Quote Board: What the Mavericks had to say after a gritty Game 5 win

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, 105-100, to take a 3-2 series lead. Luka Doncic was sensational recording 42 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds in 43 minutes. After the Clippers responded with two straight victories in Dallas, the Mavericks made their adjustments and are one game away from advancing past the first round. Here’s what the Mavericks had to say after the gritty win:

Doncic on his dominant performance:

“I mean, I got to play way better. I missed a lot of shots, some layups that I should make. But it wasn’t just me, man. It was the whole team, the energy, Boban was unbelievable, DP, Dwight Powell, with his energy, KP with a big shot, Timmy with a big shot. The whole team was just there bringing up the energy.”

Doncic on how his past experience in Europe translates to this series:

“I mean, I remember being physical. They were physical. But it’s big games. You got to play hard. You got to play with heart. I don’t know what else to say. But it was physical. You got to be ready for everything.”

Doncic on managing his injury leading up to the game:

“I mean, it wasn’t nothing that was that much. Just like I said, some massages, iced down. And the most important thing was rest and, like I said, massage. Today was, I was feeling way better.”

Doncic on Boban Marjanovic being inserted into the starting lineup:

“I mean that was a pretty big challenge for all of us. We got to change our game plan, but as you see, I mean it turned out great. We’ll see what we do next time, but I think everybody was great today.”

Doncic on attempting 37 shots:

“I think it was too much. I shot some shots that I shouldn’t have shot. Honestly, I think it was too much. But like I said, I missed a couple layups, a couple shots. I think I was good from three, but I missed a couple layups. But we got a win. Like I say, that’s all that matters at the end of the day and, you know, that’s it.”

Dwight Powell on Doncic’s performance:

“Luka rises to the occasion regardless. Whether he’s injured or not, regardless of the situation, when it comes time to compete he’s going to show up for us and that’s what he did tonight. So definitely no surprise that he came to play tonight at all.”

Powell on staying ready while minutes fluctuate:

“I mean, staying locked in is part of development as a player, especially in this league. You got to be ready for your opportunities. You don’t know when they’re going to come and you don’t necessarily know how long they will be there. So you got to make sure you seize that moment every chance you get regardless of what time of year it is. So it’s a habit that I’ve built, fortunately, early in my career and now nothing changes. Staying locked in in practice, locked in in film, staying with guys, competing every way we can from the bench, staying locked in. So, yeah, it’s a habit fortunately that I have built in already.”

Tim Hardaway Jr. on bouncing back after losing two games at home:

“I mean, last time I checked, it was first one to four. So, I mean, if you look at throughout the series the away team has won every single game, so it’s going to come down to who is going to be the first team to win at home, and that’s where we’re shifting our focus to right now.”

Hardaway on his mentality coming off the bench versus starting:

“I’m just trying to take the same mindset whether I’m starting or coming off the bench, and that’s getting yourself involved in the game, whether that’s taking a charge, getting a defensive rebound and pushing it on the break, get assists, making sure you knock down your open shots when they’re available, and attacking, attacking the glass, attacking driving lanes and making something happen. So that’s why I just try to stay keyed and locked in on whether I’m coming off the bench or not.”

Hardaway on the team’s confidence level going into Game 6:

“I mean, we got to keep that road mentality, coach says, when we’re back at home. We already know that AAC is going to be live, it’s going to be exciting, it’s the weekend, so everybody’s going to be there early, ready to get the juices flowing. But we know what we have to do and like I said it’s going to come down to the first team with a home victory at this point. So we just got to make sure that we do a phenomenal job of staying poised, staying patient, attacking when the opportunities present themselves, and just like I said, keep your foot on the gas, man, keep your foot on the gas.”

Hardaway on adjustments being made each game:

“First couple games they keyed in and locked in to what we were doing, so they made their adjustment. They did a phenomenal job of countering and pulled out two victories, and so we had to do a great job of making our adjustments, and thankfully, we pulled out the victory. And I’m not going to say too much about it, but I think just us staying locked in, physical on both ends of the floor, and making sure when they go on their runs, just making sure that we stay poised and stay locked in and keyed in. We know it’s going to be a long game.”

Kristaps Porzingis on staying focused and hitting a big three-pointer:

“Yeah, just doing what the team needs me to do and staying ready for the moment and that was it. Knocked that shot down and that won the game, so, happy for that.”

Porzingis on how he’s adjusting his offensive game:

“Well, I was in the corner most of the time. Yeah, just stretching the floor. As I said, doing what’s best for the team, what’s necessary for the team, what they’re asking me, and that’s it and staying ready, staying ready if I do need to be involved and making a shot or doing whatever. Just that’s it. Just here to do whatever we need to win.”

Porzingis on what he’s learned about himself this series:

“I think practicing patience, practicing, whenever things don’t work out how you expect or how you want them to work out, just stay in the moment, stay calm. I matured a lot. I matured a lot in these two years and I also think that that shows on the court also. So that’s, I’m always learning and always there’s something new and just a kid from Latvia just learning stuff and going through life.”

Rick Carlisle on Porzingis’ adjustments:

“The third quarter was huge. And I think one thing that needs to be pointed out is we really changed a lot of things game plan-wise that really changed KP’s positioning in our attack and he was just super patient. He did a terrific job defending. He didn’t get a lot of touches because they were hugging him the entire time when he spotted up, but the three he hit in the right corner in the fourth quarter was arguably the biggest shot of the year. So hat’s off to him for being willing to make that sacrifice.”

Carlisle on how his team performs with their backs up against the wall:

“It’s just a group that has great, has shown great resilience really for the last two years, but we haven’t done anything yet, you know? We have got to continue to keep our eye on the ball, focus on process, focus on adjustments for Game 6 and try to win the first five minutes of Game 6 and go from there.”

Carlisle on Doncic playing with injuries:

“Luka Doncic is, he’s just one of the toughest players I’ve ever seen, ever been around. He’s just a warrior-type guy that happens to be one of the very best players in the world.”

Carlisle on Powell’s impact:

“Dwight’s minutes, Dwight’s played meaningful minutes in the series, but not a lot of them and he’s always held his own. Look, he’s one of our best competitors, so I felt that we needed to get him more involved in the series tonight and he delivered, 3-3, end up being plus 10, and he’s always going to bring it. “

Carlisle on if he’ll stay with Game 5’s starting lineup:

“Well, I mean, I haven’t even looked at the game yet. How am I supposed to answer that now? The decision to start Boby was one that took a long time to analyze to see if we felt it was the right thing. We’ll look at the film closely. It’s certainly an option. And, look, it’s very obvious, we have got to play better basketball at home.”

Carlisle on Doncic playing so many minutes in Game 5:

“Yeah, one thing about these games in the playoffs, national TV games during the regular season the timeouts are 3:15. These are 3:30. 15 seconds doesn’t sound like much, but in an NBA game it’s an eon. That along with the fact that there were multiple reviews, which are essentially extra timeouts, and you just got to look and see how guys are doing. It was my decision to put him back in. He was not asking back in, but he always wants to play.”

Here’s the postgame podcast, Mavs Moneyball After Dark. If you can’t see the embed below “More from Mavs Moneyball”, click here. And if you haven’t yet, subscribe by searching “Mavs Moneyball podcast” into your favorite podcast app.