The Golden State Warriors are now 29-2 thanks to the hot shooting of newly crowned superstar JJ Barea. Here's what JJ and the rest of the Mavs had to say after their 114-91 thumping of the defending champions.
Rick Carlisle
On beating the Warriors
"I thought our guys did a very good job of staying focused even though Curry didn't play. I stressed to them this morning that there was a chance that he wouldn't play, and if he did, that we did not have any kind of emotional let down. We knew the building was going to be full and that the people were going to be into it but the rest of their team is a great team. They have some bona fide great players with guys like Iguodala, Green, and, of course, Thompson.
On Zaza Pachulia's performance
"He is a very smart player and he thinks ahead of the curve. I don't know if I have ever seen a five man in this league that is better at early positioning, whether it is defensive positioning things on the pick and roll, or post positioning. On offense, he is right on cue with everything, and even though he is not a high flyer, he gets a lot of things done because he's smart, he's skilled and he understands our system."
On JJ Barea's performance in the absence of Deron Williams
"Well, he's on a good role. He's an experienced guy and he knows our system. He and Dirk play well together. We need to ride hot guys. The first month, month and a half, Felton was one of our guys that really had it going. We just gotta have a hand on the pulse of the guys that got it going good. We gotta make sure they're touching it and put them in a position to make plays."
J.J. Barea
On playing the Warriors without Stephen Curry
"We gotta stay ready. We gotta bring our A-game no matter who is playing. They're a great team all around and I think we did a great job tonight."
On his recent hot streak
"I've been able to help my team a lot the past couple days, especially early in games I bring a lot of energy. It's great man. They got confidence in me; they keep finding me; they set screens for me. It's awesome to be out there with them."
On Wes Matthews' defense against Klay Thompson
"He was awesome. I think he was the player of the game. He brought great energy on their best player."
Wesley Matthews
On securing a great win
"Obviously, they're a different team without Steph. Even without him they're still a great team. We came in with the mentality, mindset, and we played hard."
On defending Klay Thompson
"I just tried to make stuff tough for him, make his catches tough. With Steph being out, a lot of stuff was going to go to him and get him going. That's what my focus was: just trying to make everything as difficult as possible."
On the Mavs' recent success
"We're playing well; we're playing confident. I think we're starting to get a flow of what everybody is doing. I think our chemistry off the court is starting to come together. And on the court, we're obviously still not where we want to be, but we're going in that direction."
Dirk Nowitzki
On getting off to a good start
"Coach brought it to us this morning that Steph might not play. He wanted us to approach the game the same way: with energy, with passion, playing at home, playing together, trying to get back in transition, trying to not turn the ball over, and finding their shooters in transition. That's what we did. We made some mistakes here and there, but I thought overall we scrambled, played hard and made some shots on the offensive end."
On Wes Matthews' defense against Klay Thompson
"With Steph, Barnes and Ezeli, they're obviously down some guys and we knew that. For them to come and win, we knew Klay was going to be a big part of that. We wanted to make everything hard on him. He's a great player. He's long. He's got a quick release. All you can do with a guy like that is try to be in his footsteps at all times. Try to make his shoot some tough shots. I thought we did a good job on him."
On JJ Barea's recent hot streak
"He's been incredible. Every time he steps into a shot now, I think it's going in. The kind of rhythm he's in right now. When the guy is going over a screen and roll, it's almost automatic. He's stepping in and really shooting the ball well. When they go over the screen and roll, he's finding ways to get in the lane and finishing with floaters and leaners. He's just a great pick and roll player for us. He's been amazing holding the fort down until D-Will comes back."