See what the Brooklyn Nets had to say after their 136-125 win over the Sacramento Kings.
STEVE NASH
On Harden and Irving:
“It definitely gives guys a boost knowing that those guys are so capable and carry such a load offensively. But also, so many possessions when the ball moved. We make quick decisions and we put them in tough positions. Everyone got an opportunity to score tonight, so a lot of positive things at the offensive end. And that was spearheaded by James and Kyrie.”
On winning three straight:
“It’s a good sign. We addressed the performance in Detroit. We saw a response, and they’ve been able to build on it. We had a tough stretch here; tomorrow will be three games in four nights and then I think the Lakers will be four in six. It’s a tough stretch, but to get three in a row here is really, really positive and it shows the toughness that we have when we stick together and keep fighting.”
On defense improving:
JAMES HARDEN
On getting comfortable with Nets:
"Very comfortable. It wasn’t going to take me a long time. I think just the communication is key, you know, letting guys – telling them or helping them get in their spots, being able to knock down shots. Making the game a lot easier for each individual player because it’s going to free up myself at the end of the day. So the comfort level is there. Coaches, teammates did an unbelievable job of helping me with that and then just knowing who I had on my team. That’s a huge part of it. Not trying to be competitive with anybody on my team. Just doing what I do every single night to the best of my ability."
On momentum growing:
"Yes, because it’s a total team effort. Obviously, we would love to have Kevin back for more than one game, but once we get our full roster and Kevin is back and we can kind of get a rhythm, we haven’t really had a whole roster where we can get a rhythm yet for multiple games. So, once we can get that full roster, then we can really see what we got and we can really be something special. But, until then, defensively it’s going to have to be our mindset because offensively, like I keep harping on, we can score with the best of them. So, you know, shoot arounds is helping us, watching film is helping us and communicating is helping us. And I think each individual guy comes in the game with that defensive mentality."
On Irving saying Harden is the point guard:
JEFF GREEN
On improvements in winning last three games:
"The defensive side. Our communication has been a lot better. We've been doing the second level, second effort way better, being there for our teammates. That's what we needed, that's what we needed to get over the hump but that's only a couple of games. We have to continue the process of getting better at that end because we can be better. We just got to keep improving."
On seeing Harden get comfortable:
"His understanding of knowing where guys like the ball, where they're gonna be on the floor, we knew that would come with time. Obviously we make the trade. A lot of people wanted us to click right away. They wanted us to get going coming out of the gates with the 'Big 3' clicking on all cylinders. But we knew in our locker room that it was going to take time to address and how we wanted to play, where we wanted guys to be, we knew that would take time and with his IQ, James' IQ, it was only a matter of time until he got comfortable of knowing where guys like the ball. With his skillset the way he can pass the ball the way, his offensive abilities we knew it would click at a certain point. Now he's got it going and we just got to keep it going."