Quotes

Tom Dowd

See what the Brooklyn Nets had to say after their 115-111 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

"I think we have guys that are extremely motivated, passionate about what they do, unselfish. They sacrifice, they have a lot of character. I think they will regroup, and they’ll be ready to go again. It’s been a really difficult year. We had a had lot thrown at us and they survived it in incredible fashion. They’ll get themselves ready to go again next year.”

On Bruce Brown's defense vs. Khris Middleton:

"Bruce is a winner. We love him. He fights, he’s tireless, great defensively. Just a great performance by him all season long. We needed him tonight, and he was great."

On finishing the season short of a championship:

"I knew it was possible, especially with all the stuff we faced. You're missing Kyrie, James is on one leg, you have to understand it's not the same. And so I still thought we could win it and clearly I think we proved tonight that we could. Game could have gone either way. You always know there's a chance. Anything could happen. I think we just faced one too many obstacles this year because I thought our guys gave it everything they had.”

"We want to win. We want to win every game we play. We want to win a championship every year just like every team so the last game of the season we lose, but the beauty of our profession is we get up and keep going. Everybody on this team works extremely hard. They care about the game. So we get ready for next year."

“Every team went through adversity this year and I respect the whole league for how they just, everybody, every player in the league going through COVID protocols, every guy that's been injured who played in the bubble and came back for a quick turnaround, guys are in and out the lineup throughout the whole league all year and we still put a show on for the fans. I'm just proud of the league in general especially our team because I'm in there every day, but I'm sure other teams have been through the same stuff that we've been through throughout the year. I'm just proud as a league that we've got guys that come out there and play great basketball every night. We put a show on for the fans in the playoffs, every team. It's one of those things where we dealt with this season and we took it head on and everybody's been professional the whole year."

On effects of injuries to Harden and Irving:

"I can't even speak about how much we missed Kyrie out on the floor and how much we miss James to start the series. And seeing him, you know, I could go for 40 minutes on both of those two, on how much they care about us and how much they put their bodies on the line and help us out as a team. Kyrie had a gruesome ankle injury, and he was thinking about when is when could he play next. And that shows that he cares about us so much. James playing on one leg came out there and gave it his all, 48 minutes in Game 5, 40 last game and then what, 50 tonight, you know? There's nothing but respect and love for those two guys; we missed them out there. But we still had a chance to win.”

"So many emotions. Just me personally, like, it’s frustrating for myself just being durable and being myself for the last so many postseasons. Just dealing with this particular hamstring, it’s just, it’s frustrating. I’m frustrated. We did everything we could towards the end. Just frustrated. But give the Bucks credit. They fought to the end. Had a hell of a series. Just came up short.”

“It’s basically a grade two hamstring strain, so first possession of Game 1 up until Game 5 that was the first time I did anything, any basketball competition against anybody so I was just literally going out there on a limb. Obviously we’ve got days in between games so I didn’t really have an opportunity test it other than the games. I was just going out there and trying to give everything I can. It’s frustrating. I’m just overall, I don’t know. I don’t know what to say. We gave it everything we had. Just having to deal with injuries throughout the course of the year set us back whether it’s Kevin twice, myself twice, Ky in the postseason. It’s draining and it’s very, very difficult to fight through that when basically the three best players are in and out of the lineups. We’ve just gotta take care of our bodies and be ready to go for the next one.”

“Every guy from top to bottom on this roster brought something to this team every single day. It was a joy to come in and be around these guys from top to bottom. Honestly, this same team is great. Obviously it’s a business and things happen and money gets involved or what not but from top to bottom, whatever the situation was, whatever the circumstance was, whether it’s injuries, whatever the case was guys are ready and prepared to go out there and play minutes in the regular season and the postseason. That’s all you can ask for honestly from a great team. Proud of each and every one of these guys and like I said we just came up a little short. We’ve just gotta get our minds right and keep getting better for next year.”

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 7: Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Steve Nash Top Quotes

See what the Brooklyn Nets had to say after their 104-89 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

"It did hurt to have a tough start for sure. It’s a common theme here. We’ve given up tough starts, we’ve clawed back in but haven’t had enough. And frankly, we haven’t played well here. So I could point to a lot of things. We definitely have a lot to clean up and it was one of those nights where you could just tell we didn’t quite have our fastball. That’s what this is all about is persevering, is finding ways to come back and bounce back, and that’s why we were able to push through and finished second in the East and that’s why we have Game 7 on our home floor.”

On closing deficits but not catching Bucks:

"I would say that's fair. We didn't look like we had a ton of energy all night. I think we wanted it, we just couldn't find it. And when you can't find that rhythm, it makes it even harder, and so it's kind of chicken-and-the-egg. Is the rhythm because you don't have the energy, or is it compounded because you don't have a rhythm? So it was just not our best game; we didn't play well. Lots of things we could have done better, improved on for next game. But like I said, it's now about how we respond."

"Yeah, definitely hurt us. You know, that's where they're really strong, in transition. I thought we had some problems getting back in transition. We didn't create anything in transition. So that was a huge discrepancy that I thought really hurt us tonight. The slow start, the transition points, offensive rebounds, and when you add it all up, it's tough to win that way.”

On Bucks breaking game open in fourth quarter:

“When Joe hit that three, like I said, to cut it to five and the momentum switched when they came down and got the three shots. Called a timeout and they just regrouped after that and for the most part offensively, couple possessions we stagnant, turned the ball over, but for the most part we still just kept playing and that’s what we all about. Just keep playing, keep trying to win the possession. Offense, we’re trying to patch things together and make plays for each other but sometimes it’s not gonna be there so I think defensively we tried to lock in as much as possible after our offense was starving, but we put ourselves in position to be in the game late but they made a huge run.”

“You could chalk it up to a lot of that stuff. Maybe we rushed a few shots. Maybe they got a good contest or we just missed. But we can’t concern ourselves with that. We put the work in every day as individuals and we’ve got to trust in that once the games come around. But defensively, turn the ball over early like we did, we can’t allow that stuff. Shot’s gonna go in and you’re gonna go through lulls where you can’t make a shot. But we’ve gotta stay disciplined and keep the ball in our hands and take good shots.”

"He was moving better today but you know that's a tough, tough injury he's gutting it out for us. We're not expecting too much from him movement wise but he's going out there and giving it his all and we respect that."

“There were a couple of calls that obviously at pretty pivotal moments of the game. We can’t, it really doesn’t do any good to argue it, disagree with it, whatever. The call was made and you’ve gotta live with it. We’ve gotta be a little better defensively especially a couple situations there where, Khris is obviously a great player. Very smart. If you put your hand in there you know he’s gonna try and draw a foul especially from the 3-point line.”

"Their season’s on the line. You obviously play with a level of desperation and urgency and it helps being at home, too. You obviously have the crowd and energy behind you. Every time it seemed it like momentum was starting to shift a little bit they countered it and made some big plays.”

"Obviously they played really physical. They have the entire series, but in particular today, it seemed like that was a point of emphasis for them on both ends. Offensively they were trying to put their head down and get to the rim. Defensively, just being physical, forcing guys into the paint, and it took us out of our actions a little bit. I felt that there were times there that we definitely got some good offense that was being run, but for the most part, it was a little stagnant, ball didn't necessarily move, not enough pace, guys moving off the ball, Kevin has the ball in the post or has it in the high quad, we've got to do a better job creating space for him and moving off the ball."

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 6: Kevin Durant, Joe Harris, and Steve Nash Top Quotes

See what the Brooklyn Nets had to say after their 114-108 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

"I didn't necessarily see a different demeanor from Kevin. He was locked-in from the start. It’s just we were trying to figure out how to play with James back in the lineup, but him not feeling himself and trying to feel his way back into the game and our guys trying to feel their way. And so, it took us a period of time I think to find some freedom out there as a group. And you’ve got to feel some freedom. I mean, I know it's the playoffs and it's pressure and the stakes are heightened and all that, but you’ve got to enjoy it and you’ve got to feel free and you’ve got to play together. And I think it took us a while to get there. But I don't think Kevin's demeanor changed. He just got we got there. And we started to make some plays and find some space, and when he got to his spots obviously he is what he is: He's one of the all-time greats. And so tonight and got it took a while before we can really get him some momentum. But he took it.”

"They were doing more of the things we've been preaching, and it took a while to get there. But I think it was difficult for everyone just to feel out the new dynamic: Without Ky, with James, James not being the James we know but wanting to help his teammates and soldier through it. I think it took us a moment…longer than a moment. But it took us a while before we could find a cohesion. So, just another thing that's been thrown at us in the game tonight, and we've we were fortunate enough to have the toughness to stick with it. And we kept telling stick with it. And they found a little bit of cohesion at the right time.”"

"Jeff Green was unbelievable. Incredible performance. Kept us in the game for long stretches of it where it could've got away from us and we weren't playing well. I mean, he didn't miss for a long, long time and kept us in it. And so, for a guy who is coming off an injury, who has been a big part of our team this year — to step up and show that maturity, that veteran presence, that winning mentality tonight was unbelievable. So, Kevin's performance tonight was historic, but Jeff's the one that kept us in the game for a long, long time.”

“I didn’t even think about nothing but just each possession. I was trying to win each possession, and I didn’t think of how many points I had or shot attempts, rebounds, assists. It was more so like, just let me do what I need to do each possession. That’s the approach I always take. I was able to play every minute, so that helped with my point total. But for the most part, I just tried to stay engaged on the defensive side of the ball the whole game.”

"It did look that way, but I didn’t plan on doing that. I always try to be aggressive to get to my spots to score and settle my teammates down. But this team does a lot of helping and a lot of swarming in the paint. In previous games, I may have forced a couple shots over two people where I threw out for a hockey assist tonight. So keep watching film, keep reading where the defense is coming from. At the end of the day, I’ve got to be aggressive."

"We all encourage each other all the time so as the game was going on we always tell Jeff keep being aggressive, keep shooting. James, we’re checking on him every timeout to see how he’s feeling especially with handling the ball and Jrue Holiday pressuring him full court but after the game guys were just happy that James was out there playing again but also want him to take care of himself these next 48, 24 hours so he can get ready. For Jeff we were just excited that he came out there especially after being out for a couple weeks as well he came out an impacted the game pretty nicely. Like I said early, we’re not celebrating too much but we were excited for guys coming into the locker room and we know that we’ve got to put this behind us and get ready for Game 6.”

"It's not about me it's the Brooklyn Nets and us as a team as a whole. I think individually we all have to do something and bring something to the table to win and we did that tonight. So it's not about me, obviously KD had an unbelievable game but I think it's about everybody else as well. Like I said Jeff made some big shots, guys fought, Landry made some big shots down the stretch. It's a total team effort. Like we always preach it's going to be different guys every single game but as long as we have that right mindset and we're all for each other, good things are going to happen for us. And tonight, they did.”

"Once he got to his spots, and the second defender came over and helped he made the right decision the majority of the time, if not every time. That’s an improvement in his game right there. He’s not just a scorer. He’s gonna make plays and let the game come to him. He’s one of a kind.”

"I feel great. We won. So that's all that matters. At this point it's, by any means necessary. As long as there's a W in that column and we keep racking up wins that all that matters. So obviously KD had an unbelievable game and carried us but Jeff made some shots. It's a great team win for us. We haven't really been together the entire year we've dealt with so many injuries or what not that we haven't had an opportunity or been through adversity. So we know that there was gonna be times in the postseason where we hit adversity where things feel like they're up against us and they can't be done. In reality they can be done. We just gotta find ways to get them done. We showed a little bit of that in the Boston series and then even in this series it's the same thing. Like it feels like just when things are going well something hits us. My approach to the guys is keep fighting. It's going to be great on the other side and we did that tonight. So, proud of the guys."

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 5: Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Steve Nash Top Quotes

See what the Brooklyn Nets had to say after their 107-96 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

"Yeah, I don’t know. Maybe that was in play a little bit. We just – we didn’t execute very well, and I think that was the gut punch. We had a hard time executing offensively, we had some defensive breakdowns, like I mentioned uncharacteristically for this series we gave them some opportunities in transition – not matching up and giving up three pointers. So, maybe that was some of it more so than the injuries because we were struggling a little bit, trying to get our mojo going. But yeah, it’s never going to be easy. It’s the playoffs. We are going to face adversity. We have to allow the adversity to make us stronger instead of hanging our heads."

"I don't see anything that's changed after last game. He played that way before they had their altercation. He's playing extremely physical and made it difficult. That's his role on their team and I thought it was borderline non-basketball physical at times, but that's the playoffs. You have to adapt and adjust. Something definitely in a sense changed from the way the game was played in Brooklyn and here in Milwaukee. We’ve got to adapt, we’ve got to adjust, we’ve got to try and make it easy and like I said everyone has got to be aggressive, play and pinch in and be a part of that offense instead of try and be predictable and singling Kevin out."

On affect of Irving injury on Mike James, James Harden:

"I think, first with Mike, he’s going to play. He’s played for us since James went down. He is going to play again. But everyone’s got to play. All the complementary guys have got to play and be aggressive and confident – so, we’re going to need everyone to give it a great effort, especially if Ky can’t play. And then James, I think it’s an independent case. Like, I don’t want James to be rushed back. If he’s able to play next game or the game after, that’s fantastic. If he’s not, we don’t want to rush him back and jeopardize doing something worse or making this a long-term injury. So, we’ll see. We will have to take all these things into account and evaluate them and try to make a smart decision.”

“Tired. But I knew that was gonna happen. I’ve gotta find my rhythm sitting out that long. Especially for the players it’s tough to just bounce back in and try to come out and be who I was before the injury. The rhythm has to come. I wasn’t tired tired, but I got a little fatigued. It’s tough to replicate game-like situations especially with playoff intensity. It’ll come back. I’ve gotta get my rest and try to do whatever I can to help our team in Game 5.”

“They just made shots. They’re good players. Jrue and Khris, they’re good players. I think they just made shots. It wasn’t like we allowed them to shoot. Throughout the series they’ve been missing a lot of shots. They got a rhythm and they just got it going. That’s how they got the lead.”

On if return of injury issues was deflating:

“Of course. It’s always deflating when one of our guys go down but like we always have been through the year it’s next man up. They went on a run and we just didn’t bounce back. There’s no excuses. Everybody’s prepared, everybody’s ready. Just glad this it’s just a sprain and nothing more and hopefully he can heal up in the next 48.”

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 4: Jeff Green and Steve Nash Top Quotes

See what the Brooklyn Nets had to say after their 86-83 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

"You can always go back and look at a game and be like, would have liked this player to shoot or whatever it may but in the moment I thought we still were able to create some good opportunities, very makable opportunities. If you look at it, only one or two buckets in the last three or four minutes that we needed to fall and they just didn't. I thought plenty of opportunities. Now, would I want Kevin or Ky shooting every single ball? Of course, but that's not always the way it works out. We can learn from it. We can grow. We got good looks at times that just didn't go in for us. It was an uncharacteristic night in that respect but also a night that is a new experience for us. On the road and against an elite team in a hostile environment. Very physical game and at times I thought we maybe needed to just slow down a little bit have a little bit more poise and get to our spots."

"I think it shows we defended well. We can always improve on the defensive end but it was a really solid game. We gave ourself a chance because of our defense. And our offense just couldn't keep up tonight. We're basically a bucket or two short. We'll have to clean up the offense but the defense was pretty solid and it's going to have to continue to be solid."

On Bruce Brown's two shots late in the game:

"We all know that we want Kevin or Ky to shoot the ball but if they don't get free they got to make the right play. So they made the right play, you give some credit to the Bucks, still we got some makeable looks, we could get better at executing and we can get better at handling these moments. It was a great test for us tonight and I think it was a lot for us to learn from.”

“I like how we defended all game. I like how we rebounded all game. We didn’t let our missed shots dictate our defense especially when we got down big. We tied the game up. We couldn’t score for a few possessions like four or five minutes to go. I think we got good looks. Couple that were open that we missed but that’s part of the game. I just like how we stayed with it and that’s what we have to continue to do with this series is stay with the game, stay with our plan, stay with each other individually. Guys missing shots and we still encouraging one another and keep playing. Our defense has to be there no matter what.”

"They played more physical, they were there at the rim and they just played their regular way, the way they've been playing the whole season. I think we got great looks, we need to knock them down, but they also did a good job of contesting and being physical and blocking shots at the rim. But for the most part we got back into the game, had plays down the stretch and they just ended up making a couple more shots."

"That really was as simple as making shots. I think we got good looks, we got to the paint, we made the extra pass and we just made shots. Sometimes that's the name of the game. Both teams played incredible defensively, both teams played extremely hard, low turnover game, they had eight blocks, we had eight steals, you know what I mean? So it was one of them grind out games they just made a couple more points, they hit a couple more shots than we did."

"Shoot, man, they did what they were supposed to do: come out aggressive, backs against the wall, and we had to weather that storm. So definitely kind of put us on our heels for the rest of the game just playing catch up, playing their style of basketball, and then they made some big timely shots which carried them forward. But we had our chances down the stretch. It was a possession-by-possession game. Both teams battling. So that's a good ol fashioned playoff game right there.”

On if coming back from 21 points down wore Nets down:

"I think in any NBA basketball game or any competitive field, you start off down and you're gonna have to climb your way out of a hole, otherwise the game can go from 21 to 31 in a matter of five minutes, six minutes, so for us to climb back in it and give ourselves a chance down the stretch, I'm proud of our guys but obviously there's no moral victories in a situation like this. You want to come out with the win.”

On Game 3 being tough game to win when up 2-0:

“Tonight just shows you that it could go either way. In those final was in less than 24 seconds I thought (Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer) was gonna call the timeout. I'm sure other guys on the floor did too. And they went for the quick two that put them up one. It took pressure off them to come down and get into an organized set. But even just plays before that, and just in and out or just a scramble of the ball. And that's just good old fashioned playoff basketball. So when we get a less than 90-point scoring game on both sides, you look back at the film, we feel like we did a good job defending them. They feel like they did a good job defending us. So Game 4 should be special. But we've definitely got to take our lessons from this game and move on to the next one.”

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 3: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Steve Nash Top Quotes

See what the Brooklyn Nets had to say after their 125-86 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

"They really came out and played well to start the game. A lot of energy, a lot of fight. Blake's been playing very well and doing all the little things and we know Bruce does that as well, so just their energy and fight was fantastic. It's contagious and I thought the whole group really performed well out of the gates."

"I think we just competed. You could talk about schemes and all that stuff but really our fight and our level of competition, guys being locked in, being aware of the game plan and being able to take care of details has been outstanding. It's gotta continue. It's even gotta improve. They're gonna raise their level and we've gotta raise ours as well."

"We recognize that they're a very good team, and we have to bring everything we have. And then I think continuity and confidence is growing. So I think we're more aware of what we're trying to accomplish and in more scenarios, and that's helping us feel free to really go for it, play hard, compete, be willing and okay to make mistakes, but try to do the right things on both ends.”

"I like our attention to detail, I like how we didn't get a lot of plays perfect but we made second and third efforts. They didn't destroy us on offensive rebounds, that showed we were boxing out, that was an emphasis for us. But for the most part we just did what we were supposed to do, win two at home now we got to see if this game is going to travel on the road for us and we got to stay locked in."

“I feel like that's every team's mentality if you got home court. We know how important Game 3's are and we know that their crowd is going to be in it from the second we get on the floor for warmups and we know their guys they play better and more comfortable when they sleep in their own beds and got their same routines at home. So we got our work cut out for us but we're looking forward to it.”

“You got to credit that to the coaching staff. They do a good job of keeping us focused in shootarounds and practices and not letting us slip for a second on game plan practicing, it's been that way whenever we get a chance to practice this whole season. You got to credit the coaches for keeping us locked in then I try to help them out when we in the locker room by ourselves and trying to tell guys what I see and vice versa. Everybody's just got an open dialogue out there with what they see and we just try and correct it and follow the gameplan.”

"I just think it was our pace. We were able to get stops, able to push the ball in transition and capitalize off a lot of opportunities we had with mismatches. We’ve just got to continue to be mature with the basketball, take care of it, and continue to do our parts out there. We’re asking each other to be at a certain level and it’s just paying dividends for us right now. We’ve just got to keep the same level of intensity or just paying attention to detail. Like I said before, going into Milwaukee it’s going to be unbelievable and energy and we’re just looking forward to the challenge.”

"It's the nature of basketball at this level. I mean, being in the playoffs, understanding that the home crowd does make a difference and people play a lot more comfortable when they're at home. They've able to see their families, they're able to prepare. They're able to get the shots, they're able to weight lift, they're able to do the little things that keeps them in their routine or comfortable. So, we just want to come in and break their rhythm a little bit. Understand that runs are gonna happen. They're on their home floors. Those guys are looking for a response game and we just have to be prepared. It's simple. The fans aren't going to come on the court and block anybody's shots or do anything and that makes a difference in our communication. So, we just have to make sure we're doing those little things.”

“That's how you play the game the right way. You know, we are very special individually but the selflessness which you're referring to is really what creates the difference. Defense is going to win us games down the stretch, but offensively playing the right way and trusting one another is — those little plays that make the difference towards the end of the game where we don't have to go for it all right then and there wherever the score is. So, like I said, this team, we've grown so much and we continue to do so. Obviously, we're missing James. You know, and we're just filling in the pieces for him.”

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 2: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Steve Nash Top Quotes

See what the Brooklyn Nets had to say after their 115-107 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

"Overall, it was pretty good. We did a lot of things well…I thought our defense was good. We didn’t give them too many wide-open looks. We weren’t perfect, but we scrapped, we clawed, we fought on the boards, especially after the first quarter. We had to clean some things up as the game went on. I was really impressed with the fight and our ability to hang in there. We had some lineups that have very rarely played together and we were able to hang in there."

"You never want to see that for someone like James, who is such an important player and such an incredible player and cares so much. I’m heartbroken for him. I don’t know what’s going to happen, I don’t know is he he’s playing next game, if he’s out. I have no idea, but I’m heartbroken for him that he had to miss tonight. I mean, this guy was so ready and excited to play tonight. You know the preparation he puts in. You know how much he cares about the game, how much he cares about his team. So you never want to see that when someone gives everything they have towards this."

"Kyrie was so important to us. He was giving us that outlet, a person who can make a play. He’s been there before. He’s such a presence on the court for us. He was unlucky not to have a monster game. He had a lot of balls that were in and out but they looked good. Those will go down for him. His impact in that first half was so important for us to go on top.”

"I think we were just really after the first quarter the offensive rebounding I think we did a solid job on after that. I think that's what got 'em going and had us down 10 in the first quarter them getting extra possessions. That's what they thrive on and I know they're not gonna miss that many shots — 6-for-30 — they're not gonna miss that many shots. They shot only three more shots than us. When we played them before they shoot 14, 15 more shots than us. We've just gotta rebound the basketball, play extremely hard and realize this team is a huge, long team, big team, so we've gotta all be in the paint helping each other out and it's gonna be a fun series."

On staying game with four fouls and scoring seven straight points:

“Yeah, I thought it was important stretch. There's only a minute to go and if I would’ve got my fifth foul that would’ve just been a lack of IQ. So I just tried to play smart and realized that we needed to score some baskets going into the fourth, and I was able to get some free throws, a nice little 3-pointer at the end. So I’ve just got to play smarter next game. The two fouls I got in the third quarter, I’ve just got to be better.”

“That’s just a life lesson. You focus on what you can control, that's one of those things that you can't control, somebody getting injured or what can happen in the future. We’re looking around the league and seeing what's happening. But we focus on ourselves, each of us individually; and when it's time to come together as a collective we focus on that. So it's just control we can control.”

"It's never easy to lose anybody, especially this time of the year where we just wanna have fun playing basketball and playing the right way and competing at a high level. We're obviously out there for bigger reasons, so when you see the game snatched away so early from one of our brothers, we feel for him, and we just had to make a quick adjustment and just adjust from there. That's the best thing we can do. We just came in the huddle, made sure that everybody on the bench knew kind of the situation we were in, and like I said we just played out from there. It went our way tonight, but obviously we're gonna feel his loss no matter what."

On Blake Griffin and Mike James stepping up:

"We have the capability of rising to the occasion. We're a very mature basketball club because we play selflessly, and we trust each other. So in any situation in the game, I feel like we have the talent, we have the preparation, we have the coaching staff to be able to go out and execute. And then after that it's just mainly up to us to continue to play the right way. Basketball rewards the team that brings the physicality first and continues to play a well-detailed game.”

On adversity throughout season preparing Nets for this game:

“I've been saying it for a while, just in terms of the journey this year, what it's taken for us to just continue to persevere and just be resilient. We just gotta dig deep, especially when you don't know when some of those situations are gonna happen. Like I said we feel for James, and all of us feel it, so just gotta pray and wish him the best and want him to get healthy.”

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 1: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Steve Nash Top Quotes

See what the Brooklyn Nets had to say after their 123-109 win over the Boston Celtics.

On winning series and Harden's triple-double:

"The feeling is one of excitement to move on and to face a great challenge in Milwaukee and to get prepared and to go do it again. We're excited for the next step and the next challenge and James was great tonight obviously. A triple-double, controlled the game, made shots and made his teammates better. He was terrific."

"I think that they are getting further along. Every time out whether it's good or bad performance whether it's cohesive or not I think it leads itself to more growth, more understanding, more cohesion. Some of it is they're just terrific players and able to take over the game in stretches individually. A little bit of both and we're going to need both if we're to continue to get better."

"It's difficult to say one thing. If I had to say one thing, I always like to lean on mental toughness. Being able to have the resolve to continue to work, to fight, to persevere no matter if the game's going well or not. Never giving up, never giving an inch and giving yourself a chance on the mental side to compete fully. But of course, technically there's a bunch of things that you want to go well for your side to have the upper hand."

On being first Net since Jason Kidd with playoff triple-double:

"J Kidd is one of them ones. He’s one of the elite point guards that this league has ever seen obviously with his playmaking ability. He’s a big guard. He just did so many things at the time in New Jersey that us young guys looked at. So shoutout to J Kidd. I just came here to make an impact on the game, whether it’s scoring, whether it’s rebounding, whether it’s my ability to pass the basketball, whatever the case may be. Every game is a little bit different, but I just take what the defense gives me and I play basketball. I try to play basketball the right way each possession."

“Personally, I’m thinking about them right now, just the matchups and things that they do on both ends of the ball. Obviously, we know how good they are on both sides and their individual talents. Tomorrow we’ve got an off day and on Thursday we go watch film and prepare for them.”

“Obviously, there’s some things we’ve got to work on. Obviously, communication and just where guys like the ball. It has to come fairly quick. For me, I pretty much know, but I think communication goes a long way. As long as we’re aggressive and we kind of communicate throughout the course and our coaches do a great job of putting us in positions, that’s all that matters. I think if the rest are on the same page and playing well, we can communicate with the rest of the guys where to be on both ends of the ball, I’ll take our chances against anybody.”

"We just want to take it one day at a time. Obviously when you get ahead of ourselves, that usually doesn’t work out for us so we just want to take it one day at a time as we develop more of a collective effort that we can be consistent with. I just feel like we’ve made strides in a short period of time. It feels like three weeks ago we were talking about getting on the same page, doing the little things in order for us to win, continuously boxing out, rebounding and stopping teams from feeling comfortable against us out there. So in any competitive field, you want your opponent to feel some type of physicality so you make it harder on them, and I feel like we did that."

"We don’t want to take any of this time for granted, and we know this doesn’t happen too often in our culture, in our history where three of the best scorers to ever play the game are on one team, and then you have a collection of guys that have done unbelievable things in this league, either coming off the bench or starting with us. So we just want everyone to feel good. We’re a selfless group. We try to make sure it’s not just about us three, but we understand that the expectations is on us to perform and to lead our team. It’s just inevitable so we welcome that. We just don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.”

“I think it’s meant for a lot of the best players in the league to go up against one another and show why we are who we are. Mutual respect on both sides for what we are capable of doing talent wise. We obviously know it’s going to be some adjustments made on the fly when we are going up against each other. Offense is going to be easy to go by sometimes and tough. We just have to learn from the game plan and we will have a few days to prepare with. Basketball is basketball. Like I said, once we step on the floor, it’s who can score the most and get the most stops.”