Mavs Over Thunder: Postgame Quotes

Rick Carlisle

Well, we were down 12 with 5:30 to go and I thought that was more dire than 7 with 4.  Anyway, there's plenty of time left we have to get something going defensively.  That was the problem.  The zone was effective for us.  It fueled some great stuff for us offensively.  Dirk was sensational -- just made play after play either scoring the ball or making passes for shots.  We got out of here alive.  It's pretty much that simple.  There are some things we're guilty of that put is in a bad position during the game.  We've got to continue to address those things, but I'm happy to win.

Happy with the game?

Happy we won, but no we've got to play better basketball.  We do.  I don't want to take anything away from OKC.  They play so hard.  They really battle.  Their offensive rebounds were one of the major problems.  We're lucky.  We're lucky to win the game -- as simple as that.

Kidd was great in the 4th quarter.

Gerald Green

Did you know the playing time was coming?

Yeah, I knew it was coming.  But the coach always says to be ready.  He's kind of coach who keeps you on your toes.  That's one thing I like about coach.  He's always believing in players.  Even guys who aren't in the rotation.  Even guys who are in the rotation.  He's always find ways to motivate you.  To keep you inspired to be a better player everyday.

Do you get a feeling in practice that you are going to play?

Honestly, with this team anybody can play.  Everybody's talented on this team.  A lot of the time I think it puts coach in a tough position because everybody can play.  As a professional you have to go out there and be ready to play no matter what happens.  There's not an excuse.  You have to be ready at all times. 

A lot of people are rooting for you.  How do you stay focused and not get down about the playing time?

I think it just come from what I've been through.  I went through a lot growing up.  I've been through a lot since high school.  I've been through a lot since I've been in the league.  And since I've been here I've been through a lot.  So I would have to say it's not the end of the world.  It's not like I'm unhappy or anything like that.  Everything happens for a reason.  I've just got to look forward to everyday and keep having confidence in myself.

It seems like Carlisle will change things for you when you are in the game.

He's great at picking out mismatches.  He's great at putting players in a position to be better.  I think that's why you see Dirk escalate his offensive game some times.  Or you'll see Terry's offense explode.  It helps me out and it helps a lot of guys on the team out as well. 

Josh Howard

It was a rough night tonight with the foul trouble, but you hit that big shot at the end of regulation.

Yeah, the layup was a big shot.  Let them know I stayed in the game, didn't lose my temper.  It's a part of the game foul trouble.  Dirk stepped up big for us and had great night at the end.

How impressed were you with the defense?  You go zone and it works.

Real impressed.  Guys communicated.  We were able to rebound which was big to stop them getting second chance points.  Then Dirk stepped up and we were able to win the game.

We've been hearing about a Dirk slump.  I guess that's over?

Oh yeah, that's a slump buster right there.  41 for 41.

How about Kidd being able to score 10 points in OT?

That's big.  He knows his role on this team.  He knows when the team needs him, and he came up big for us tonight. 

How much do you have to take advantage of these next few games before the tougher opponents?

We have to win all these games.  We kind of shot ourselves in the foot with that Houston and San Antonio loss last week.  We get a chance to redeem ourselves against San Antonio and hopefully these next couple of games will get us ready for it.

JJ Barea

Interesting game. Not an easy one even though Durant went down.

No, they had a couple of guys step up.  I thought they did a great job and made a run in the second half, but we did a great job of sticking together.  Coach decided to go to a zone.  It worked out great and we got stops.  Dirk was phenomenal all night and we pulled it out at the end.

Yeah, dirk really stepped it up at around the four minute mark.

It was great.  We get stops and we can score on anybody.  I thought Dirk was hitting everything -- especially and1's.  He had a couple three point plays that were big for us.

How encouraging is it for you to see the defense play like that?

Yeah, that's going to be big for us.  Now we know that we can play zone pretty good.  We just have to keep fighting and keep getting better on defense.

How's the shoulder?

Yeah, left shoulder is a little banged up, but I'll be fine.