Pelicans Head Coach Alvin Gentry
On what stood out in the game:
“I just thought that we just kept battling. We weren’t playing the greatest and I thought we were kind of a half a step slow at everything we were doing and they were really attacking us and we were having trouble controlling the penetration. We just kept plugging away and plugging away and I thought it was big at the end of the third where we got it back in a working situation, and then I just thought we made plays down the stretch. We made a bunch of plays, obviously AD’s [Anthony Davis] offensive rebound on the foul shot was really huge. I kept telling the guys at every timeout that we just have to keep battling, something has to happen if we just keep battling the way we are.”
On winning the third game in a row after being down double digits:
“I don’t look at that as a plus, I really don’t. We have got to try not to get down double digits, but I think it’s good that we are able to fight back and we continue to play and we keep our poise and we don’t panic about it, but I would much rather not be playing from double figures down.”
On Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili:
“In this league you just have to play and you play whoever is out there. They are still a hell of a team and they have got guys… Tony [Parker] I thought came in and did an unbelievable job for them during that stretch where he got four or five straight buckets against us. [Manu] Ginobili, he’ll be trying to drive it to the basket when he is in his casket, that’s just who he is. To me, I don’t know if there has been another guy in this league that’s more competitive than he is.”
Pelicans Forward Anthony Davis
On holding the Spurs to 21 points in the fourth quarter:
“We had to play defense in order to get back into the game. They were up and we were beating ourselves. A lot of turnovers and bad shots and a lot of stuff was coming easy for them so in order for us to win this game, we had to buckle down defensively and get some stuff and it kind of helped us do what we like to do best and that’s running."
On looking at the playoffs picture:
“Yeah, after the game, I looked to see what happened. OKC [Thunder] won by 1 against Dallas which is tough but we’ve got to keep playing. Keep playing and let the rest take care of itself.”
Pelicans Guard Jrue Holiday
On the Pelicans rebounding after the two missed free throws:
“I think the first one I shot long so the second one I tried to put a little bit more touch on it, kind of on the front of the rim and let it bounce in but Anthony being Anthony [Davis] saved us, or, saved me."
On avoiding overtime:
“I don’t think you know how big it is for us not to go into overtime. I do think that it means a lot that we could finish it out in regulation. Overtime is big and to be able to do it there adds on 5 minutes and a lot of pounding on your body but to end it in regulation, I think it means a lot for our team and our progress and just being able to finish the game in regulation.”