Quoteboard for Rockets 111, Mavericks 99: "We have to find a way to retaliate"

Rick Carlisle

On team's effort: "Our effort was good. At the end of three quarters it was a one-point game and in the fourth, they just played at a higher level and so, we have to put 48 minutes together. First game, we really struggled in the first and third. We saw that a little bit tonight. The second and fourth are the two we lost tonight and going home, we have to put 48 great minutes together. They are a hell of a team and they played really well."

On Rondo getting just 34 seconds in the second half: "Well, he got his fourth foul so I took him out. I like the way the other guys were playing. So, I elected not to put him back in. Coach's decision."

On Rondo's effort: "You can ask him that question. All I know, right now, is that we need everybody at their competitive best. This isn't about one guy who did and didn't play. This is about everybody pulling in the same direction for the organization. That's what it's all about. We just have to go home and we have to take care of business. They've done what they are supposed to do as a home team and we have to do what we are supposed to do."

On the team pulling together: "I like the way they played. It's not about one guy. It's about the team and the organization and the franchise. We have to collectively play our butts off and own our butts off if you are the owner. That's what the playoffs are all about."

On Dirk's rebounding and his energy there: "This time of year, I've got to do a great job of spelling him. I would have liked to have gotten him more rest tonight. When he went out, we had some slippage that we just needed to get him back in there. In the playoffs, we are a team built on numbers. So we have to have everyone chipping in, doing a little bit of everything. Everybody's gotta help rebound. Everybody's gotta help score."

On the lobs: "Those are a problem. We've got to study that and do a better job. Pretty obvious in the fourth quarter they jumped on us, on a lot of these plays. We're going to have to find a way to better combat that. We're going to have to have better body positioning. We're going to have to smell things out better. We're going to have to do better and dig a little deeper. That's what we will do when we get home."

Tyson Chandler

On fourth quarter: "We just gave up too many easy baskets. Too many layups or dunks, lobs, easy plays. You can't win giving up that. We had a that four-point lead. They got an offensive rebound from a free throw and Smith threw a lob to Dwight and from there, they got in a rhythm."

On how to stop the lobs: "We have to get bodies on bodies. If we're going to take that away, that means we're going to have to match bodies. We can't be 2-on-1 in every situation."

On Josh Smith being the fourth quarter difference maker: "I don't know if it was just the fourth quarter. It was the game. We took away 3s but we gave away dunks."

On dealing with Dwight on the pick-and-rolls: "It's almost impossible. It's just picking your poison, who's going to dunk the ball, whether it's going to be Josh or Dwight."

On distractions: "That's where our season has been. Seems like there's been a distraction every other week with something. We've been able to get through that kind of stuff. I expect stuff thrown out this week in the build up of Game 3. We've just got to do a good job of staying to the course."

On Rondo's frustration: "I don't get any sense. That's a question that you have to ask him. I don't try to speak for him."

On trading for Rondo and him playing less than 10 minutes: "I'm sure it's a difficult situation for him. He's a competitor. He wants to be out there. Sometimes matchups and all that kind of stuff, you never know what's going on. We've got to all stay in this thing together. That's the only way we're going to have a chance."

Amar'e Stoudemire

On fourth: "You saw it. You saw the game. Dwight was catching lobs and anytime you give a big that much room to operate, that's what he does and he had good position under the basket. Him catching lobs all night, we can't live with that. We have to guard [Smith]. We made an adjustment and gave him a little bit of room to negotiate and he became a creative player and was able to create for his teammates. He got his guys involved and made great passes and Dwight had a field day out there."

On changes in Game 3: "We have to have a solid game plan that works. I think right now, our game plan was to give Josh a little bit of room to operate and obviously McHale made great adjustments with that and he was able to capitalize on our mistakes out there tonight. It was a tough game."

On the series: "Right now, we got hit with a low blow. We got hit with the Mayweather low blow tonight. So we have to find a way to retaliate for Game 3. Obviously, it's not going to be easy as these guys have great confidence tonight but we have to find a way to retaliate. At this point, there's no choice if you're all in or not. There's not even a question because you have to know this is the playoffs. We have to play with urgency out there."

Dirk Nowitzki

On the the drop-off after the third quarter: I had a tough fourth quarter,couldn't get going offensively, defensively we had some breakdowns. we gave up a bunch of lobs, some run outs to brewer and fast break points. we still had the lead there, i think we were up three or something and things went south for us.

On the difficult Josh Smith Matchup: We obviously paid a lot of attention to James [Harden] on his pick and rolls. The first two games they've been slipping out and making plays. Josh [Smith] and [Terrence] Jones are both good forwards who can put the ball on the floor, make baskets, or make good passes, so that's what we've giving up in our pick and roll coverage. Just have to be a little better and not give up those lobs.

On rebounding affecting his shooting touch: I just never really got a good rhythm today. I'm not sure why. I felt decent. I tried to battle.

On trying to tie the series up: We got to be a little more solid in the fourth quarter. Both games, we were right there where we wanted to be in certain spots of the game. But for some reason, all year long, they've finished better than we have. That's why they won 3 out of 4 in the regular season and why they're up 2-0 now. In the fourth quarter, I had a couple of looks that didn't go down. Not giving up eight lobs will help. Hopefully we'll see how Devin feels on Friday, not sure about Parsons status, but I figure we'll get some of these warriors back and go from there.

On Rondo's benching: I don't make decisions out there. I play hard. I try and help my team win and the rest is on coach. I thought Ray had some good stretches to give us a lift off the bench. I thought JJ had a good first half, so I guess that's what coach is going with.