The Spurs and Nuggets were talkative after San Antonio’s 121-117 victory Saturday night at the ATT Center.
The folks from the Spurs media service were ready with these quotes from both locker rooms.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
(On Richard Jefferson’s late block and then coming back for the three)
“It was a good play. He’s been shooting the ball well. He’s playing aggressively and he’s got a lot of confidence. He’s been a big part of winning ball games.”
(On Danny Green…have you been surprised with what he’s been able to do?)
“He’s an NBA player and he’s playing with confidence. He’s been through a lot. He’s been through a lot of trials and been denied many times over the last several years. He’s a great example of sticking with it and not getting down on one’s self….continuing to play, improve, listen and right now he’s playing well and been a significant part of what we’ve done.”
(On Tim Duncan resting most of the second period…was that the plan?)
“You don’t plan for something like that ahead of time, you play the game and whatever the game dictates, that’s what you try to do. Everyone is very different.”
Spurs guard Danny Green
(On his career-high in scoring)
“Luck and opportunity. A lot things went well. My teammates made the game easier for me. Tim led us and Tony does what he does, penetrate and kick. He got me a lot open shots and I played defense.”
(On feeling comfortable…)
“I do more and more each game. I know the system well from being here last year. I’m starting to feel comfortable in it and comfortable playing my game now, so hopefully it’ll continue and stay consistent.”
(On imagining these last three games…)
“I wouldn’t of thought that but I like I said, Manu is down and everybody has to step up their game. Luckily, I got an opportunity to do so and when I got in, I give as much effort as I can on defense. That’s my game and everything fell in place offensively. Tonight it did.”
Spurs forward Richard Jefferson
(On blocking a shot and scoring a three on the same possession…)
“They were running down our throats the entire game. The last two days, all coach was talking about was transition defense. They’re an aggressive physical team. After I got the block, I saw he was down and I just tried to sprint back. Fortunately, my teammates found me and I was able to knock it down.”
(On Danny Green…)
“He was impressive. His defense is what got him on the court, initially. He played great defense on Monta Ellis and he got the call against Jason Terry. Now he’s on the court. He’s starting to feel comfortable and starting to get his legs underneath him. Now, he’s able to hit some shots. He’s played great and without him, who knows what our record would be in the last three games.”
(On sharing the basketball)
“Everyone is going have to chip in when you’re missing Manu. There’s going to be a lot of teams that are going to have injuries with hamstrings and knees throughout the season because of the awkward start. The team that stays together, plays together and also have others step up are going to the be the team that prevails.”
Spurs guard Tony Parker
(On Jefferson’s play…)
“He did a great job. That was a great play and he’s been playing well since the beginning of the season. He’s been knocking down shots and being ready and defensively that was a very, very good play. Big play in the game”
(On playing small with T.J)
“I think so. I would like to play with TJ. We did it against Golden State and it worked out very well. Tonight it worked it well. We’re going to go small. T.J can take point guard and I can chase somebody around.”
(On Danny Green…)
He played great. He was very aggressive. He shot the ball well. He’s going. He had more confidence. He’s improving game by game. That’s great with Manu out. If Danny can play consistently like that, it’s great for us.”
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl:
(Opening statement)
“I thought in the first 12-15 minutes of the game we did what we had to do. We had opportunities to maybe come back and win the big game. I was disappointed in our defense early in the game, as well as our mental effort. We didn’t do anything. We gave them lay-ups, we gave them shots, we turned it over, and we gave them offensive rebounds. We gave them everything early in the game. I think from early in the second quarter we played better then they did the rest of the way.”
(When asked why he went small against the Spurs tonight)
“In general if the big guys aren’t giving me what I think they should be giving me, I would rather have playmakers that can make basketball plays. It’s speed versus size. Sometimes size is needed on the court, but our size wasn’t creating anything for us.”
(When asked about the play of Danny Green tonight)
“He shoots the ball pretty well. He got to the rim more than I thought he would. He played with composure. We realized midway through the third he was going to have one of those huge games. Next time we’ll realize it a little earlier.”
Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson:
(Struggling with defense early on with improvements throughout the game)
“I can’t really put my finger on it. We just came out and started slow. The Spurs came out and knocked down shots and got everything they wanted. We kept trying to play catch up but with a team like San Antonio you just can’t do that.”
(Positives from tonight game)
“We played hard. Shows how much heart our team has. We battled back from almost 20 down to make it a game at the end. It shows a couple things went our way but also how much heart we have.”
(On playoff football: Broncos or Steelers?)
“Come on, man. Broncos all day!”
Denver Nuggets forward Corey Brewer:
(On Denver’s slow first quarter)
“We need to try and get out to a better start whether we are at home or on the road. We fell behind and started fouling.”
(Getting his number called after a slow start)
“Go make something happen, right away and just try to make stuff happen. I was trying to get us back into the game. With our team, we tried to cut it down and when we got it down to eight, it felt like we could win. We got it down to about six or seven.”
(On Danny Green’s play)
“He played great. He has to make his shots. He had one of his best games and it makes it tough.”
(Gallinari’s play)
“We need him to do that. He needs to be aggressive. Since he can be moved from the three to the four, big guys can’t guard him. That allowed for mismatches and chances to get buckets for us. Gallinari has been doing this night in and night out. He just has to be aggressive.”
