Pelicans Head Coach Monty Williams
On tonight’s win and the team putting the losing streak behind them
“It felt great. The way we played, they scored a lot of points, but I thought our defense wasn’t as bad. We didn’t want to give them a lot of threes. They shot 22 [three-point attempts], but they’re a team that can shoot 25-30 so we gave up a ton of twos and it helped us because then when we did get stops we were out in transition. Tyreke [Evans] and Eric [Gordon] and [Anthony Davis] were tremendous, especially early. I liked the fact that we were able to take a punch tonight and then give it back and close out a game. It almost got away from us early in the fourth quarter, but it just feels good to win a game after all that we’ve been through. Our guys deserve a lot of credit for their ability to stay in there and hang in there and not give in and try to get a win before we go back home.”
On if the Lakers gave them lane tonight or if they took it
“I thought we did a lot of taking tonight. [Alexis Ajinca] was diving and creating some area for us, but Tyreke [Evans], he’s so strong he can take space. He and Eric [Gordon] were in the paint a lot early. Anthony Davis hit some shots early on, but Tyreke and Eric and Austin [Rivers] as well did a good job of just attacking the basket. When we start to play off of that and use our shooting, which we did a little bit tonight with Eric and [Anthony Morrow], I think it’ll make us a little bit better of a team. ”
On Anthony Davis getting back into a groove tonight
“For a guy that sets such a high bar, to be 20-years-old and have all these expectations, who at 20 is playing like him? In the history of the game, there are very few. So when he has nights off and everybody wonders what’s wrong, he’s entitled. The way he’s played and as good as he’s gotten, I don’t know who else is going to win most improved. Who should be up for it other than him the way he’s improved, just from that standpoint of being able to bounce back. I wouldn’t’ call it a slump at all. I just think teams are keying on him. I think he did a great job tonight of being aggressive, but he did take what came to him. He didn’t rush anything. He was efficient tonight.”
Pelicans Forward Anthony Davis
On finally finishing the road trip off with a win
“It’s a big win. We needed this win to get back on track. We need to get back in rhythm, so it was a really big win. We came out and played with a lot of intensity, which resulted in a win.”
On The Pelicans offensive rhythm
“There was a lot of rhythm. We always have one or two guys scoring but we need three or four. That was our mentality. Defensively as well, third quarter they got into it and we fell back. We got the lead back up again in the fourth quarter.”
Pelicans Guard Brian Roberts
On the win
“It’s a little bit of a weight off our shoulders. Those losses that we had were tough because we were so close. Tonight it just took a team effort and we were able to play the game.”
On being an inspiration to the team
“I try to let my actions speak louder than my voice. I know when I speak guys usually tend to listen. No one is going to help us or give us a hand, we have to fight our way out.”
On the Pelicans transition offense in the first half
“Getting out and running is key for our team. We have an advantage being able to get stops first then rebounding and pushing it, which we did tonight.”