Pelicans Head Coach Alvin Gentry
On the game:
“I thought we did a good job. We were good defensively the first half. I thought we kind of let the game get away from us a little bit in the third quarter. We had the big lead and you know, we had some bad positions offensively and defensively and they climbed back in the game before the quarter was over. Like I said to the guys, if you would’ve said that we had an opportunity to be up four with 12 minutes to play we would have taken that. We just didn’t finish the game. I thought they did a great job. Obviously, Donovan [Mitchell] played a great game, kept pressure on our defense the whole game driving to the basket and when he didn’t drive, shooting the three-point shot. I think he’s got the chance to be a great player.”
On Anthony Davis:
“He’s got a strained groin. He’ll have an MRI tomorrow in Portland. It’s very unlikely that he’ll play in Portland.”
On how hard it is to lose a star player during the game:
“Well, it happens all the time in this league and you just got to continue to play. You know, it doesn’t matter who goes down, we were in the opportunity where we had a chance to win the game so that’s where you have to have everyone step up and play a little better than they did.”
Pelicans Center DeMarcus Cousins
On Anthony Davis:
“It’s unfortunate… but that’s the nature of this game. Guys go down and situations come like that. The next guy has to be ready to step up and fill that void."
On how a teammates injury affects the team’s mindset:
“You hate to see a teammate go down. We’re all athletes in this game, and one thing we can all agree on is we hate injuries. I don’t think any guy wants to see anybody go down. It can kind of mess with you mentally. You’ve got to kind if block that out. The next guy has to step up and fill that void.”
On where the game got away:
“They hit some shots. They hit big shots. The rookie [Donovan Mitchell] had a hell of a game. He dominated from start to finish. So they hit some big shots. Utah got a really good one.”
Pelicans Guard Rajon Rondo
On getting open looks and finding efficient ways to score:
“My bigs set picks and I was able to move without the ball and guys were passing on time and on target and it got me some easy looks.”
On adjusting without Anthony Davis:
“We’ve played without him a couple times. We had to adjust when he got thrown out last game. We haven’t adjusted very well, I don’t think we’ve won a game when he’s gone out, so we’ve got to find a way.”
On what the team needs to do moving forward:
“Short term memory. We’ve got a quick turnaround, less than 24 hours and we’ll be playing again, so we’ve got to defend, rebound and try to get multiple stops.”