Here, courtesy of the folks from Spurs media servies, are some post-game comments from the Spurs and Warriors after San Antonio’s victory Wednesday night at the ATT Center.
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich:
(You used both T.J. Ford and Tony Parker down the stretch…was there something that you saw?)
“We needed to chase those guys. I wanted to get Tony back in the game, but T.J. was playing great; so we just matched them up that way. T.J. was fantastic. Danny Green was fantastic. The two of them, they gave us the energy to get that ball game. They played fantastic basketball.”
(It appeared at one point that you were trying to get Tony to be more aggressive, offensively in particular…is this accurate?)
“I want all the players to be aggressive. Everybody needs to be aggressive and in attack mode all the time. Tony’s no different. He’s a great player and when he’s in attack mode, he’s an even better player.”
Spurs guard Danny Green
(On pulling out the victory tonight…)
“We did, it was fun. In the second half we did a great job of shutting down their guards, a little bit. They came out hot and we played better defense. Our shots weren’t falling like we wanted too. Eventually they would fall, but we had to play defense and we ended up doing it.”
(Does success on defense trigger you on offense…)
“I think so; I think it triggers all teams. With us, we play some good defense and we get some stops. We’re able to get out and run and get some open threes. We’re a perimeter team and we were able to get some open looks and some of them fell eventually.”
(On finishing the game after not playing in the first half …)
“I rather finish the game than start.”
Spurs forward Richard Jefferson
(On hitting all five of his 3-point attempts…)
“Tony had some great passes. We were down quite a few for most of the night. Those two guards were on fire. We kind of caught a break with Stephen Curry going out. It allowed us to focus a little more on Monta, but even then, it was tough to stop him. Danny Green came in and played some amazing defense, but for the most part, I was getting open looks. I think every shot was assisted. They were just good passes from my teammates.”
(Was it important to win this game without Manu?)
“We have a mentality that were going to be O.K., not because we’re the San Antonio Spurs. It’s because everyone has to step up, everyone has to work extremely hard and everyone has to be more mistake free, than we normally are. Danny Green came in and played some great defense. The defense he was playing, just giving Monta a different look. That’s somebody else stepping up and every night someone else needs to step up because Manu is irreplaceable.”
Spurs guard Tony Parker
(On playing together with T.J Ford)
“They played small for almost four quarters. T.J was playing well and Pop decided to keep T.J in and I played with him for the last six minutes. It worked out pretty well.”
(How important was it to win this game without Manu…)
“It was good for our confidence. We’re going to play a long time without Manu. In a schedule like this, you have to win games at home. It was a big one for us and now we have a big one tomorrow.”
Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson:
(When asked how much the mood changed when Stephen Curry was lost with his injury)
“It’s natural to think here we go again, as a player. It was a disappointing loss. Things were still going our way. The bottom line is giving up 31 points in the fourth quarter is not a way to close out a victory on the road.”
(When asked if the Spurs did anything differently in the fourth quarter)
“They made shots. We had some breakdowns. It was disappointing.”
(When asked about the play of Monta Ellis tonight)
“He was incredible and inspiring. He made every play. I asked him if he needed a breather, he said, ‘No.’ It didn’t look like he was out of gas. Not only am I asking him to make the plays on the offensive end, but I’m asking him to defend Tony Parker on the other end. He gave me everything he had. I’m proud of his effort and his leadership. I hope that his passion for the game truly becomes contagious in the locker room.”
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry
(On re-injuring his right ankle…)
“I got the steal. It was either a steal or a deflection but I got the ball. Put up a pump fake in transition and took off on my right foot. I pushed off on my toe and it flipped over. It was just a re-aggravation of the same thing that has been happening. It’s another frustrating incident that I have to deal with.”
(Measuring the severity of his ankle injury based on his other ankle injuries…)
“The way I do it is, I tell the athletic trainers the instant pain I feel and this is the worst it has been. I am sure it has to do with the fact that it’s the third time. It is hard to say exactly how to react. I tried to put weight on it. I did put weight on it. I tried to tape it back up and lace it back up to go back out there but it started to stiffen up. We will just have to see how it reacts tomorrow. It’s déjà vu all over again.”
