are going to happen.

On what the Warriors need to do better next time:
It comes down to making plays. I like at the end of a game when we need a two to win not a three to tie. We’re taking baby steps; no one likes losing, but from where we were at that last game to where we feel today, we can build on this. When you play with some heart, when you play with some passion, when you go out and do the things you have to do with no regard for yourself, then you’re going to have good things happen to you ultimately.

On Calbert Cheaney's performance:
I thought Calbert obviously did a good job. He was feeling it and the guys were comfortable with him. They got him the ball and he made shots. I will say that that’s kind of been what has happened to us in many of the games we’ve played, that somebody has come off the bench and scored a lot of points, and we have to have the same thing happen to us. This is a performance game ultimately; guys have got to make plays and it was encouraging. I was pleased for Cal, and hopefully we can get more of that.

FORWARD CALBERT CHEANEY:

On the game:
A loss is a loss, don’t get me wrong, but I thought we showed a lot of competitive spirit, especially the way we started the game. We showed a lot of character coming back and getting right back at it. It was a tough loss. It was a well played basketball game; it was unfortunate that we came up short. Seattle scores a lot of points in bunches, but at the same time they also miss a lot of shots in bunches.

On his performance:
I’m just trying to be aggressive. The last couple weeks I haven’t really been aggressive at all. I just made a point to go out there and say hey if you’re going to make mistakes, make mistakes playing hard, and that’s all I tried to do and luckily my shots were falling in.

FORWARD TROY MURPHY:

On the game:
I think we showed a lot of heart today, coming back after the way we started the game. We were getting good shots at the beginning of the game, but we just weren’t knocking them down. We stuck with it, and we’ve been through some tough times this year, but we’re gong to stick with it and we’re going to be alright.

On erasing an early 16-0 deficit:
We showed a lot of character by coming back from that deficit and then getting back in the game. We never gave up. It could have been a game that was just a wrap but we came back and we fought and scratched and clawed and played hard.

On Cheaney:
He was a great force tonight. He really shot the ball well. He took and made big shots and really kept us in the game when we were struggling.

2004-05 Postgame Quotes/Notes Archive