See what the Nets had to say after their 119-111 loss to the Rockets.
KENNY ATKINSON
On the third quarter:
"Third quarter, that's where they got their break. We've had some issues there before. And felt like they came out more aggressive. Thought we missed up some shots. They picked up their defense. Definitely felt that. Listen, got to give them credit. They were the better team tonight. Obviously the third quarter was where they got their break."
On coaching against Mike D'Antoni:
"I know it's hard to stop their offense. They spread you out so much. It's special. Mike's a good friend. I respect him as a colleague and as a coach. So it's always a little special when you go against someone you've worked with and you've spent a lot of time with. You know their family. Before the game, you talk, 'how's the family doing?' It's a different deal than coaching against someone you don't really know."
On defending Chris Paul:
"He hit a ton of tough shots. I thought we competed. I thought he hit hard, hard shots. I felt like his, we really contested and did a good job. I think Carmelo, we left him alone a couple times, more than a couple times. That was a key. A couple breakdowns by us, coverage breakdowns, and some of it was we were trying to help on Chris Paul. That's when a guy's playing great, you overhelp, if we have regrets, it's leaving Carmelo open at the line, open at the 3-point line too much."
On the first half:
SPENCER DINWIDDIE
On offensive vs. defensive struggles:
"You know, it can be different every game. I mean, obviously CP3 (Chris Paul) made some big plays. 'Melo (Carmelo Anthony) kind of found space, got open, and that was it for their offense. Our offense, obviously we missed shots."
On Rockets defensive pressure :
"That's what they do. I mean, I think they tried in some respects. Sometimes, you reach or whatever. People drive. We were fouling them too on our drives, so that's something we've got to get better at on our side. Like I said, we also had open shots, and we missed them. They're a great team. Went to the Western Conference finals. Obviously, they were missing their guy (James Harden). Not the most stout defensively, but a great team nonetheless."
CARIS LEVERT
On the third quarter:
"It looked like Chris Paul hit a lot of tough shots and then they turned up the defensive pressure. They started getting a lot more loose balls and we just have to be better in those situations."
On preventing momentum shifts and lapses:
"I think just focusing more on defense instead of offense. Sometimes you can't control the offense, if you make shots and things like that. You can always control your defense and your effort. So I think that in those situations, we just have to focus on getting stops."