QUOTEBOARD: Frustration builds after another overtime loss in Dallas

Rick Carlisle

On Dirk's struggles

He had an off night, and that happens. When it happens, the ball has got to move and other guys have to get involved -- which we did. We did a lot of good things considering it wasn't his best night. We were in great position, and then twice we couldn't get stops in regulation. Give them credit, they executed and we got blown by twice: once for a foul and once for a layup. Then it hinges on the last shot and another five minutes on the clock. Unfortunate, but they deserve the credit. We put ourselves in this situation by not being able to get stops.

On the play of Dalembert

He did a nice job tonight. He was really active, really into it. We need that every game.

On Calderon's injury

Don't think it's serious, but I haven't got an official word on it. He got hit in the mouth. I really don't have the details.

On the team's level of fatigue

It's hard. I'm concerned about all of our guys, but we're getting a lot of rest and I'm watching their minutes closely. The Calderon thing tonight was tough because it threw a monkey wretch into our guard rotation. Now Harris has to play a lot more minutes, which he's been working up to but it's a tough task for him right now. We've got to work our way through it. If I've got to rotate quicker, get more guys into the rotation, I'll do that. but look, this is who we've got, and this is where we're at. This is a very exciting time, and we've got to treat every single possession with utmost respect. We just had too many lapses tonight.

Dirk Nowitzki

On his shooting night

I kind of hesitated too much. I was kind of waiting on the double team too much instead of playing my game, and sometimes they mixed it up and I was just kind of looking around with it, where they're coming from. They had me off-balance. J-Kidd did a good job with that gameplan; they did the same thing in Brooklyn. The shots I do take, I just have to make them. I had a couple of good ones, a wide open three at the top of the key at the end of regulation. That was a tough one. To lose twice in overtime now in overtime on this home stand, that's tough.

On whether fatigue is a factor

Yeah, the good thing is that we always have a day in between. I didn't really do much yesterday and in our shootarounds we kind of keep it short, not really doing much there. So yeah, we're trying to mix in rest and still be sharp for our older guys.

On Jason Kidd's insight in scheming against Dirk

A majority of my points come from a low-block iso, and that's the spot he doesn't want me to score from. It's a pretty smart play, so he took the ball out of my hands early and often. The shots I do get, I got to knock down.

On Sam Dalembert

He was great, he was active. Contesting them shots at the rim, keeping balls alive, getting fouled on some major offensive rebounds, even late in the game. He was phenomenal tonight, and if he's active like that, we're usually hard to beat.

Samuel Dalembert

On what happened late in the game

They made some tough shots at the end. On a couple possessions defensively, we broke down and on another possession we didn't make shots.

On his great defensive effort

Defensively, that's what I've been trying to do since the All-Stars, before the All-Stars. Like I said, be able to do it now, be with the guys for a lot, I try to find my niche. Watching a lot of film, I finding exactly where I can help the team in the limited time I'm playing and keep going every game. Keep bringing the effort and the energy.

On what the team morale is like

We're frustrated, we're frustrated. That's a game we should have got, but we're not going to out there and cry about it.

Monta Ellis

On the game

It's a tough one. We played hard...both teams made runs when they needed but we didn't make enough runs to sustain the lead and comeback to win the game.

On his play and Dirk struggling

I just play within the flow of the game. They had match-ups where we were able to attack, so I did. Dirk wasn't playing well and we had something going with me and him in the pick and roll.