See what the Brooklyn Nets had to say after their 119-114 loss to the Utah Jazz.
KENNY ATKINSON
On where game got away:
“I thought we had two bad stretches. The beginning of the third quarter, beginning of the fourth quarter. Those are the two bad stretches and against an excellent team our margin is very small and especially on the road. I would say the other thing that kind of irks me is giving up 35 free throws. We played hard, we competed but now we got to understand how to play without fouling.”
On close games:
“We had our opportunities. No moral victories, we had our opportunities. There’s a few things we could have [done]. We could have made a few more plays quite honestly, both offensively and defensively. It’s such a fine line between winning and losing. But I liked our execution. I thought our defense was much better than it was the other night so there are a lot of positives, a lot to build on from this game.”
KYRIE IRVING
On the fourth quarter:
“They just played with execution down the stretch. Made some hustle plays, of course off my misses down the stretch. A few turnovers and we kept battling. We had a good chance down the stretch, a good look at the rim from the three-point line. Rudy [Gobert] and Joe [Ingles] got a great contest. Joe Harris had a great chance to get an offensive rebound and we had a chance at the free throw line down the stretch to at least get one more play out of it, but things happen in the basketball world and just got to live with it.”
JOE HARRIS
On Jazz getting back in the game:
“First of all, they’re one of the better teams in the league. And it’s kind of been a consistent theme with us all season where we haven’t been able to put together a full 48 minutes. We were really good there in stretches and then fourth quarter there a little bit it got away from us, I think we ended up giving them 35 points. That’s where you’ve got to buckle down, give the defensive stops when you need to. But all the credit to them, just guys making plays down the stretch. We had some good opportunities there at the end, but you don’t really want to put yourself in that position. We had a lead for the majority of the game and you got to keep people there when you can, especially against quality teams like the Jazz. Can’t give them life especially at home where they can get momentum, shift the energy.”
On if game was step in right direction:
“Yeah, definitely. I think that you hit the nail on the head, just the compete level was a lot higher. Against Phoenix that was uncharacteristic of us, not what we want Brooklyn Nets basketball to be about. And tonight we did a much better job just coming in, having effort from the get go. There was a couple miscues here and there but that happens over the course of the game, but the effort, the compete level was there all night.”