VIDEO QUOTEBOARD: Vince's game-winner; Ellis' fourth quarter lead Mavs to victory over Spurs in game three

[Ed. note: Locker room reporting done by Tim Cato; press conference reporting done by myself.]

Vince Carter

I thought about [2001] as we were coming out of timeout. And if I get the ball, hey, you know, let's make this one. In my mind, I was ready for it. I had already made the shot before the play happened.

Check out more of Vince's thoughts about 2001 and his game winner below:

Rick Carlisle

On the last play of the game...

Without looking into the details of all of our plays, it's an option. It was going to have to be a quick shot. Any pump fake was going to have to be quick. It was a great catch and Jose [Calderon] did a great job of getting him the ball because [Manu] Ginobili was denying it. The execution of the shot was great, obviously. Vince really deserves it. He's been so good for us and he's been about so many of the right things. You always hope that a guy like this can have a moment like this in a big playoff game. So, I'm really happy for him and we survived it. It was not looking good with two minutes to go down five but the guys hung in and we got the ball in the basket a couple of times and made a big play at the end.

On the play of Samuel Dalembert...

Sam was real active and he's just has got to keep doing what he's doing. When his activity is like this, he's rebounding it and he's got a presence at the rim it makes such a big difference for us. We need him to do that. Blair had a huge game last game and [Brandan] Wright had a big game the first game. Those guys are a tag team and between the three of them we have to get the job covered at the center position.

On Vince being "about so many of the right things"...

He's such a pro and always early and just all that kind of stuff. He's constantly preaching the message of what we are trying to be as a team and things like that. I don't want to get too hokey with it, but he's been that good for us. And not just on the floor but in the locker room and all of that kind of stuff. So, I'm very happy that he knocked that shot in and it's great.

On defensive execution in the series...

Well we weren't very good today, we've gotta do a lot better defensively. 106 is probably a losing number on most nights in the playoffs. We've got some things to clean up in the next day and a half and we'll study it and do what we have to do to get ready for Monday night. But we played a great team, and they've got a great coach, and they're gonna keep throwing the kitchen sink at us, and we're gonna keep throwing it at them.

On being up 2-1...

We know how hard it is to beat a team like this, because we didn't have very good experiences in the previous nine or 10 games...so we're gonna stay humble about any win we're able get and make sure we keep our eye on the ball.

It's whistle to whistle. We're never gonna get ahead of ourselves; we can't do that. Because they're too good and they have too many weapons. We can exhale briefly today, but by midnight tonight we've gotta turn our attention toward game four and the things we've gotta do better. And they're gonna be adjusting too and we've gotta be up to it.

On Dirk's game...

Dirk's playing great basketball, and his shotmaking, I'm not concerned about. He's so important to us in so many other areas, I'm not gonna get into a dissertation on his shots and this and that. He's just gotta keep playing and doing what he's doing, and you stick to the process and good things will happen. I thought he shot it better today, and you look at his numbers, 7-13, there's nothing wrong with that...and they're making it hard on him to get shots...if we have a balance around him...it's easier to get him freed up a little bit once in a while.

On Calderon and Ellis' games...

[Calderon's] got an aggressive mindset, I thought his aggression in game two was a real key for us.

We need to ride a hot hand whenever we can find it. And Ellis down the stretch was great; he put the ball in the basket three or four times; the and-one was a big play; we just gotta continue to have playmaking from him as well.

On having players other than Dirk step up...

That's the way our whole season's been really. Dirk's had a great year and he was a more than deserving All-Star. But this roster is built around being able to keep the load on him lighter than it's been in other years, and so that's what we've gotta keep striving to do. And like I said, everybody on our team has got to be a go-to guy. And everybody's gotta be ready to step into big shots...and that lightens the load on one guy.

Mark Cuban

On the game...

All I can say is, it's unbelievable. That's why Vince is a hall of fame player. We went back and forth, we went on our runs, they went on their runs, we went through stretches we couldn't score, they went through stretches they couldn't score...but the basketball gods were smiling on us tonight...it's just one game, but it was a fun one.

On the series...

We can't expect them to roll over; it's the exact opposite. But the interesting thing is, It felt like 2006 and that war we fought down there with them.

On Monta and the team effort...

I'm proud of our guys. They've worked hard, they've stepped up, everybody contributed. And boy, Monta has really made everybody look really smart as a dumb signing. He was just the worst signing of the summer. He's just not efficient in the playoffs, not efficient in the regular season. But Monta was good. They were taking a lot away from Dirk, and Monta stepped into those open spaces and made some huge shots...he deserves a ton of credit, Sam deserves a ton of credit. Every night somebody else different steps up and has a big impact on the game.

Monta Ellis

On being up 2-1 and the confidence it gives them...

It's great. We've still got to stay the course. They're a great team. They're gonna come back with a vengeance. We've just gotta take it game by game, enjoy this win for a couple hours, and then get ready for game four.

On the last play of the game...

Coach just told Vince, he'd seen how they were playing, he expected them to play that way, and he told Vince when he came off he'd be wide open in that corner. And he told him he was gonna knock it down. Vince did a great job of gathering himself, understanding the clock, got a head fake, and he went for it, knocked the shot down and came home with a win.

On his last few minutes and whether he took it on himself to win...

I don't think so. Dirk hit a couple free throws, Sam hit two free throws, so I think it was a total team effort. I just read through the pick and roll, took what the defense gave me and was able to knock down some shots.

On being with a playoff caliber team...

I just go out there and play basketball like I have been the whole season. I've got a great group of guys who believe in me, who are backing me, we're all tied into this thing. The points may look like it was me, but it was a total team effort.

On Dirk's game...

Him just being on the floor still makes us better, even when he's not making shots. Teams still respect him, he's still a threat on the floor, so it still really opens up a lot. And even if the shot's not going down, he's still a big part of us winning.

On whether these games justify the questions about his signing...

Once you win, everything goes out the window. I don't make anything personal, the only thing I do is what I've been doing my whole career, but I'm on a better team, a lot of weapons on this team, so I don't have to go out and try to score 65% of the offense and do everything.

Dirk Nowitzki

On the game as a whole...

Unbelievable game to be a part of. Really going back and forth all game long, they made a run, we made a run, and down the stretch it was anybody's ballgame. Great plays on both sides, great players, and we were obviously a little fortunate in the end....they were playing Monta again for that game winner, and Vince slipped out to the corner and made a heck of a shot. Not a lot of players can make that shot out of a pump fake. To go up and make a three like that, it was an amazing play. And the crowd went absolutely nuts. It was as loud as I've ever heard this building.

On Monta...

Great attack. And they're still going under his screen and rolls, obviously living with his jumpers. He was aggressive all night, stepping right into them, and when he did get to the rim he was finishing...so he kept us going all night long.

On the huddle before the Vince shot, and Carlisle telling Vince he was going to make the shot...

He did [tell him that]. I don't know, I guess he knew they were going to play Monta up top. Cause we had just scored on that similar play. And Vince just slipped to the corner. He's made a lot of tough shots and great shots and game winners in his career, I'm sure this one ranks up there with the best of them.

On what he said to Vince after the shot...

He was kind of walking, and I was the first one there, and I just kind of wanted to rip him down. I'm not sure...just, I knew it was in time, obviously they had to review it, but I was so hyped. And as soon as we saw it up top, and the crowd saw it and went nuts, it's like, let's get out of here. This counts.

On what they're doing differently...

We're competing, trying to make everything hard, trying to get back in transition, trying to make them play against our half-court defense. They're the best team throughout the regular season and they're gonna keep coming the way they did in game four. Gotta bring it again.

On not having to carry the load in the series so far...

They're doing a good job staying home on me. I don't have a lot of good looks off pick and rolls. Post ups, they're kinda forcing me baseline...I didn't want to force it. I had looks I did take that I thought were decent enough to take. Good thing is, I made most of them. But yeah, if they're playing that way, sometimes I've just gotta be a decoy and let the guys make the plays.

On Dalembert's play...

The biggest was the two free throws...I had a wide open lefty layup, and I don't know how I blew it but I did blow it, and Sammy went up there strong, got the rebound and they fouled him. That's a lot of pressure to be down two, and we need both those free throws, and he stepped up.

When was the last time you did a post-playoff game media session in front of your locker?...

Ummm....maybe my first year in the playoffs, thirteen years ago?

On the rest of the series...

Obviously they're still the heavy favorite, but they know we're here to play.