VIDEO QUOTEBOARD: Mavs come back against Sixers

Last night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers was certainly a fun one. Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki both recorded their first double-doubles, Carlisle made his first lineup shakeup, going small to start the game (hint: it did not work), Dalembert made an impact despite coming off the bench, and...oh wait, is that the Mavs' first round draft pick, Shane Larkin, making his NBA debut? Why yes it is!

Winning is always better. Join me for some postgame goodness from AAC, won't you?

Rick Carlisle

On Shane Larkin's debut...

I thought he did very well considering it was his first live action in a real game. We've had a tough 10 days to try and get him ready because we haven't had a lot of practice time. He's been doing really hard workouts with two or three other guys, and we've simulated game situations, tempo as best we could, but it's not quite the same. I thought he did well, considering. This is the beginning of a process, but I like what he did.

On the lineup change to start the game...

I didn't like the matchups to start the game, but we didn't play well and they played harder than us. I felt starting the second half we needed the length. Samuel came in. We were having trouble rebounding. The lineup to start the game didn't work out, but we just had to keep searching. By the time the game was over, we played 11 guys. Everyone that played contributed. This was a survival type game. We did what we had to do to win...We should have started our regular way, but you live and learn.

On 11 blocked shots...

Blocked shots usually mean that you're getting beat, and so from that standpoint, you're never crazy about it. But again, there's no substitute for length, and Sam [Dalembert] showed why he's valuable to us.

On coming back after a rough first half...

All the games are going to be like this. There's not going to be one easy game this year. We knew that coming in.

Shane Larkin

On getting the ball to Dirk...

That's definitely my first look whenever I get the ball. If you don't know what you're doing out there, get the ball to Dirk...saw him open a couple of times and got it to him for a couple of assists.

On getting into the flow of the game...

My biggest thing was no turnovers. I was making a conscious effort not to turn it over tonight, that was one of the things we were struggling on...didn't want to turn it over my first game and show coach he could trust me.

First steal... it kind of just came to me, I was dribbling and was like, ‘oh, I have to get somebody the ball!' and turned around and flipped it to Vince [Carter]. ... later on I got a steal again, and I don't know what happened after the steal but the defense started slowing down, I started to see stuff...offensively I got the team in our sets, it started to slow down for me.

On coming back from injury...

I didn't really think about it. There's so many things going on, your adrenaline's pumping, it's your first NBA game, you're excited, nervous...it was a great experience, but I'm looking forward to more.

On the fans...

We have one of the best fan bases in all of basketball...and to gain their respect, to gain their confidence in me,  to hear them cheer for me like that was just a good feeling inside, and that makes me want to play harder for them.

Dirk Nowitzki

On Shane Larkin's debut...

He looked really fast out there, and obviously that's what we need... thought he tried to play within himself and not do anything he can't do. ... He's gotta keep working and has a lot of catching up to do, but he definitely has the potential for it.

On Monta's night...

He really brought us home there in the fourth with his playmaking. We ran almost every play for him.

On facing Houston again on Wednesday...

We didn't shoot the ball well down there at all and it was a tough one to win on the road...we need to show containment better. Obviously they have Dwight inside, They have a lot of good shooters, James [Harden] is a great driver and scorer. They're one of the best teams in the West and we're gonna have our hands full.