BOX SCORE

NBA Postgame Quotes
Minnesota vs. Phoenix
January 23, 2008 @ Target Center

MINNESOTA 117
Phoenix 107

Minnesota Coach Randy Wittman:
"I really believe our team's beginning to grow a little bit through a lot of the adversity this year in close games. This is three straight games that we've put together against good teams, and a quarter (at) Phoenix. We played Phoenix out there, we opened up with a 32-point quarter in the first quarter and then got in foul trouble in the second quarter which cost us the game out there. We then go to Denver and we should've won that game, and then Golden State we win and then come back and play Phoenix again and get another close win."

"I see guys now who don't have the look of 'Who's going to bail us out?' or 'Who's going to take the big shot?' We have numerous guys now who are willing to do it and that's been big for us. Coming into the fourth quarter, for us to come in and score 30 points in the fourth quarter in a (close) game, we are taking steps in the right direction there."

"We had big contributions from everybody. Obviously, Al they didn't have an answer for on the inside. He was a beast tonight. Our guys played off of him -- that's what we're learning to do. We're not going away from things. A guy gets hot and we run him out. We did a nice job of that... We had guys step up. We had different guys make different baskets. Al didn't just do it down the stretch by himself. They just ran the team at him there at the end, and somebody had to step up and make the shots."

"I thought Ryan Gomes hit two big shots that I thought put the dagger in them, one at the top of the key and the little runner he had on the left baseline, which were two huge shots. You don't make those, you don't know what happens at the other end. Marko and Bassy have been really good for us. They combined for almost 20 assists and two turnovers. That was key to tonight's game. We couldn't turn the ball over, and to have 10 turnovers was the difference for us."

"It's been that way three straight games. I've really sensed that we've kind of passed a roadblock with this team here. Denver I didn't see it, even though we blew a 108-104 lead down the stretch. Iverson made two big shots and we missed two good looks at the end to win it. That happens. But you didn't see that look of, 'Who's going to make the shot for us?' I didn't see it against Golden State obviously, and I didn't see it tonight."

"These guys are resilient, they really are. To go through what we've gone through, from the won-loss record, to come out every night and be ready. Every day in practice, I enjoy coming in here every day -- even though we were 4 and whatever and 5 and whatever -- because they are always ready for practice and to learn and do more. I'm happy for them. We have to keep it going. We've beat the best team in the West record-wise twice now, and now we get to go to Boston and play the best in the East... That's why I've told them to be proud when you go out there to play, be proud you're an NBA player, you deserve to be in this league. Be proud while you're out there. You're going to have nights when you make and miss shots, but be proud of the effort you give each night as an individual and as a team, and we've done that."

Minnesota Guard Sebastian Telfair:
"It feels unbelievable. Like I said last game, after a win like this, I don't need Tylenol, but my body's still hurting. This one makes us all feel good... We know what Big Al is going to give us. If he comes in and does what he does every night, and we do our part, then we have an opportunity to win."

"That's the one thing that Coach Wittman was focusing on, that this is not a team to turn the ball over against. They already run up and down the floor and push the ball, so by turning the ball over and giving them easy baskets, it's going to make our night a lot harder."

"That felt real good. I was coming around and setting my feet, and I knew I'd be taking a big shot, and it went in... Absolutely it's confidence, but it's also about taking the right shots. It's about taking the shots when they're open and not pressing them."

Minnesota Forward Al Jefferson:
"We've seen what it takes to win. We've done it for three consecutive games --we didn't take that one in Denver, we should have had it. We're playing great ball. It's all about not giving the ball up. Teams are too good in this league, so they're going to make runs. When teams would make a run, we would put our heads down instead of continuing to play. I think that's been the difference, plus defense. A team like Phoenix is going to live by the 'three'. But we don't want to give them those, and we don't want to give them layups, because they're going to miss a 'three' before they miss a layup, so we were just helping on defense. I think Marko and Bassy did a great job on that, and we came out on top."

"Against Phoenix, I knew I could attack and get easy points. Plus they double-team, so it's a matter of moving the ball. Ryan Gomes hit a big shot at the top of the key, Corey hit a big one and Bassy hit a nice 'three', so we got guys open shots. I think in the fourth quarter, that was really a time for me to attack, to get my head out and get fouls, and make my guy play defense."

Forward Corey Brewer:
"You've got to be ready for their style of play. They get up and down and you've got to be on edge every possession, and we were on edge all night... It helps. I think it really helps our team, our players, and it also gives us a lot more confidence going into the game on Friday."

"I think we're turning the corner a bit, especially getting two wins in a row. We hadn't had two wins in a row all year, so I feel like we're turning a corner. We've just got to keep trying to win games now."

Phoenix Coach Mike D'Antoni:
"They played extremely well. I think they have kind of turned a corner. They are playing well. We got up 14-4 and they called that timeout and we kind of turned it off again. That has been our problem. We couldn't get it back together and they wouldn't let us get it back together, and they beat us. They beat us on the boards and beat us up. You shoot 56 percent and don't win, that is crap -- but that is how it went."

"We don't need answers for Jefferson, we need answers for Minnesota. We didn't have any answers for Minnesota, and that is not one guy, that is the whole team. Jefferson was good, but probably the second half he got 15. He's going to get that; they go to him every time. We were active, we doubled, and we played harder the second half. The second half we were fine, but the first half we didn't come out and have some grit and do the things we are supposed to do to win."

"We have it, but it is just a matter if we are gritty enough to do it every game, every night. So far, we haven't demonstrated that. We are good, but we haven't demonstrated the grit necessary to be the best. We are searching for it."

"We did okay the second half. We didn't do it in the first half. We didn't have enough fight in us. We are a small dog out there and if you don't have fight, you get the hell beat out of you -- and that is what happened to us. If you lay on the ropes, they are going to beat you. They are bigger than we are. But if you run and double and do the things you are supposed to do, we should have won but we didn't... Small and slow is not a good combo."

Phoenix Center Amaré Stoudemire:
"They go to (Jefferson) every time down the floor. He is a good scorer. Hit a couple of tough shots. Once he gets it going, it's hard to shut him off. He has a soft touch."

"They started hitting shots and we stopped defending them. I hit a couple of tough shots, but our intensity didn't quite match up to theirs. They turned it up and we turned it down... I thought we were going to cruise on. We built up a nice lead. We were playing well, we just stopped there."

"It's all about consistency. Some nights we are one of the best in the league, other nights it is just not the same. You have to do it on an every-game basis... It may bite us. It is a tight race in the West. It definitely hurts to lose twice to the Timberwolves."

Phoenix Forward Grant Hill:
"We came out and got a little bit of a lead and kind of let our guard down. They started to chip away and got momentum, and eventually started playing well and hitting shots. We dug ourselves too big of a hole."

"They wanted it more... You have to credit Minnesota. They played well, they played hard. They had a lot of points off of O-rebounds."