Postgame Recap: Kings @ Suns

PHOENIX 104, SACRAMENTO 88

February 21, 2010 - At the US Airways Center, Jason Richardson scored 14 of his game-high 26 points in the second quarter and Phoenix’s defense held the Kings to 34 second half points in the 104-88 win. Sacramento led by as many as 10 points in the second quarter and held a three-point advantage at halftime thanks to Beno Udrih’s three-pointer with 16.2 seconds left before the half. In the third quarter, the Suns outscored the Kings, 10-4, to take a 67-62 lead with 4:49 left. Phoenix then turned a six-point lead into a 13-point edge to start the fourth quarter. Sacramento managed to trim the Suns’ lead down to eight, but the Suns responded and pushed the lead back to double digits. Carl Landry led the Kings with 18 points and Udrih tallied 17 points off the bench. Tyreke Evans and Donte Greene each scored 16 points. Jason Thompson grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Phoenix’s Amar’e Stoudemire (19 points, a game-high 14 boards) and Steve Nash (11 points, 17 assists) each recorded double-doubles. The Kings outshot the Suns from the field, 47.3 to 46.1 percent, but were outrebounded, 36 to 49. The Suns also crashed the offensive glass for 20 rebounds. Phoenix won the season series against the Kings, winning three of the four meetings.

Rookies’ All-Star Showing Gives Kings Boost

After a three-day basketball break for all but two members of the Sacramento Kings – Tyreke Evans and Omri Casspi – All-Star Weekend provided players and coaches a chance to rest and get reenergized for the final 30-game stretch of the regular season.

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Postgame Recap: Kings @ Knicks

SACRAMENTO 118, NEW YORK 114 OT

February 9, 2010 - At Madison Square Garden, the Kings ended a six-game losing streak and matched their win total from a season ago with a 118-114 overtime win over the Knicks, but needed overtime after rallying from a 15-point fourth quarter deficit. Tyreke Evans, who struggled early, finished with a team-high 27 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists while Donte Greene added 24 points and eight rebounds. Omri Casspi put on a show for those who came to cheer him on, scoring 16 of his 18 points in the first half. But the Kings did not have an answer for Wilson Chandler who had 22 of his game-high and career-high 35 points in the first three quarters, helping New York gain an 84-76 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Knicks built a 15-point lead, 98-83, with 7:36 left in the fourth quarter and looked to be in control of the game. A Greene three-pointer ignited a 16-2 Kings run in which Greene and Evans accounted for all the points to bring the Kings within two, 101-99, with 2:32 remaining in the fourth. New York went up by four twice with the Kings answering each time, the last forcing overtime as Evans drove and dished to Jason Thompson for a dunk to knot the score at 105-105. In overtime, the Kings relied on Kevin Martin who scored nine of the Kings’ 13 points in the extra period. Martin, who tallied 17 points off the bench, gave the Kings the lead for good with two free throws, and Evans sealed the win with two more. Thompson recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds off the bench. David Lee (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Jared Jeffries (13 points, 10 rebounds) also recorded double-doubles. Al Harrington scored 17 points off the bench. Sacramento outrebounded New York, 59-39, 18 of the rebounds coming off the offensive end and converted into 24 second-chance points.

Postgame Quotes: Kings @ Knicks

Head Coach Paul Westphal

On his team’s performance:
“That was a lot of fun for us. Omri Casspi night in The Garden and I think they left loving him and I think they liked all of our rookies. We’ve had some great performances from Tyreke (Evans). Jon (Brockman) came in and gave us five offensive boards. Certainly Donte (Greene) and Jason (Thompson), fantastic, really made some big plays for us. We did like we’ve been doing all year. If we get behind, we don’t quit, keep playing. Tonight we happened to close it out. It’s always great to get a win in The Garden, even if we shoot ourselves in the foot a few times.”

On winning on the road in overtime:
“Well it’s great anytime we win. We have been playing so hard all year. As you can see we’re talented and young and we have some holes, but the one thing we don’t have a hole in from what I can tell is our heart. We really play hard and we don’t quit.”

Tyreke Evans

On the fourth quarter:
“We just never gave up, kept fighting, trying to get the win and coach believed in us. I think the main thing that got us the win was me pushing the ball, getting an easy bucket and an easy transition point.”

On his chances of winning Rookie of the Year:
“I’ll take it if I get it but if not then there’s a lot of rookies out there that are doing good, but that’s not my main focus to win Rookie of the Year, but to play hard and get wins for this team.”

Omri Casspi

On tonight’s game:
“I’m very happy and like I said before, I was very excited before the game. This is not a regular game for me and it was important for me to start strong…show the coach and everybody that I am here to play and focus on basketball. In the second half, we did great stuff…moving to the 2-3 zone especially in the 4th quarter. We got big rebounds and everybody made big plays.”

On the crowd chanting his name:
“It was a great feeling to play an away game and having big support. In the end when I left the court, it was one of the most exciting moments in my career in basketball. This was a big day for me.”

More on the crowd and tonight’s experience:
“It’s not a regular game because there were a lot of Israelis and Jewish people in the crowd and my father came all the way from Israel to watch me play. I was excited and happy that it went well for us.”

On Danilo Gallinari:
“He is my age and we have played many times together in different European championships and he is doing a great job for the Knicks and developing into a very good NBA player. I’m happy to see him succeed and he has a big role on that team. He is a great shooter and we tried to make an adjustment on him and not let him shoot wide open shots because he is shoots such a high percentage.”

Head Coach Mike D’Antoni

On the fourth quarter:
“(We were up) 15 points with about 7 (points) minutes to go. We didn’t get up on Donte Greene, one shot, he hit that. Then they had a lay-up, which sometimes (Tyreke) Evans will get to the rim. And we didn’t get back in transition and Donte (Greene) hits another. So, it went from 15 to about 7, after about 30 seconds. And then we got tight, and didn’t play well, and they beat us.”

On the overtime:
“That’s how it goes. We’re struggling to find a way to get the ball in the right place. Obviously, (Danilo) Gallinari going out against their zone hurts us. And then we don’t have a shooter in there. But, it’s no excuse, we just, whatever reason, I don’t know, there’s a lot of spirit (that) went out of this dog and we’re just not fighting.”

Danilo Gallinari

On his arm:
“It was the same thing happened in the game against Orlando. It’s tough to find a reason why the muscle in the arm is weak, so probably with a couple of days it’s going to be back to normal.”

On his participation in the All-Star weekend:
“I don’t even think about that. I will think about getting treatment tomorrow morning with the staff. I am trying to get this arm back healthy as soon as possible.”

More on his arm:
“It was getting worse minute by minute. That free-throw I had no power in my fingers. It’s going to take a couple of days I think. It’s not as bad as it was in Orlando.”

Chris Duhon

On his last fourth quarter shot:
“Yeah they guarded it well and I just looked up, saw the shot clock going down and I was just trying to get it up on the rim…give us a chance off the rebound.”

On tonight’s game:
“It was tough. They went to a zone and we just didn’t handle the zone well late in the game.”

Postgame Recap: Kings @ Raptors

TORONTO 115, SACRAMENTO 104

February 7, 2010 - At Air Canada Centre, Chris Bosh scored 12 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter, lifting the Raptors to a 115-104 win over the Kings, sending Sacramento to its sixth straight loss. Kevin Martin scored 24 points for the Kings who fought back from an early 10-point second quarter deficit and led by seven, 91-84, with 11:11 left in the fourth quarter. The Raptors went on an 8-0 run to take a 92-91 lead. With the score tied, 96-96, Toronto used an 11-1 spurt to take control of the game and lead, 107-97, with 3:28 remaining. A Martin pulled the Kings within seven, but the Raptors answered with a Bosh alley oop dunk and a three-pointer by Andrea Bargnani. Spencer Hawes recorded a double-double with 14 points and a game-high-tying 11 rebounds. Donte Greene added 13 points. Tyreke Evans accounted for 11 points, four rebounds, and nine assists. Jason Thompson returned to the Kings’ lineup after a two-game absence to tally 10 points and six rebounds off the bench. Bosh also recorded a double-double, grabbing a game-high-tying 11 boards. Bargnani finished with 22 points. Hedo Turkoglu and Antoine Wright each contributed 16 points. The Kings outrebounded the Raptors, 46-39, but could not connect on their free throws, missing nine of their 36 attempts.

Postgame Quotes: Kings @ Raptors

PAUL WESTPHAL (Head Coach)

On today’s game…
Well, we had a lead in the fourth quarter and couldn’t hold it. We missed a lot of free throws, we couldn’t control Bosh and Antoine Wright made some big plays for them. In general, we couldn’t stop them. We shot 56 per cent, we did a good job on the boards, we did a lot better job with our turnovers but we couldn’t finish the deal and it was primarily because we couldn’t get the stops we needed. The 42-44 minutes of really good basketball for us and the four-six minutes that wasn’t, gives us a loss to take down to New York with us.

Thoughts on the play of Chris Bosh…
We were trying to make it tough for him to catch it, we were trying to double him, in certain situations, sometimes on the dribble, sometimes early. They do a good job of spacing the floor and slotting him in places where it’s hard to double. He had a terrific game. A terrific game by a terrific player.

What happened down the stretch in the fourth quarter?
Well, we missed a bunch of free throws, we missed some open shots and it seemed like it was going back and forth. Neither team was very successful at keeping the other team from getting good shots. We blinked, we missed, they didn’t. And then we’re playing from behind in desperation. The other team gets a cushion and they capitalized very well on that too.

DONTE GREENE (13 points, five rebounds)

Thoughts on Chris Bosh today…
An All-Star in the league, a good player when he gets going like that you just try and stay in front of him. Keep contact with him and try and make it as uncomfortable as possible, but it is tough when he gets going like that for anyone to stop him.

When Toronto started making shots and the crowd got going, did you guys start to tense up?
I wouldn’t say tensing up, we just didn’t make shots, normal shots that we make. Missing free throws often hurts you and giving up 56 per cent from the field makes it tough to win a game.

Did the early start have an effect today?
I don’t like to make excuses. It is 9:00 am our time and we woke up at 6:00 some of us 5:00. It is our job so we can’t really make excuses on it.

TYREKE EVANS (11 points, nine assists)

What happened late in the fourth quarter?
I thought we just didn’t play it out. We had good looks, I was trying to find my teammates too and doing a good job of attacking the paint. I was just trying to win and create for others. They have an All-Star on their team Chris Bosh and he played a great game.

You guys are on the cusp a lot, right there but not quite enough…
That is one of our problems. Coach says that we are almost there, but that is not going to get us where we want be. We just have to find a way to close out games down the stretch but we had good looks. We didn’t turn the ball over, it’s just that we didn’t make shots at the end of the game.

How have you transitioned from one year of college to the NBA?
I just go out there and play the game. When I go out there and play it is just natural to me. I just try and go out there and play with my teammates, try and find open guys and get it done.

JAY TRIANO (Head Coach)

Thoughts on the play defensively in the second half…
We didn’t want to show too soon. We stayed with our traditional stuff and then midway through the fourth or whenever we think we need it, we make the adjustment that we have been making. We were able to get guys on the floor that we wanted on the floor because we had foul trouble early, but we wanted Antoine (Wright) on the floor and we wanted him guarding Tyreke (Evans) as much as we could at the end of the game.

Thoughts on the defensive play against Tyreke Evans…
I think it is a little bit of everything. Everybody is involved in it, but he still makes plays for other people. We didn’t want to get too sucked into the paint trying to help on him and have them kick for threes. We knew this team could score coming in. We knew they had no problem scoring. With Kevin Martin back in the lineup and Tyreke (Evans) playing the way he is they can put points up quick. They get a ball that bounces in off our guy on a rebound, bank in a 15-footer and then they make three threes in a row and all of a sudden it is a ball game. Our guys had to bear down in the fourth and we did defensively.

Thoughts on the decision making of Chris Bosh in the fourth quarter…
Chris (Bosh) is a smart basketball player. He knew after scoring going to the basket and going to the basket that they had to come; they had to trap him. I give out guys credit because for a change we didn’t just stand on the perimeter. We had guys cutting and diving and Chris found them and then when we didn’t find those guys we swung it and found somebody else moving. Teams are in a hole when they have to send two guys at him. Our guys did a pretty good job sharing the basketball and moving it and everybody gets credit when the ball goes in.

ANTOINE WRIGHT (16 points, five rebounds)

Thoughts on the similarities between Chris Bosh and Dirk Nowitzki…
A lot of the plays we ran in Dallas were isolations for Dirk (Nowitzki) at the elbow. Aside from Chris (Bosh) being left- handed, a lot of his game is face-up to the basket, jab steps, shooting jump shots and pretty much everyone else having to respect that and staying home. If you leave Andrea (Bargnani), he is a shooter, Jose (Calderon) is shooting the ball well, (Jarrett) Jack is shooting the ball well, so it’s all about having those surrounding shooters around a great player.

Thoughts on the level of intensity….
We have to play with that type of an attitude at home because that is what all the winning teams have. They have a type of swagger about them and in order for teams to understand how hard it’s going to be to play against us; we have to play with that type of intensity.

CHRIS BOSH (36 points, 11 rebounds, five assists)

What was the key for your performance today…
I just wanted to be patient. I am feeling really confident right now, especially in my teammates. A few times they had their guy on the island, so in that situation I am going to attack them as much as possible.

Thoughts on the energy in the fourth quarter tonight…
Most of the time when I am sitting down in the post, guys are going to double. I think we have a lot of weapons and we are really starting to get our chemistry right. They double team, the ball gets them moved and we have three-point shooters. When we have our shooters with defenders closing out on them usually it is to our advantage.

HEDO TURKOGLU (16 points, five assists)

Thoughts on wearing the mask…
They wanted me to wear it, but I didn’t. I wanted to look at the big picture for my career, for my life and from the team’s perspective. If I get hit it could keep me out longer than expected. I don’t need to be stupid or be a hero about it. I just have to put it on and try and do the best I can. Tonight I tried to focus on the game. I wanted to play aggressive and play my game.

Postgame Recap: Kings vs. Suns

PHOENIX 114, SACRAMENTO 102

February 5, 2010 - At ARCO Arena, Amar’e Stoudemire tallied 30 points and Steve Nash narrowly missed his fourth career triple-double with 23 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists as the Suns defeated the Kings, 114-102. Phoenix jumped out to a 18-8 lead and never let up, pushing the lead to as many as 29 points late in the third quarter. When the Suns faltered for a moment, the Kings managed to trim the Suns’ lead down to 10 midway through the third quarter before Nash buried a three-pointer way beyond the arc to ignite a 22-3 run to all but end the Kings’ comeback thoughts. Donte Greene led all players with a career-high 31 points. Omri Casspi added 17 points and Tyreke Evans scored 13. Casspi led the Kings with eight rebounds. Stoudemire led the Suns with nine rebounds. The two teams combined for 58 personal fouls (Phoenix 30, Sacramento 28) and 79 trips to the free throw line (Sacramento 40, Phoenix 39).

Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Suns

KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

“Well that first quarter barrage just put us back on our heels for the whole game. I thought that they came out and really took care of business, especially (Robin) Lopez and (Steve) Nash. They dominated us inside and Nash was hitting those buzzer-beating threes that are improbable for most but routine for him. So we were just back on our heels and we could never really get back in the game. We made a little run at the start of the third quarter and cut it to 10 and then we had Nash hit one of those from about 10 feet behind to put it up 13. Then we didn’t execute two plays in a row and they went down and got dunks because of it. Then it was pretty much (playing) catch-up the rest of the way. It’s a great team loaded with all-stars and they played very, very well. We couldn’t dig ourselves out of the hole.”

“The things that we worked on – probably the worst team in the world to play against is the Suns after you do that. We’re trying to do a better job of controlling penetration and when you do that Nash can pick you apart. They have the best three-point shooting team in the league. For the most part, the things that hurt us the most in the first quarter were second shots. That hasn’t been that bad of a problem all year but it was a horrible problem in the first half. Nash wasn’t missing shots himself and when they did happen to miss, Lopez got the second shot and he was dominant in that first quarter. That really gave them some separation. So it wasn’t the things we worked on as much as the things that they did too well for us to overcome.”

“Well we had a great defensive stop, only to have Nash take a buzzer-beater from about 10 feet behind the line and he made that, and that put us down 13. Then we had a play we called and we didn’t go down and run it. We diagramed it out of a time out and we had two guys running it and three guys where they weren’t supposed to be. So we were so confused on the way back and they got a dunk. I guess we lost focus. Then we went down and were supposed to run the next play, then they ran something we’d never seen before, they got another dunk, so then it was 17. So that’s what happened.”

“Well we came out very well at the start of the third quarter. We came out, we cut it down to 10 and then I just explained twice what happened after that – we were playing catch-up the rest of the game.”

“We’ve had stretches in various games, I think I can point to a few that were pretty good. So I don’t necessarily say it always happens at the same time. But we do have the air go out of our balloon way too often, and I will agree with you on that.”

“Well this road trip is kind of tough. I don’t want to give us an excuse in advance but it’s probably the worst scheduling I’ve ever. To fly east and play a noon game – I don’t think that was very good scheduling. Having said that, we have played an incredible string of great teams and they’ve been playing really well. So we got hit with a two by four and we’ll see if we’re still standing. I think we will be.”

“I thought Donte (Greene) was outstanding for us tonight, obviously. The numbers are excellent and he took a major step forward again as he has been lately. Donte has probably come further than anybody else we have this year improvement-wise and I don’t see him slowing down at all.”

Donte Greene

On if it is hard to keep the passion going
“No, because we are a young team. We have to go out there and play the game and to do what we do every night is a blessing for us young guys. I think it would be harder (to keep the passion) if we were a veteran team. When guys have been in the league longer and they lose and start worrying about getting their contacts. We are a young team though, so we are going to keep going out there and fight every night and play hard.”

“The season is starting to pick up and teams are playing more aggressive especially with the veteran teams that are coming in, and that is why we need to keep fighting. It isn’t about coming out and giving up, we are coming out and still playing hard. We were down 30 and we were still fighting and playing hard. That is a good sign for a young team. All you can do is keep playing, that is all you can do and keep fighting.”

On the Phoenix Suns’ play tonight
“They have been together for a while and they have one of the best point guards in the league in Steve Nash. They have veteran leadership in Grant Hill and Jason Richardson. They are just a veteran team. For us, we are just not hitting shots and they were hitting everything. It was just one of those nights.”

“To see how far I have come from the summer time and feeling like coach hated me. To now, I am playing hard. He is giving me praises and it is definitely big for me. I am just trying to keep going.”

Spencer Hawes

“I think that we improved tonight. There were a lot of times tonight where we made the right rotations. It wasn’t like we made them too late or when we were foul trouble. I am not sure how many free throws they ended up shooting, but with a team like that you can do everything right and they can still beat you. They just play basketball the right way.”

On the team this year
“I think that this group that we have here is resilient. We look at every game as a new opportunity and a new chance to get back on track. That is how is has to be or else it will start to feel like last year.”

On Kevin Martin’s play lately
“It is just a matter of time before he gets back into his rhythm and adjusts to a bit of a new system. He wasn’t a 20-plus scorer in the league for the last few years for no reason. He is more than capable. He is just having some tough bounces.”

Kevin Martin
“It just wasn’t me out there. I have been here for five years and I just don’t feel the same out there. I just can’t put a finger on it. I have never been in a situation like this before.”

“I feel fine physically, mentally? No.”

Phoenix Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry

On being happy to get the win against the Kings

“It was a good win for us. Anytime you get a win on the road is a good win. They have been playing good basketball. The only problem they have had is they haven’t been able to win close games. They have probably lost more close games than anyone this season.”

On how they won
“It helped with Tyreke (Evans) getting in foul trouble early. He couldn’t play as aggressive as he usually does. I thought we were really efficient offensively in what we were doing. I thought we got the ball to the right people. Steve (Nash) got off to a great start and seems to be real aggressive against these guys. I wish he would be that way even more so sometimes. His shot was there and he got us off to a great start.”

On his team’s defensive play
“I thought we did a good job defensively. We had some breakdowns later on from a dribble penetration standpoint, but I thought, for the most part, that we did a very good job against them.”

On what stood out to him
“I just thought we did a really good job of staying aggressive. More so than anything, I thought we did a great job of defending. We had them under 40 percent most of the first half and we limited their second shots. Then I thought we came down and executed and got some big hoops. Even when they made their little run back at us, I thought we always came up with a basket that kind of stopped their run and kept a substantial lead. Other than the Denver game the other night, it is probably the most complete game we have played.”

Phoenix Suns Guard Steve Nash

On building some momentum as a team
“Yeah we are getting some momentum, but I think we are consistent. We are playing a little harder and a little sharper mentally, and our focus is better. It has given us confidence to stay with it. Before, I think we overanalyzed and thought too much. Sometimes, you make up for your mistakes by playing hard and being competitive. I think we have seen a better streak of that.”

On the Kings’ rally efforts
“They got it down to 10, and then I think we went on a 22-3 run. It was a solid performance, but there were stretches we let them back and we did job of turning it on against them. Overall I think we did a great job.”

On having fun during times like this
“It is fun. It is hard work. It is difficult to win games, but it pays off, you know, and is a lot of fun. Especially on nights like tonight when you get up and go on a 22-3 run on the road at the end of a trip. It is rewarding.”

Defensive Minded Kings Return to Utah

Sacramento’s victory over Golden State on Tuesday gave the Kings 179-178 lead in the all-time series and boosted the team’s record against the Western Conference to 13-9 at ARCO Arena.

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Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Warriors

KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

“I’m not going to lie, it feels good to get a win. Obviously it wasn’t the prettiest win anybody’s ever seen in this league – we shot 38 percent, they shot 32 percent, we had 21 turnovers – and we still found a way to win. So I’m not going to quibble about that. I thought we got some really phenomenal performances from Spencer (Hawes) and Sean May. It was very, very professional how ready (Sean) was to play. That’s a hard thing to do when you’re out of game action as long as he’s been out. To come in there and do what he did was much needed and very good. I thought that both Donte (Greene) and Ime (Udoka) did a real, real good job on (Corey) Maggette. It was their job to try to make his life tough and he missed a lot more shots than he usually misses but I think they probably had a little bit to do with it anyway. So it was great to get out of here with a win. I thought certainly Beno (Udrih) off the bench was back to playing how he’s been playing most of the year and we needed every bit of his contribution. So we’re off the snide.”

On the decision to utilize Sean May:
“Well (Jon) Brockman got hurt yesterday and he was the next big in our rotation. He’s been playing well in practice, working hard, and we thought that he deserved a look.”

On Spencer Hawes:
“He’s had some good games already this year, some really good games, but I would put (tonight) right up there with his best and it wasn’t just because he was making shots. I think that his balance, his presence on defense and (his play) offensively – he’s spreading out and playing big like we want him to play. So I saw the most progress in his game with his intensity that I’ve seen all year.”

“I think on the middle of this road trip, you’d have to ask him to verify it or not, but to me it seemed like a light bulb went on for Spencer. He has made some of the adjustments in his game that we think he needs to work on to make himself the player he wants to be and can be. I think that it’s really been coming on for a few games now, this kind of presence that he’s been bringing. So it wasn’t just tonight, he’s been showing it to us both in the game and in practice. Even though the team hasn’t played well, I think Spencer has improved in his play lately.”

On the play of Donte Greene:
“Well you need players like Donte when you play one of Nellie’s teams because they run a lot of big and small lineups at you, make changes, and you have to be able to guard. Donte can guard really all of the positions that they can present so he was a very valuable piece for us at the defensive end particularly. He’s a versatile offensive player too. I thought one of the biggest plays of the game was when we went to him down in the post and he delivered down there. He made a big block defensively and he inbounded the ball under pressure a couple times which is a tough thing to do. He’s got some toughness about him under pressure that really gets him minutes on the floor.”

On the struggle and confidence of Kevin Martin:
“Well I’m sure his confidence is rock-bottom right now – he’s 1 for 7, 1 for 7 and 1 for 9. He’s human but at the same time he’s trying to play through it and be aggressive. It wasn’t his night tonight but he’s going to get there. It’s confidence, it’s timing, it’s seeing the ball going through the basket a few times, it’s a little bit of conditioning – it’s all of those things. I thought that he approached the game in a positive way today and things just didn’t go that well for him. He’s still going to be a big part of this team real, real soon production-wise.”

Sean May

“It felt good to be out there. It feels like it has been forever and my adrenaline kicked in. One thing in this league is you have to stay ready. I have talked about that before and I have talked to coach about it. One thing I continue to do is work and stay ready waiting for my opportunity. It came tonight and luckily we got a win.”

When asked if a win is a win
“Obviously we got a win, which is great, especially coming off the road and having six losses, but the good thing is we can enjoy it tonight and get into the gym tomorrow. When we dissect the film, that is when he (Coach Westphal) can bring out all the bad stuff. There were a lot of things in this game that went wrong. We wilted in the fourth quarter, but luckily they shot horrendous tonight. We also beat them on the glass. There is something to be said on gutting out the win. We got one.”

On being ready to play
It feels good. From the guys that I have played with - Nazr Mohammed, who was a guy who didn’t play at all last year and now he is getting minutes this year. Last year he told me, ‘you just always have to stay in shape.’ You never know when someone is going to go down or what is going to happen. It was my motivation. Just stay in shape, your number is going to be called. Too many things can happen within a course of a season, with injuries or whatever. If you are not ready, it is no ones fault but your own. Everyday I come in, I do cardio and I treat practices like games. I just try to go hard and prove to them that I deserve to play. Hopefully that is what (Coach Westphal) saw and that is why he decided to play me. Jon (Brockman) went down, which is unfortunate, but it was an opportunity. Hopefully, he will come back in a couple games and it just makes us that much deeper.”

Spencer Hawes
“It feels good, especially after that road trip and it had everyone down. To turn it around, especially against a team in our division is nice.”

“I saw the other day I got a D+ (grading by the Sacramento Bee) and you have to use stuff like that to motivate yourself. I know that I haven’t been playing as well as I think that I should be and I knew it was time to get back on track.”

On how he keeps it going from here
“I am going to continue to play with intensity, try to use the defensive end and rebound to help get me going early on, instead of relying on offense.”

Tyreke Evans
“We came out aggressive and I thought that we should have closed it out better in the fourth quarter. We are still trying to find our rhythm and get the big guys going. I thought that I should start out early and not hold anything back.”

“It feels pretty good, especially since we lost seven straight. To come back home and go out there and play hard - it felt pretty good. We just have to stay focused and do the same thing on the road.”

Golden State Warriors Head Coach Don Nelson

Tonight’s game…
“We got back into the game some how. We played a pretty good second half. I didn’t like our first half at all. I didn’t like the ball movement. In the second half I think we moved the ball and shared the ball. We did a lot better job. We just didn’t make enough shots earlier in the game. When we shoot 32 percent for the night, we’re not going to win the game shooting that percentage. We did get back in it so it turned out to be a pretty decent game.”

Stephen Curry’s performance tonight…
“It was a good performance. He has played well now almost every game for a long time.”

Monta Ellis’ importance to the team…
“It’s so hard to score and do the things that we are used to doing right now. We’re not making shots. We need Monta back.”

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors Guard

Getting back into the game…
“It was defense no doubt about it. We tried to play from behind and came out in the third quarter with a big run and cut the lead down to six points. They pushed it right back to double digits. We just had to make big stops. We just couldn’t get enough rebounds to get in transition we like we wanted to. We had to play a small lineup. Our defense really kept us in the game. We didn’t shoot the ball too well tonight so something else had to (keep us in the game), to give us a shot.”

Team’s performance…
“First half we were kind of stagnant. Even when we had ball movement our shots just weren’t falling. We shot 32 percent for the game. It felt like we were right there. We didn’t make enough plays to get over that hump. We made it tough enough on them to give us a chance to win down the stretch. We just didn’t make shots earlier in the game.”

Cartier Martin, Golden State Warriors Guard

Team’s performance…
“Second half we were more assertive. We played more as a team. We slowly got back into it.”

Team’s struggles tonight…
“We just had one of those bad shooting nights. I shot 1-of-6 from the 3-point line. We just didn’t shoot the ball well from the outside tonight. So we tried to get inside, get fouled and tried to make it happen on the inside so we could get to the line and possibly get our rhythm going.”

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