PGQ Game 62

No Kidding. For sure.

As usual, everthing is ripped a gift of heavens!

Nailbiter.

(on Beaubois and Barea in absence of Kidd)
"We needed both of them to play and to play well. This was similar to the game in New York. Minnesota is a tough team because they are quick and athletic and push the ball hard. They just have a real strong drive it mentality. So those guys not only needed to be efficient on offense and hit their share of shots but stay in front of people and be solid defensively. I thought they teamed up well and helped us get the job done. It was unclear going in who was going to exactly play how many minutes. I was going to go based on how it as going."

"Beaubois had a very strong game. He was able to finish and I thought he did a great job finishing hard."

(on being outrebounded and allowing MIN to shoot 53%)
"The matchup is tough. Until I look at the film, I won’t have a clear picture of how good or bad we were or how much better they were on the boards. They are a great rebounding team. You’ve got Hollins, and Darko is long, and Love is a great rebounder. Sixteen offensive rebounds generates a lot of extra possessions and that’s one of the reasons their shooting percentage was high."

"One positive was we turned them over 22 times. There were some good things that were happening other than the high shooting percentage. It was good that we were able to do that otherwise it would have been tough to beat them."

Mavericks Forward Shawn Marion

What up, MJ?

(On the game being close in the fourth quarter)
"I mean, they are a spunky team. They played until the end and you have to give them credit for that. But at the same time, we had them on their heels and we should have put them on their backs. They made a run and was taking a lot of jumpers and they hit those shots and they got back into the game."

(On going cold for stretches in the second half)
"Definitlay. I think for the most part there was no outside or inside. My mindset is always when we miss three or four shots is to take it to the basket, be aggressive. Don’t just settle for jumpers. At the same time, it is easier said than done sometimes. IF you are getting good looks and they are not going in, you just have to stick with it. Eventually they will."

(On it being a physical game)
"This is a physical game. It is a part of the game. Be a big boy, it will be alright."

Bigboy play

Served.

He needs to play.

Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois

(On the importance of the win)
"For sure. The most important thing was to win this game because we won a couple games in a row, so it was important to win this one too even if Jason (Kiss) [ed: freudian slip?] didn’t play. So, I think we did it and that was an important thing."

I'll take it, thanks.

(On his sporadic playing time lately)
"For sure it hasn’t been easy because you know, you never know when you are going to play. So, it is a tough situation. But, everybody tried to work with me and they talk to me a lot. So, even when I don’t play I think I learn a lot. I just have to be patient and keep working on the floor and be ready. I tried to keep my conditioning and I’ve been doing things with the staff. I run a lot. I just try to improve and play the pick and roll and just try to get better everyday. Just try to stay ready."

Haywood on 9ball

Buh-bois.

Minnesota Head Coach Kurt Rambis

My opinion on wrestling?... Well....

(On his team’s effort tonight)
"I was very pleased with the way that our guys played. They got down and there was some obstacles in their way, but they just continued to fight and play. We made some silly mistakes, which has been the hallmark of our team the entire year. We turned the ball over way too much and it cost us way too many points and that gives us a very deep hole that we have to find a way to climb ourselves out of. I was proud of how hard they played. I was proud that they regrouped and reorganized when things weren’t going their way. They got themselves back in the ballgame and they gave themselves a chance to win. I was very pleased. It was a tough loss, but I was very pleased with how they played."

(On playing so well in Dallas)
"Some of it is match-ups, some of it is guys are comfortable here. Match-ups that favor us in some ways defensively. Match-ups that favor us defensively against them. There is so much what goes into playing a team if the match-ups favor you or not. It is the same thing in the playoffs. The record does not have as much impact as do match-ups."

T-Wolves Guard Corey Brewer

(On the matchup)
"Yeah we like this matchup. We played hard tonight. We gave ourselves a chance to win but we had some tough breaks at the end."

(On the difference tonight)
"We turned it over too many times. We had 22 turnovers and gave up 29 points off them, and you can’t win turning the ball over like that."

Pregame

The JJ-Roddy One-on-one is slightly more lopsided than Nashty-Dirk ever was.

Game Recap

Sum' it up:

He stole my straws!