Jason Kidd
What was more impressive in the third, scoring 40 or giving up 15.
I think for us the defense after giving up 57 in the first half. You know coach thought that we didn't play, that we were just going through the motions. He gave us an inspiring speech and we showed that we were listening. We came together on the defensive end which led to our offense. I think our defense helped our offense out in that third quarter.
It seems like with Terry out everyone is sort of chipping in. Is it just going to have to be that way with starters playing more minutes?
I think everyone's got to chip in. That's 20 points that we are missing right now, and I think we are all capable of helping out on any give night. You look at Wright and the way he shot the ball tonight. Damp has been more aggressive in the sense that he's touching the ball. And I think that's the key -- everyone is touching the ball. it's not just Dirk and J-Ho where they have to score 40 points. And we're just trying to play a little better defense.
What does it say that this team scored 40 in the third and Dirk only had three of those.
It just shows that it's not just all about Dirk. And maybe we can play off of Dirk and he can be the playmaker. He did that quite well for us in the third quarter. But you know he's going to be a guy we go to when we need a a basket. Tonight everyone was making shots and that makes things a lot easier.
JET said you played well because your son TJ was at the game. Maybe you should take him everywhere.
He would like that. He challenged me tonight because he says he hasn't seen enough points or me shooting enough. So he challenged me for these next couple of games.
Rick Carlisle
Well, we needed several people to step up their games and he is certainly responding in a big way for us. You can see the improvements in all areas of his game. He's been a good defender but he's gotten better even in that area. Tonight the three point shot was huge for us. He hit timely threes and he's hit a few of those in recent games. I also feel like playing with Kidd for the last month has helped build his confidence because Jason knows him, played with him in Jersey. And Jason is one of those great players that gives guys confidence by encouraging, believing in them. All those things have factored in. Plus he's worked extremely hard. He spends an awful lot of time with Tom Sterner working on his game, studying his game both offensively and defensively. Tonight was one of those nights where you could see the fruits of the labor. And it was huge for us because this was not an easy team to play.
What were the halftime adjustments?
We played a poor defensive half as a team in the first half. Carter is going to score some points. Out level of urgency in the third quarter on the defensive end took a quantum leap. It really helped us go for a big quarter which we needed. And you know they're playing their second in two nights. Part of it is fatigue setting in after the break. Carter is a player your always going to respect and fear because he can hit a shot from anywhere at any time. He makes plays. He makes other guys better. I think our effort was good on him but I also think the toll of the second night played a part.
?
Jason Kidd all year long has stepped up his scoring when we've needed it. He's hit big shots like at the end of the Chicago game. Or it's just a consistent supply of scoring from start to finish. Tonight he gave us scoring from start to finish and had a good floor game. You know, he was just tremendous at both ends. It was a really important game for us because coming off the break the first game is always a challenge. Just from the standpoint of the physical conditioning. We had a good practice yesterday which I think helped set the tone for success tonight. But our first half was poor defensively and we needed to be better in the second. And we were.