Quoteboard for Heat 105, Mavericks 96: Rick Carlisle concerned with team's competitiveness

On the Mavericks level of competitiveness

Rick Carlisle: "I'm concerned about how we're competing as a team. We're just having a problem from top to bottom right now with consistency. When our level of competitiveness comes up to a level it should be on a consistent basis, a lot of our problems will dissipate."

Jae Crowder: "Our energy level as a team was not where it needed to be to win against those guys. They're a good basketball team, they play with a lot of energy and we didn't match it. We got beat from top to bottom."

Devin Harris: "I think everyone can say they can play a little harder tonight. Honestly, we didn't put up much resistance, especially on the defensive end."

Carlisle: "We've got to figure it out soon. We've got to get back out on the practice court tomorrow. We've got to compete, that's what it's going to take. I'm not going to make excuses about it except that we've got to do a lot better."

Dirk Nowitzki: "I think we've shown [competitiveness] in spurts. I think Utah was the best overall game we've put together competing wise on the defensive end. There's been some great first halfs so far. We've just got to find a way to put it all together."

Crowder: "They played last night, so [us coming off a long road trip] isn't an excuse at all."

Chandler Parsons: "You can't coach effort; you can't coach intensity. You've got to bring that within yourself every single night. Myself and everyone else have to do a better job."

Tyson Chandler: "I thought defensively, they had us scrambling a lot. They just came in off a back-to-back and it seemed like they had a little pop in their step than we did."

Parsons: "[Carlisle] showed a stat where the last eight seconds [of the shot clock], we gave up 53 points. That's jut not playing the full length of the shot clock."

Devin Harris: "We're not going to beat many teams playing the way we did tonight."

Jae Crowder provided a late spark

Crowder: "[I] just played hard. Tried to bring the energy that we were lacking. I sat on the bench for three quarters and I realized the energy."

Carlisle: "I thought Crowder played really hard. I thought he competed hard. When you do things hard, good things happen. Here's a guy who has been sitting now for a few weeks ever since Barea got here. He had a chance tonight and I thought he guarded the heck out of Wade."

Carlisle: "He's gotten my attention, and we need more guys to follow his lead."

Crowder, on getting more minutes: "We'll see. Hopefully. I've just been working hard."

Chandler Parsons continues to struggle

Parsons: "I've just got to keep shooting the ball. I've never really gone through a slump where I've shot the ball this poorly. You know, it's part of the game. I've just got to stick with it and continue to be confident. Law of averages, I'm not going to shoot the ball this poorly for an 82-game series. It's definitely frustrating."

Parsons: "I feel confident. I try to shoot the same shot every time. I'm getting good looks but they're just not falling. That's just one minor part of the game. I can impact the game is so many different ways. i got to find different ways to do that and help us get wins even when the shots not falling."

Parsons, on his shot looking flat: "My shot has always been flat my entire career. That's just how I shoot the ball. I'm a 39 percent 3-point shooter so I've just got to continue to shoot the ball. Like I said, I've never gone through a slump like this -- it's not even just shots, it's layups, it's a little bit of everything. I just got to stick with it and it'll come."

[ed. note: Parsons is a 36.9 percent career 3-point shooter]

Dirk, on Parsons' struggles: "Just stick with it. ... There's games where you feel you can't miss from 30 feet and there's games where the easiest thing doesn't go down for you."

Everything else

Devin Harris: "[The Heat] put you in a bind, with Bosh out there popping at the 5. They do some different things, but whatever they do we have to do it with some more energy."

Dirk: "I've kind of cut back on the nighttime [shooting] practices since this is indeed my 17th year."

Tyson Chandler, on his technical with Mario Chalmers: "I didn't get an explanation. I thought he initiated everything. They've got to keep the flow of the game. Hopefully, the league will see it differently and see him as the aggressor for once."

Dirk Nowitzki: "This is a nice homestand, and you never want to start off a step slow getting beat by 20 on your home court."