When Will ROY Be Announced?

Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie addresses the question on the mind of many Kings fans in his latest interview with The Rise Guys on Sports 1140 KHTK. Plus, Petrie discusses the 2009 Draft class, Kings Most Improved Player, team chemistry and more.

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Postgame Recap: Kings vs. Rockets

HOUSTON 117, SACRAMENTO 107

April 12, 2010 - At ARCO Arena, Kevin Martin made his first visit back to Sacramento since the trade and led all scorers with 39 points in leading the Rockets to a 117-107 win over the Kings. Tyreke Evans tallied a team-high 24 points, with his two free throws with 6:46 left in the fourth quarter securing a 20-point, five-rebound, five-assist season average to join only Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James as the only players to average those numbers in their rookie season. The Kings jumped out to an early 40-28 lead after the first quarter, but the Rockets overtook the Kings, 80-79, on Trevor Ariza’s three-pointer with 2:35 left in the third quarter. With the score tied, 99-99, the Rockets took control of the game by outscoring the Kings, 14-4, for a 113-103 lead with 3:03 remaining in the fourth quarter. Carl Landry tallied 19 points and Jason Thompson grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Ariza finished with 29 points. Chuck Hayes and Jared Jeffries each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Sacramento converted 14 Houston turnovers into 28 points.

Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Rockets

KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

“Well, even though we have one more game left, I think that it’s an appropriate time being that this is the last home game to talk a little about our team and where we’ve been and where we’re going. So I’m going to focus on that a little bit more than the game, at least initially, and then any questions you guys have I will be glad to answer them. I just think that to have a great turnout for this team on Fan Appreciation Night, we appreciate that, we appreciate our fans. We know how much they’ve been watching this team this year and how much hope that this city has for the development of this team, and I believe that we’ve taken a lot of great steps this year toward becoming the team that this city will continue to embrace. I think that when you take a team that won 17 games, had the worst record in the league, was the worst rebounding team and the worst defensive team and start with the youngest team, least experienced team in the league – it’s not realistic to expect playoffs. You can hope for playoffs, and that’s what we hoped for every game, we tried to win every game this year. But what we did expect was intensity, competitiveness and improvement. I don’t think by any measure that this team would be judged to have failed in any of those. I’m very pleased to be coaching this group of young men. When we talk about where we’re going to be going forward, there’s not a player on this roster that I’m down on and would say couldn’t be a part of our team as it becomes a successful playoff NBA team in the future. Obviously, it won’t happen where everybody’s still here – the deck gets shuffled and you try to add to your team every year and you make deals. These players gave what they had this year with one more game to go – I’m sure they’ll continue to give it less tomorrow night. The first step in us becoming a winning team is that we have to be a competing team. I think this team competed extremely hard this year every game. Some games the results weren’t as pretty but this team did compete. We have competitors; we will continue to keep adding competitors to this team. As the skill level raises, as young players improve, the win total will go up and as we add to this team the win total will go up and we took a great first step toward that. The goal is winning and we won’t be happy until we’ve achieved that and continue to achieve that over many years. So anyway, getting to this game tonight, this game was – I’ll have to admit, it was a little bit of a distraction I think for our players. There wasn’t much defense being played out there tonight, there’s no doubt about that. In fact, I do think that the accomplishment of Tyreke (Evans), even though it was a distraction to this individual, can’t be diminished when you look at the totality of this season. To be mentioned statistically in the same breath as Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and LeBron James is a phenomenal thing. Every player in our locker room is happy for Tyreke and proud of him because he’s such a great teammate and selfless player. That is the trademark we want for this team as we go forward. So we’re pleased he got the record, we’re sorry it came in a loss. I understand the distraction of the hoopla – it looked like Tyreke forgot to make layups tonight when he was on the cusp. He’s the best layup maker in the NBA and he was struggling – I think he was probably nervous even though I doubt if he would ever admit it. The reception of the fans was great. I thought it was pretty special for Kevin Martin too to come back in probably a non-characteristic NBA coaches way, I was actually happy for Kevin even though he’s on the other team. We enjoyed having him on the team and to see him have that kind of success when he comes home, every player dreams of that, so we’re happy for Kevin too. It was a nice night for basketball, we wish we would have won and we will continue everything we can to improve this team as we move forward.”

Tyreke Evans

“It was hard, that was the hardest bucket I have ever had to score in my life. Coming into the game I knew everyone wanted me to break the record at home in front of my family and my friends. It was kind of tough. Trying to get that last bucket, it seems like nothing would fall for me. I told coach to take me out then put me back in. Then I got fouled, the foul shots made me nervous, but then it went in. I thought I was going to air ball the first one. I shot it hard and then it went in, then the second one went in. It was a good season for me overall. We didn’t get the win at home, but we played hard. I just went out and tried, but it was so hard to get that bucket.”

On what it means to the city of Sacramento
“It means alot, they came out and showed support. They had all their signs up and were watching me make history. They have been good all year, whether we were losing or we were winning. Those are true fans right there.”

On what to expect going into tomorrow
“The next game in L.A. you can expect us to just go out there and play. This is off my back now. I am going to play the game I have been playing all year out there and hopefully we will get a win.”

Donte Greene

On Tyreke tonight getting 20-5-5
“There were a lot of distractions tonight. I am just happy for Tyreke. At the end of the day I just wish we could have gotten the win, but congrats to Tyreke.”

On tomorrow and looking toward next season
“Tomorrow we just need to finish strong, work hard and we need to try to get ready for next year. I would like to get that starting job (next year) and go from there.”

On Coach Westphal’s extension
“It is definitely nice. For me having three coaches in my two NBA years it was a little difficult. Now we have someone who is stable and a good guy. We are going to go far.”

Omri Casspi

On the pressure on Tyreke tonight
“I just tried to tell him, you just got to score two points, it’s only two points. You just can’t force it. I think it was too much pressure because it is an unbelievable thing and he was under pressure. It was nice though.”

On the fan support and going into next season
“It is a good feeling. We have a lot of support. We need to focus going into the off-season on our game and get better for next year.”

Houston Rockets Head Coach Rick Adelman

Turnaround
“I think the whole game changed in the second half. We were so poor defensively in the first half. They pretty much did what they wanted. They just got the ball and went to the basket. We talked about it at halftime that we needed to be the aggressors and not react to everything that they did. We had to set the tone. We were much more aggressive in the second half and getting back and controlling it. Kevin (Martin) kept us in it the first half. We had 62 points and were still down. It was really our attitude the second half that turned the game. We got so much more aggressive defensively.”

First half
“It’s been our problem all year long. Sacramento was very aggressive in the start of the game. Wherever they had mismatches they went at it and took advantage of it. You are going to have mismatches, but as a team, five guys have to play together. I told them at halftime you have to respect your teammates. You have to help each other and take more responsibility of yourself. We’re young like Sacramento and we make mistakes but if you make them make them with aggression and not be passive.”

Playing against Tyreke Evans
“The first half he was coming down the court and he had the guy back pedal and would take it to the rim. Our guys acted like he couldn’t finish there. The adjustment we made was we were not going to allow him to get to the basket. We were going to be in his face all the time and if they start making three’s so be it. We just decided that we were tired of layups and tired of easy baskets. They could make shots over the top of us. It was our game plan from the start but the effort was there in the second half.”

Game distractions tonight
“We have to go out and play how we’ve played all year long. I didn’t even know what was going on until they put the 20-5-5 up there. I’m more than happy to let him have that and we’ll take the win and go home.”

Kevin Martin, Houston Rockets Guard

Returning to Sacramento
“There was a lot of emotion running through my body tonight. I saw a lot of people wearing my jersey out there tonight. It was like I was still playing a home game. That made me feel good and proud of what I did here. I just wanted to respect the game and respect the fans that came out and supported myself and my team.”

Tyreke Evans’ 20-5-5
“It was a tremendous accomplishment for him. He’s going to be a great player.”

Tonight’s game
“They know my game very well. I’m a scorer. The best defense against me is to come right at me. I just had a little extra effort tonight because I wanted to get back at them too. It was just going back and forth. It seems like the last man standing won.”

Video tribute and fan reaction
“I didn’t notice it but they did give it to me. I’ll watch it tonight. I appreciated it very much. The community and I had a great relationship while I was here and I will never forget those times. I’m happy Sacramento was my first opportunity in the NBA and they showed me a lot of loyalty. Thanks to Geoff Petrie, he put me in a great situation. Everything was positive.”

Postgame Recap: Kings vs. Mavs

DALLAS 126, SACRAMENTO 108

April 10, 2010 - At ARCO Arena, Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers with 39 points and Jason Kidd recorded his second triple-double of the season (and his 105th of his career) with 11 points, a game-high 10 rebounds, and 13 assists in lifting the Mavericks past the Kings, 126-108. Dallas led throughout the game with its largest lead of 25 points, late in the third quarter. Nowitzki almost single-handedly outscored the Kings in the third quarter, tallying 13 straight points to close out the quarter and accounted for 22 of the Mavericks’ 35 points (Kings had 26). Carl Landry led the Kings with 30 points, one shy of his career high. Tyreke Evans tallied 27 points, a team-high eight rebounds, and six assists. Jason Terry added 25 points off the bench for the Mavericks, who swept the regular season series against the Kings, 4-0. Nowitzki made all 13 of his free throw attempts to extend his consecutive made free throw streak to 68. The Kings outrebounded the Mavericks, 41-36, but were outshot, .471 to .532. Dallas made 13-of-21 from beyond the three-point arc.

Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Mavs

KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

“Well we had a nice crowd out there supporting us tonight and they got to watch Dirk Nowitzki show what he can do. He showed why he’s one of the greatest players ever to play this game. It looked like the basket was like three times the size of a normal basket whenever he shot the ball tonight. On top of that, they had their other players shooting the ball extremely well – 13 for 21 (three-point shots). You want teams to shoot more three-point shots as opposed to getting inside when you’re a smaller team like we are but when they shoot 62 percent on threes it’s hard to mount much of a comeback. It seemed like it was a great offensive performance by a veteran team who’s tuning up for the playoffs. If they shoot the ball like that, they can win any time they play. So it was a tough night for us trying to stop them – we couldn’t do it – and that was pretty much the name of the game tonight. We’re thrilled that our fans are still supporting us. We’re looking forward to our last home game – Fan Appreciation Night – we hope that that’s a sellout. We want to finish this season strong. I’m sorry it’s coming to an end, I really am. I love coaching these guys. I see better days ahead as we add to the mix that we have and we’re staying positive despite setbacks. Like I said, I give the Mavericks and Dirk all the credit in the world. That’s a team that’s playing their best basketball at the most important time of the year. They steamrolled us tonight after they got Portland last night. We did hold Dirk to 39 – he had 40 last night.”

“Well we turned it over too much in the first half – we can only blame ourselves for that. They played good defense and you can’t turn the ball over 11 times against a team like that. We were chasing them because they were so efficient offensively. We needed for them to hit a lull and whenever we thought they might hit a lull they just threw it to Dirk. So it was the first half that did us in with our ball handling. We did play pretty well – we played solid but we couldn’t stop them. When a team shoots 62 percent on threes, it’s gonna be a long night.”

On Carl Landry:
“I’ll tell you the truth, nothing surprises me about his scoring ability. Carl’s one of the top scoring forwards in the league. Per minute played he’s showed what he can do this year and he’s getting more minutes so he gets more points. He’s a high-percentage shooter, he’s versatile and the more we learn to throw him the ball and get him more shots, the more points he’ll score. He’s always going to be an efficient scorer.”

On Jason Kidd:
“It’s beautiful to watch him play. He fills up the stat sheet but he doesn’t play for stats. He just plays for making the right play every time and he gets them in the right situations. He knows who the shooters are and where they like the ball and he’s a genius at doing that. To have as much energy and conditioning as he has at this time of the year, at this stage of his career, is extremely remarkable. He’s in the perfect situation for him – he’s got enough big guys to protect the basket, he’s got shooters all around him and he’s got Dirk. It’s going to be an interesting playoff run. I think the Mavericks are poised to really do some damage.”

Carl Landry

On Dirk in the third quarter
“He did a good job of running, transitioning and getting to the open spot. They were already up about 15 points, they are a veteran team and they just want to stick a dagger in you. Every time he had a good look at the hoop he shot it. He kept sticking those daggers into us and nailing those shots.”

On Dirk’s overall performance
“We just let him have easy shots. We were not contesting any of the shots. In the third quarter there was a man by him, but just in transition. Anytime a team gets up and gets on a run and starts to gain momentum that is when you take those big shots. That is when you take quick shots and try to make big plays and that is what they did tonight. That is what we have to learn. Dirk just kept throwing daggers at us. Unfortunately we just lost tonight.”

On his performance
“The game isn’t over until the horn sounds. I continue to just play. I just wanted to continue to play hard, score, play a little offense, a little defense. I just wanted to do whatever I could to find my open teammates.”

On the Mavericks
“They are a veteran team. They have been together for a long time and the starting five has been together for a very long time. Erick Dampier, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki have been together for some years. They are veteran players who know how to play the game. We are still young and trying to find ways to understand the game. They are getting ready for the playoffs so they just came out here and played well. Unfortunately, we came up short.”

On the season coming to an end
“I love basketball. I never want the season to come to an end. I wish that we could go to the playoffs like I did the last two years in Houston, but at the same time I can look at it as a positive. I have more time to become a better player for next year and help this ballclub get to where we need to go.”

Omri Casspi

On Dirk in the third quarter
“You just can’t stop the guy. He is very impressive. We tried to make adjustments and tried to trap him, but when they kicked it out to him and he has such a high percentage shooting it is tough.”

On the Mavericks going into the playoffs
They are vey dangerous, when they shoot like that. They can beat anyone anywhere. It will be interesting to see them in the playoffs and I wish them all the best.”

On his play tonight
“I was just happy to be out there on the court. I had some good opportunities and I kept rolling and got into a groove. I am just happy and I had a good game. I am going to continue to learn and finish the season out strong.”

Dallas Mavericks Rick Carlisle

On how tonight differs from the win last night
“Different kind of game, different kind of team. It is the same kind of formula for success: tough, hardnosed defense and rebounding and being efficient on offense. It is a solid win for us. We need them all.”

On getting ready for the playoffs
“We are taking some steps. We are not there, yet. Over the next five or six days, we have to keep working toward that. Each game has critical meaning in terms of the seeding. Our guys are focused in on what we need to do. We did some good things tonight.”

On their improved play and Dirk Nowitzki in particular
“Our execution has been good. He (Nowitzki) has been recognizing situations when he should drive the ball and find open spaces. We had 27 assists tonight which means we were really moving the ball and he had a lot to do with that. If he’s open, there is a good chance he is going to make the shot. He is that kind of a scorer and that kind of big shooter. It was not just him.”

On the play of Jason Kidd
“(Jason) Kidd had a triple-double, which was phenomenal, in 31 minutes. He came out with such great urgency to begin the game. He came out and ‘bang, bang’ hit two jump shots to start the game and that set the tone for us.”

Dallas Mavericks Forward Dirk Nowitzki

On the strong team game
“I think we set the tone early on. Kidd was pushing the ball for us. We were getting some stops and got an early lead. We carried it on through there. They made a couple runs and a few pushes at us, but we made some timely shots when we needed them and got some stops. It was definitely a good outing for us. Now we are going to try and get the second seed if we can.”

On how he is playing lately
“Just being aggressive if I’m open. Shoot the ball or put it on the floor and get to the foul line. That always helps. And just working with the guys. We have a lot of guys that can score. Caron (Butler) has been playing well. If our guys are shooting the ball the way we were tonight, it makes everything a lot easier. It was definitely a good game.”

Postgame Recap: Kings vs. Clippers

SACRAMENTO 116, LA CLIPPERS 94

April 8, 2010 - At ARCO Arena, Tyreke Evans scored a game-high 28 points and Jason Thompson recorded a double-double with 22 points and a game-high 15 rebounds help the Kings end an eight-game losing streak with a 116-94 win over the Clippers. Sacramento led by 16 points, 63-47, to begin the third quarter, but the Clippers cut the lead in half to trail by eight, 84-76, at the end of the quarter. The Kings used a 16-2 run to open the fourth quarter for a 22-point lead, 100-78, with 7:45 left in the game. In the fourth quarter, Sacramento outscored (32 to 18) and outshot (.650 to .400) the Clippers. Evans also recorded six rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. Carl Landry also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Clippers were led by Chris Kaman’s 23 points and DeAndre Jordan’s 10 rebounds off the bench. Eric Gordon added 21 points and Baron Davis notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists. Los Angeles dropped their seventh straight contest. The Kings outrebounded the Clippers, 47 to 32, and turned the ball over just nine times. Sacramento also matched a season-high with 50 field goals made.

Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Clippers

KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

“Well, that was a nice picture of how we want to play. So I’m pleased that our guys have kept their focus and kept their intensity and came out and could play a game that efficiently. (We) did a great job on the boards, a great job with the turnovers, played decent defense, moved the ball around and got good performances from everybody that played. So we want to just take that game and keep building. I’m really pleased that we played with that kind of focus.”

“That’s what you shoot for every game – we just want to keep working so that we have more and more of those games. I think that if we can keep playing with the kind of efficiency we played with tonight, we will have more of them too.”

On Jason Thompson:
“I think JT is feeling pretty comfortable at playing the center. It looks like he and Carl (Landry) are a pair that are both very versatile – they can both go inside and step outside and hit the jumpers, they can kind of pick on whoever the smaller defender is and put them in pick and rolls and find a way to be effective. I think JT’s doing a better job of driving and using his quickness rather than try to bull over everybody. He’s really been working on his footwork and attacking the bigger players off the dribble. I think he’s showing that work is paying off.”

When asked what he told the team during the fourth quarter when the Clippers started chipping away the lead:
“When they did start chipping away and they cut it to eight, just to keep moving the ball. We seemed to be getting a little sloppy at both ends. Coach stuff – get down, move your feet, don’t get beat off the dribble, hold them to one shot, move the ball, just keep doing what you did to get the lead.”

On the mid-range shot of Tyreke Evans:
“When Tyreke masters that mid-range shot he’ll be pretty much un-guardable. He’s been working on it. He’s been working on shortening his stroke a little bit so it doesn’t have as much motion – more wrist, less arm. He’s definitely on the way to being deadly from that range.”

Carl Landry

On the win
“It feels good to finally get a win. We were on an eight-game losing streak, so it definitely feels good to win. Once we find our right pieces and once we find the pieces that go together then we will come around.”

On Jason Thompson tonight
“He played very well; he played like an All-Star tonight. He was a superstar with 22 (points) and 15 (rebounds). He just keeps going and going after the boards. When I was in Houston playing against him, he was a player that I just hated playing against. He continues to attack the boards and stays aggressive. He is a great shooter and has drive and size. He is a tough player that opponents don’t like to play against.”

On their energy tonight
“We come out and we play hard. We come out and act like we can play, and we are playing like we should. I think we can beat anyone in this league.

Jason Thompson

On the Clippers bigs
“I know that Chris Kaman is an All-Star and the Clippers have talented bigs, but they are not the quickest so I can use my quickness on them. I can see how they are guarding me, if they step back then I will make them respect it and let me shoot the jumper.”

On whom he works with
“I work with Coach Carril, Shareef (Abdur-Rahim) and Truck (Robinson). They all have three different perspectives on the game of basketball and I kind of put it all together. It is only my second year, so I am still taking in all the information they are giving me. I think that coming down (to the end of the season), I am trying to finish strong, play slower and play to the pace of the game.”

On learning this year
“I think that it was good for me to play all of the games last year. Now being injured and playing different roles, it is just another perspective of the game. I have been learning it and this has been a learning experience. All of the things that I learned (this year), I am going to take into next year.”

Tyreke Evans

“We were definitely struggling and we played some tough teams. In some we played well but couldn’t get it down the stretch.”

Los Angles Clippers Interim Head Coach Kim Hughes

Tonight’s game…
“The stats look good offensively. Other than rebounding (47-32 in favor of the Kings) we shot 48 percent. So we did not compete defensively.”

Tonight’s effort…
“It was dismal. It was unacceptable and cheating ourselves and our teammates by playing like that.”

Tyreke Evans’ performance…
“I thought he was terrific. I thought he bullied us. He dribbled in with his quick body. He was quicker and stronger. More adept to dribbling and got to any spot on the floor he wanted to.”

Final stretch…
“It was tough because we would substitute in and the guys coming off the bench weren’t defending either. We were searching trying to find guys that would guard. There just weren’t enough guys out there that were choosing to guard.”

Drew Gooden, Los Angeles Clippers Forward

Tonight’s game…
“We didn’t compete tonight. I don’t know as far as our future and how we are going to play the rest of the games but we didn’t compete tonight. We competed last game. We didn’t compete tonight. We competed for stretches.”

Tyreke Evans’ for Rookie of the Year…
“He has a lot of confidence going on for him right now. He’s trying to get Rookie of the Year. Their goal is to probably help him achieve that and break the record. He’s on a lot of momentum and confidence right now.”

Remainder of the season…
“To compete and be professional is all that we can ask for.”

Steve Blake, Los Angeles Clippers

Tyreke Evans’ game…
“He’s an outstanding player. He’s come into the league right away and it looks like he understands the game and knows when to take over.”

Postgame Recap: Kings vs. Spurs

SAN ANTONIO 95, SACRAMENTO 86

April 6, 2010 - At ARCO Arena, a balanced Spurs’ offense offset a game-high 22 points from Tyreke Evans and 20 points from Carl Landry to send the Kings to their eight straight setback, 95-86. With the score tied, 79-79, with 5:51 left in the fourth quarter, Manu Ginobili buried a three-pointer at the 4:50 mark to ignite a 12-0 run. The run was capped off by DeJuan Blair reverse lay-up with 1:30 remaining that gave the Spurs a 91-79 advantage. Donte Greene added 12 points and Beno Udrih scored 11 points. Sean May tallied 10 points off the bench. Six Spurs scored in double figures, led by Richard Jefferson’s 18 points. Tim Duncan (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Antonio McDyess (12 points, a game-high 11 rebounds) recorded double-doubles. Tony Parker returned to the Spurs lineup after missing the previous 16 games with a fractured fourth right metacarpal and finished with 13 points. Garrett Temple, who made his first NBA start at point guard, scored a career-high 15 points. San Antonio outrebounded Sacramento, 43-34.

Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Spurs

KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

“(Manu) Ginobili is good. It’s like he decided to let us hang around until we weren’t going to be able to hang around anymore – (it’s like) he said ‘I think I’m going to make three threes in the fourth quarter and open this thing up’. Once again, I’m proud of how hard we competed. A lot of people would think at this time of the year a team doesn’t have to compete and starts looking for their summer plans, things like that. This team that we just played is probably the hottest team in basketball and they needed a win. Once again we were there with a chance to win in the fourth quarter and they executed as we missed some free throws, missed some shots, they hit some shots and then we’re chasing them. That’s what good teams do and that’s what we strive to do. We’re certainly not there yet but I have a lot of admiration for them. (If) they stay healthy, they can beat any team they play in the playoffs. We have a ways to go to get to that level but we’re fighting hard.”

“Well we want to pull out wins but every time they throw the ball up in this league one team wins and one team loses. The only thing that you have to be ashamed of is if you quit. We have not and will not do that. As long as we have a very inexperienced team that is going to gain experience and get more cohesive as this season ends and as the next season progresses – that’s how you get experience, by playing together. We’re going to the school of hard knocks right now. But every time that you compete and have that be a stamp of your team, you’re getting better whether it’s visible in the win-loss column or not.”

On Garrett Temple:
“We were sorry to see him go. We were impressed with Garrett and wanted to keep him around but he saw a better opportunity there, particularly for a team going to playoffs. He caught on and he did a nice job for them – I’m happy to see that for him.”

On Tyreke Evans:
“I thought Tyreke played a real strong game. I guess I noticed he threw the mouthpiece away after the first quarter. I think he started playing better after that too, so it may have something to do with it.”

Donte Greene

On their losing streak as of late
“It’s tough, especially when we started out so well. We have had some highs and some lows this year, but there have been a lot of positives and we are just trying to work and get ready for next year.”

When did it go wrong tonight
“It was the fourth quarter again. Ginobili got hot and we always need to know where he is at. We did a pretty good job during the game on him, until the fourth quarter. That kind of got us in the fourth quarter. Other than that we had a got of good things tonight like coach said. Guys have been working hard, but we just couldn’t pull it off.”

On learning and getting better
“We are a young team and we are all working hard. We never want to quit. We still have some guys that are banged up and playing out there. We are just a young team, working hard and trying to get better.”

Tyreke Evans

“It was down the stretch, same thing as what happened against Portland. We weren’t executing the pick-and-rolls. Ginobili made a couple of threes and that was tough because we couldn’t do anything about it. We just have to keep going in the fourth and execute. We played good throughout the first half. We were able to stay in the game through the first half. In the end their execution was better than ours.”

On his mouthpiece
“I am done with the mouthpiece. I cannot play with it. I am going to take it out. My mouthpiece affects my energy. I felt like I was losing a lot of energy. When I took it out, I felt like I could breathe better.”

On what went wrong tonight
“We thought that we had them, but they made some tough shots in the fourth quarter to ice the game. That is what hurt us.”

On the pressure to make history and also get Rookie of the Year
“No it doesn’t bother me, everyone keeps texting me and calling me. I had to change my number because everyone kept bringing it up. I am not really worried about it. If I get Rookie of the Year, I get it, but I am just trying to finish out the season strong.”

Sean May

On making a contribution tonight
“I was just making shots. The guys were finding me and I was put into a good position. The way that San Antonio plays the pick-and-roll, they were slow to rotate. I was able to get some get open looks and got the shots. I tried to provide a spark, especially with Jason Thompson being in foul trouble. I just tried to buy some time, so he could get back out there and go to work.”

San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich

Tonight’s game…
“Good win for us on the road. We played excellent defense in the second half. We held them to 39 points. That was a good team defensive effort. Down the stretch Manu made some shots to make the spread for us so we had the opportunity to win.”

Tony Parker coming back…
“I thought Tony was great. He’s trying to get his rhythm back. He made a couple of shots, made a few assists and got back in the swing of things. He was good.”

Garrett Temple’s performance…
“Garrett was fantastic tonight. It’s really impressive to see a young guy go out there and be that aggressive and not worry about making mistakes. Just going out and competing. I thought he was really important in our win tonight.”

Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs Guard

Coming back from injury…
“It’s the first time it’s happened in my career. It’s the first time I’ve missed this many games. So it was weird in the beginning but after two or three minutes it came back fast.”

Garrett Temple’s performance…
“He played well. He was aggressive. He played good basketball and definitely helped us tonight.”

Tyreke Evans’ performance…
“He’s been one of our best rookies in the league. He plays good basketball. Tonight he was very aggressive. Hopefully he will keep improving and get better.”

Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs Guard

Adjusting to Tony coming back…
“Today was different because he didn’t play much. It’s like having a new guy on the team. We’re going to bring him in slowly so we can adjust better. I’ve played eight years with him it’s not like it’s something new to play with Tony. We’re going to have to adjust a little bit for Tony.”

Game improvement…
“After the (All-Star) break I started to attack the rim better. I started to make shots. Before that I was shooting really bad I think I was at about 38 percent from the field. That was not me. After that I started to make shots and the whole game opened. Then Tony got hurt and I got more possessions and more time with the ball in my hands and one thing led to another.”

Quiet Evans Letting His Game Do All the Talking

By Jimmy Spencer, special to NBA.com

SACRAMENTO (NBA.com exclusive) — Tyreke Evans needs to be LeBron James — at least in this moment.

The Kings rookie, leaning forward on the couch of his townhouse, is positioned directly in front of his 42-inch flat screen, grasping a PlayStation 3 controller. Read more

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