BOX SCORE
Wolves-Hornets Recap
NBA Postgame Quotes
Minnesota vs. New Orleans
April 9, 2008 @ Target Center
New Orleans 122
MINNESOTA 90
Minnesota Coach Randy Wittman:
"(Paul) gets them a good shot most of the times down the floor. When you commit when Chandler sets pick-and-rolls, and he rolls to the basket with the floor spread, they get layups or dunks. If you commit from the corners, they have great shooters in the corners. Every time you get brought in, they fire from the corner and make them. He creates that. They are playing at a high level right now."
"I think (Paul) is going to be in the top three (MVP)... They are very confident. Now it's how are they going to respond to playoff pressure. They have a couple of guys that have gone deep into the playoff and a couple that haven't."
"In the first half we moved it. We just can't get that situation when teams fire out at us, where we can get by people. That swing pass around and they're flying out of traps, getting a guy putting it on the floor and make that next thing. We've struggled all year getting to the free-throw line. Only nine attempts tonight. If a team knows that you can't beat them off the dribble, they can really sprint and fire out at you. Most of the time we are settling for jump shots. If we are not making them, that puts us behind the eight-ball."
"Randy kind of fell in love with that (jump shot) a little bit too much. They are going to fire out hard when you make a couple of shots. They are going to make you make shots first. We made shots. We didn't have when they were running out at us, where we were putting the ball on the floor going by them. We kept settling for jump shots. We moved the ball pretty good. We have to look for people to put pressure on the defense."
"It has been a tough schedule. In and out. We leave again tomorrow for three games. This has been a brutal schedule. I am glad it is this year. This is not one of those schedules you would want going down the stretch fighting for a (playoff) spot."
"We need to get bigger. There is no question about that. We also need that ability to get inside a defense. We have to get some more shooters. Al's a willing passer. We have to continue to work on that aspect also."
Minnesota Forward Kirk Snyder:
"We just have to find a consistent way to play basketball. Obviously we're talented, but we just have to find a consistent way to play together and try to do it for a long period of time. That's what you fight against when you're trying to be a team and be cohesive. I'm just worried about us, and how we gel together. Sometimes we just don't do the same things. We're getting better. Even though it doesn't look like it, I see guys making strides to get better and it's working."
"After being around (Paul) my first year, and seeing him now, it's like there's just something inside of him. I saw him go for a loose ball and basically push four men out of the way to get the ball. He's ferocious. It's not about the skill level any more, there's just something inside of him now. He's aggressive. If you look at him all the time, he's aggressive."
Minnesota Guard Randy Foye:
"It was the people around (Paul). He's got some great finishers around him. We were stopping him, he was just finding the open guy. That's what great point guards in this league do. If he gets stuck, he can just throw it up into the air to Tyson Chandler or one of those guys and they can just finish."
"These last couple of games have been tough because we've been playing tough opponents, except for a couple of them in the East or West, so it's been pretty tough. But that's not an excuse so we have to go out there and be ready to play, because this is the NBA."
"I got into foul trouble in the third quarter and got a couple of cheap fouls, so I had to sit out. I started out pretty well and tried to keep it going leading up into the third quarter, but I got into foul trouble."
"I try to use my floater and if (Chandler) steps up, I just dish it off. But he is a presence in there. Just him being in there makes you think, 'I've got to shoot the ball higher,' or 'I can't do this, I can't do that,' because I know he's coming from the weak side to hit it."
New Orleans Coach Byron Scott:
"We feel pretty good about the things we have accomplished from a team standpoint, but we have some work to do. It was very good the way we came out in the second half, because I was not real happy with our defense in the first quarter. I used the term 'sense of urgency' in the second half and we played like it."
"It was one of those games that was pretty dicey early. The other team got some confidence. I thought in the second half we did a much better job of being aggressive on the defensive end."
"I think (Paul) was trying to find his rhythm (early in the game), and in the third and fourth quarter he was finding that rhythm -- making shots, getting to the rim, being Chris Paul. We were very pleased with how he came out. David was a little sore today, but he gutted it out and had a great performance."
"It is a great feeling, a great accomplishment (franchise-record 55 wins). It is something we have talked about the last couple of weeks, so we wanted to make sure we got that done. It was good that we were able to get it done after the way we played last night. It is something we can build on."
"We are going to relax a bit. We have a couple guys who are a little banged up, so we'll take that day off and rest and get ready for the Lakers on Friday... It is a big game, there is no doubt about it. I think they are going to be looking forward to it. They have a game tomorrow night against the Clippers, so we'll be able to watch that game a little bit, see how they are doing. It has the star power with Kobe and Chris Paul, with first place in the Western Conference at stake and homecourt advantage. You have all of these little things that add up to big things, so we understand that they are going to come out ready to play, so we have to be ready."
New Orleans Forward David West:
"It feels good (55 wins). It is an opportunity for us to mark where we are as a basketball team -- especially coming off of the tough loss last night, to be able to come in here on the road and start the road trip off the way we wanted to. It feels good."
"It's probably the game of the year for us (Friday). We have to make sure we are ready to play. Obviously we know we have to defend Kobe, Gasol is back healthy. We want to make sure we send a message in terms of us being able to compete with the better teams. Especially late in the year, we need to be able to compete with them. There are a lot of things on the line."
New Orleans Center Tyson Chandler:
"My MVP is about making everybody better. When you look at those guys that are at the top of consideration for MVP candidates, (Paul) is the top because he makes everybody better. '2' to '5' on the floor he is making better and that is why gets my vote."
New Orleans Forward Peja Stojakovic:
"We just played better defense (in the third quarter) and executed better on the offensive end. That was our thing, I think we were a little bit sluggish in the first half and not aware that Minnesota is a talented team. We had to play our best game in the second half."
"Compared to last year (55 wins feels good), of course. The West is so tight that every game from now on is important. We will see what is going to happen... It shows how much maturity we have gained this year, and they play with so much poise that I think that we are ready."
New Orleans Guard Chris Paul:
"It's a great feeling (55 wins), but at the same time it seems like we have broken every record this season. Individually a lot of guys have broken all the records on this team, so it is only fitting that we break the season wins record. We are not celebrating after this win. We won't celebrate until we clinch the Western Conference."
"We are always a team. If you see us in here, we are a family, we joke around and stuff like that. When we get out there on the court, everybody plays together. We play for each other and that is the way it is... It would be an honor (MVP). It is an honor to be mentioned amongst it. If it does come, my teammates understand that they are the reason, they are the reason I am even being mentioned."
"Friday is a big game for us as a team. The Lakers helped us out a little bit yesterday losing at Portland, but this is a big game Friday with us and the Lakers... It's a huge game for both teams, trying to the win this Western Conference coming down to the end."
"It's about getting better as a team . Defensively, the last three weeks we haven't been where we need to be. We won tonight but we still didn't defend until the second half. We have to come out early in the game and impose our will. I think about that every game and I think it starts with me. Randy Foye lit me up with 16 points in the first quarter. Defensively and offensively it starts with me. I have to start doing a better job."
