Mavs beat Jazz by 'playing together'

Rick Carlisle

On everything coming together for Deron Williams

"Yeah it's all going in the right direction for sure. He's working extremely hard. It's been an unusual situation because of training camp and nagging injuries, but he's doing the work and it's showing. We got the kind of team where everybody has got to keep their edge to be where they want to be and he's setting a really strong example."

On the key to their defensive success

"The key was that we buckled down in the second quarter. In the first quarter they got us for 13 points in the last six seconds of the clock. We knew the possessions were going to be long, but we did a poor job concentrating throughout the clock in the first quarter. In the first quarter we were down five. The second quarter they only hit us with two points in the last six seconds so we did a better job. It's just one of these games where they're going to keep coming at you. I thought the play of the game was in the second quarter when Pachulia went up and got two offensive rebounds in a crowd and we ended up scoring. That energized the building and it energized our team. And from there, we played on a different level."

On what Zaza Pachulia means to this team

"I'll tell you what: right now it's hard to get him out of the game. He's that solid on both ends of the floor. And truthfully he played too many minutes tonight, but with their kind of size and Favors in the game, we had no choice but to play him a lot of minutes. He's playing basketball and he's one of the most respected guys on our team. I think that says enough."

Deron Williams

On basketball being fun again

"I'm having right now being a part of this team. We talk about it a lot, it's a great group of guys in this locker room. It sounds cliche, but it's the truth. We all enjoy each other; we all like each other; we all play for each other."

On his fourth quarter play

"I'm a threat not only to get my own shot off, but to find other people. I think that holds the defense accountable."

On playing against Utah

"A win is a win. We just came from playing on the road and the tendency is to have a let down and relax when you get home. We didn't do that. This is a tough team we played against tonight. A young team that plays hard and they just come at you and they don't quit. I thought we did a great job of battling them all night and doing a great job defensively and offensively, we made plays when we needed to."

Zaza Pachulia

On what makes him so effective

"Just follow the gameplan. Obviously I mentioned this before and I'll mention it again: it's so much fun to play with these guys. The guys we have in this locker room really know how to play unselfishly. I really enjoy it. It's like a chess game. You get open and find your spot. We help each other defensively and find the best basketball situation."

On his effort in the second quarter

"We obviously had a great road trip and coming home is always tough. Coach is doing a great job. Being around seeing all the different situations of the other games. Coach gave us a heads up. We were right there in a very tough game, but we needed some energy. It was a perfect time to get fired up, especially playing at home in front of a crowd. It was a good opportunity that favored us and we made a run after that. They came back and they're a blue collar team. In Utah they have a good couple young players that go hard for 48 minutes. Even when they were down by 20 they fought back and almost tied it. But we did a good job offensively and finished the game."

On Deron Williams performance

"He was huge getting on the line, making great plays, getting shots for himself and getting teammates involved. He doesn't need the ball in his hand, he's pretty good off ball to come off picks and stuff. That's what we ran on a couple plays in a row. Two bigs set a screen and you have two options coming off the screen. It is great to have that kind of leader and that kind of player. He did a great job in the fourth quarter. Not only today's game, but the whole season."

On the keys to the six game win streak

"We're playing together. We're keeping turnovers low. Reading; reading is huge I think. Making the right calls defensively and helping each other. Even today we held them to under 93 points and that's pretty good. Coach is doing a good job of giving us stats on what we need to do to concentrate before each game. Forcing turnovers, some teams offensive rebounds, some teams fast break points. Those things have a huge impact."

Dirk Nowitzki

On Deron Williams

"He looks comfortable running the plays. When he had a playmaking opportunity he came off a screen and hit a three a couple times and made good decisions. In Boston we posted him up with smaller guys on him. He's smart, he's been around and he takes what the defense gives him. He plays an all around game. His defense is actually a lot better than I thought."

On Zaza Pachulia

"I think he's undersized most of the nights, but he makes up for it by playing hard and playing smart. He's a really fights guys on defense. He can front some, reach some, he's doing a great job for us protecting the paint. He's probably never blocked a shot in his career, but he's still always back there anchoring our defense."