Head Coach Kenny Atkinson, Brooklyn Nets
On Allen Crabbe’s performance on his birthday:
“I shook his hand after the game and it was still hot, still cooking. I thought his overall game was good, obviously started out hot and kept it going. He had five rebounds too. He rebounded, got a steal, a block, really competed. He’s really finishing the season the way we’re asking the team to finish, on a strong note. These games are important to us so the fact that he kept working on his game, kept improving, it’s really good for us.”
On what it took down the stretch to pull this game out:
“Get stops. I thought the way they can score was in transition. Down in the half-court we were pretty good defensively but in transition we had some trouble, so really sprinting back on the shot and getting matched up. I thought the fans have been great all year and really want to thank them for their support. We’ve had some tough games, some good games, some not so good games, but they’ve been there. I think this is the unique thing about being in New York, no insult to other markets and all that, but we have true basketball fans here. You see it, you feel it. When you talk to them after the games or when you’re walking around Brooklyn, they really know the game and they appreciate the effort our guys put in and we appreciate their patience, their understanding and their enthusiasm. I just think it’s awesome. I’m really hopeful down the line we can really reward them with something special, give them a gift.”
On D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie sharing the court again:
“Good, I thought Spencer got back to old Spencer. He was aggressive, he was driving it, he was getting to the rim and that’s who he’s been 90 percent of the year. He had a little blip where he wasn’t as aggressive and quite honestly, thinking about it, I think some of that could have been fatigue. We played him a lot of minutes, we’ve relied on him for a long time but I thought it was great tonight. They alternated on the ball, off the ball and that’s the way this offense was meant to be. I thought Spencer was really, really good tonight.”
Allen Crabbe
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On continuing his hot shooting streak:
“The ball’s going in the hoop for me. Like I’ve said from the jump, I’ve been capable of doing this all season. Just in the beginning I was missing shots, getting the same shots I was shooting earlier in the season but I just wasn’t making them. So I mean it’s starting to come around for me. I’m starting to find my rhythm, and you know just getting more comfortable within the flow of the offense. Tonight was just a night where, I’m glad I had a night on my birthday, and we got the win. It just puts the cherry on top.”
On what was working well within the rest of the backcourt:
“They trapped the pick-and-roll, and then we played great team basketball. The roll man finds us, or D’Angelo [Russell] found us, Spencer [Dinwiddie] found us, Rondae [Hollis-Jefferson] found me. I got everybody a couple assists tonight, so I think just our ball movement, when the ball’s moving like that and everybody’s for it, it’s contagious. Everybody’s having a good time, so I think that was the key for us tonight, and it was a good night.”
On the team having a 7-5 record in the last 12 games:
“Maybe we’re turning that corner that we wanted to hit a little earlier in the season, but it’s better late than never. Let’s get this last one in Boston and just go into the offseason with some momentum. We have to feel good about ourselves and you know just end the season off the right way.”
D'Angelo Russell
On Allen Crabbe’s performance:
“Big time. Could easily come out, B.S. the game. For him, the player that he is to come out and put a performance like that on against anybody is big time.”
On the team’s progression:
“Like I said, any win in this league is confidence, a confidence builder. But yea, there’s one or two left, you want treat that approach any type of way, no other way than trying to get a win so especially a plus.”
On being 7-5 in the last 12 games:
“Honestly, it’s irrelevant but it’s something you can definitely look back on and say we played like this or we played like that, build on it. But seven out of five the last however many, that’s irrelevant.”
On his 12 assists:
“I try to pass the ball to whoever’s open. Coach gives me that freedom. The more I’m here, the more the trust will slowly elevate, but we got shot-makers around here. They make it easier for me so I appreciate my teammates for that.”