QUOTEBOARD: Mavericks fall to Timberwolves in overtime

Well, that was disappointing. On a night where the Mavs looked like they had a chance to stage a comeback of their own after digging themselves a 22 point hole in the first quarter, the game came down to five extra minutes, a lot of Monta awesomeness, and a Dirk iso on a decent look that just didn't quite fall. You could point to any number of things in this game that were the difference, and though Dirk took it on himself, I still like that this team doesn't point fingers in a loss.

Winning and losing as a team doesn't make the losses any easier, but hey, with another tough matchup on Friday, you gotta shake it off. Here's some postgame for you.

Rick Carlisle

On the team's first-quarter struggles...

They were aggressive, we were sloppy. It turned into a lot of fast break points - on our count, it was 17 on what we define as ‘fast break points.' The first quarter really was the biggest factor in the game. We made some mistakes in overtime defensively. We let [Kevin] Love split us and score. Then it becomes a game of Russian roulette, whether you can make the last shot or not. The first quarter was what did us in though.

On whether Monta should have had the last shot...

It was in [Ellis'] hands. Our two best players were involved in the action and Dirk had just scored on the previous play. Dirk was the first option. If he had been denied, he would have come up and set a screen for Monta and Monta would have attacked. Look, the last possession always gets overanalyzed in games like this. Our poor play at the beginning of the game is the reason it came down the way it did. Shame on us.

On having (and losing) a five-point lead in overtime...

Well, we fouled a three-point shooter, which is something we've done a lot of times this year. It's something that's being called a lot more in the league and we've tried to discipline ourselves to not do it. In that situation, Love is very good at seducing you into jumping and then he jumps in and makes the ref blow the whistle. He made a smart play...That was a huge play, too. There was a lot of them. Plays in overtime, you can go through those all you want, but we're trying to be a team that can win in the playoffs, not just eek in. Playing a first quarter like that on your home court in a game this meaningful is a bad sign for us right now. We've got to turn it around and we've got another team coming in here Friday that's been murder for us because of the matchups. It's going to be the same kind of game. We've got to get ourselves right by Friday.

On the team's struggle in transition...

Turnovers. It was six turnovers for a bundle of points. Then we just got beat a couple of other times. They got us back on our heels. It was a mirror of the last game, really. We got a big lead last time. They came back got the lead, we won the game at the end. Same thing here. NBA games are long. As long as we're going to put 48 minutes on the clock, you've got to play the whole game. If they're going to put an extra five, you've really got to play them.

On Ricky Rubio's game...

His penetration was a big problem. It took Calderon out of the game because of the defensive matchup. And you know, again, he's a clever guy getting the referees to blow the whistle.Mavs forward Shawn Marion

Shawn Marion

On the reason for the loss...

They came out and struck first and we were playing catch up the whole rest of the game. We got it tied and had the lead there for a little bit, but we weren't able to close it out. We were able to fight and get it to overtime and we just couldn't quite close it out and get the win. We couldn't contain Ricky (Rubio). Ricky to anything and everything he wanted to do out there. He almost had a quadruple double out there. He put on a hell of a show out there and we couldn't stop it. And then when we did get control of it by that time it was too late.

On the frustrating nature of the loss...

It's frustrating especially since this is one we should have got. We just had a lull out there at the beginning. Coach said it was 24 minutes, but I wouldn't say it was that long, but whatever it was it still was enough time for them to get comfortable and do what they needed to do to come in here and get the win.

On Denver coming up...

We have had some tough battles with them and the last one was a blowout. But the thing is with them, it's a tough matchup for us as well. We have to really put our track shoes on because they are going to run. They're gonna push it. And we have to get ready. They're more athletic than the team we just played. So we have to get ready. It doesn't get any easier.

Dirk Nowitzki

On why the team fell behind so quickly...

I'm not sure if we were quite ready to play. Dumb turnovers, they were kind of into us and we weren't quite ready, we were caught on our heels. Then if one team is active and the other is not, you get calls and bounces like that. But really, liked the fight in the second quarter how we came back in it, started to play harder and make them work a little harder on offense and rebound the ball, so. I liked how we responded.

On his shooting night...

Well I had good looks all night, just wasn't good enough there in the second half and overtime. So many open looks, even from three, just one of those nights. I'll take that on me. I thought the team responded well and played well, and I had a lot of good looks that just didn't go down.

On Monta's game...

He was great. He looked comfortable, attacking, they started to go under his screen and rolls to keep him out of the lane and he just elevated. Jumped so high on his jump shot and looked comfortable shooting, and made a big one in the corner to get going. So yeah, not only Monta thought everyone was phenomenal, just couldn't get it done.

On Denver coming up...

We haven't done well against Denver at all, so hopefully we'll get a win. But quick teams, we've got to do a better job keeping them out of the paint. So we'll see how we do on Friday. But this was a tough one. It feels like a playoff loss. It really does. I don't even know what to say.

On whether he should have had the last shot...

I don't question anything. I just go out there and try to help my team win. And I had just scored on the previous possession so you never know.

Timberwolves Head Coach Rick Adelman

On the game as a whole...

I thought that was one of our best games of the year by far. We came out with a lot of energy, jumped on them big time, but you knew they were going to come back, they play well here. We took another lead in the third quarter, had another one in the fourth and had a chance to win in regulation. I thought Robbie's [Hummel] shot was down but the guys persevered. It was a great win. Kevin Love was big. He made the big shot and really defended Dirk well on those possessions.

On how Ricky was able to get into the lane all night and be a playmaker...

We wanted to attack and we wanted to get the ball up the court and attack the basket. We have beat them twice before and we felt that was the best chance to win was to keep attacking and keep in attack mode.

On Kevin Love's game winning shot...

They came back and doubled him. I just wanted to get the ball into his hands. I think eventually he's going to be able to do a lot of the things that Dirk does when he gets the ball at the free throw line. If they put a smaller guy on him he's going to have the advantage there.