Post Game Videos and Quotes from Mavericks at Spurs

Rick Carlisle

On the comeback in the fourth quarter:

" We gave ourselves a chance. I'm disappointed that the last one didn't go down, but Vince Carter gave it a pretty good look. We were down eight points with 2:07 to go, so to be able to hang in there like that is a positive thing. However we need wins, and so we don't take any moral victories from this."

On the last play of the night to win the game:

"We were trying to get a clean open shopt, or the cleanest shot that we could get, and Vince Carter is the one guy we have that creates the best separation. The shot was either going to be a roll to Brandan Wright or Vince taking a shot. It's a very difficult situation to try with 5 seconds to get to Dirk Nowitzki and get him in a position where he can really do something with it. We knew that they were going to be laying all over him. You know Vince created a good shot it just didn't go down."

On the teamwork of tonight's game:

"The biggest disappointment was the rebounding totals and that's an area that all five guys defensively have to be in there going after it. We got hit for a pretty big difference, 49-35, that was the difference in the game. These games are close, they are all going to be close. Tomorrow night is going to be close. We have to stick with it. We have to get home, get our rest, we have to get ready for tomorrow night. We have got three games in the next four nights so we are going to be busy."

On the current road trip for the Mavericks:

"Well, there are some good things going on. We have to stay the course here and we don't accept this loss as a moral victory, that's not what we are about, that's not where we are at. Tomorrow night ist the most important thing as of right now, and that has to be our concentration."

Dirk Nowitzki

On the intensity of the game:

"We were right there. That run they made to go up eight was tough. With Kawhi's three in the corner they went up eight with two minutes to go We executed well down the stretch. We got some big stops and rebounds. We had a chance in this building to walk away with a win. It has been the motto of our year. We are right there just cannot get over the hump. It's a tough loss in this building. You are right there and you walk away with an L."

On the strides this Dallas team has made to contend with the Spurs:

"We have gotten better from month to month. We are playing better together. As I got in better shape and started feeling better, I think we got better. Still we can't get over the hump. That's a game we needed to have to make it close and make it a race. We came up short."

On the final shot of the game by Vince Carter:

"It looked good. Vince has been unbelievably clutch for us since he got here. He's hit tough shots. We knew they had a foul to give down the stretch. They took it early. We still had six seconds to get a good look in. I was kind of in his way. I don't necessarily like the play call. We knew they were switching. I probably should have gotten out on top and created with more room up there. I just thought he had nowhere to go but to shoot the three. It was a good look. He has made his fair share this year. We had the chance."

Vince Carter

Mike James

On tonight's game:

"We made some mistakes especially at the end of the game. We still gave ourselves the chance and the opportunity to win. We were not able to finish it off. We had a four game winning streak. Now we are going back home after this tough road trip and we have to get right back on the horse again. We need to get this bad taste out of our mouth because we had a great opportunity to win but we didn't. We have something to play for tomorrow. We have to play inspired ball tomorrow against Cleveland at home."

On the competitiveness of the Mavericks:

"We have to give ourselves a chance to win. We understand what is at stake. We keep talking about it. The only way we can make the playoffs is if we win games. We have to come out and play with heart for 48 minutes. We have to play for 48 minutes. No team is just going to lay down and let us win. We have to come out and stick to our game plan. Not just offensively but defensively. If we stick to our defensive strategies and we continue to keep teams shooting a low percentage than we give ourselves a chance to win."

On maintaining their composure after the Spurs went on a 7-0 run:

"Just keep our composure. We understand what is at stake. Even though they go on their run we are still a good enough team to get the shots that we want. We are going to get good shots but it's not about our offense it's about our defense. Defensively we have to stick to our game plan."