In reading through the various threads I haven't found any game quotes: where are they? Surely, players and coaches said something. I would think the quotes after this game would be especially interesting.
"Our bench did one heck of a job to get us back in it," Duncan said. "Pop took us out because we were turning the ball over and not making shots. But our bench came in and they were the difference." We stopped fighting," McGrady said. "When you've got a team down like that, you got to that point, you have to continue to execute and provided that kind of energy, because they're too good." "In order for us to be at that level that San Antonio's at, we've got to learn how to close these types of games out," McGrady said. "Until we learn how to do that, we're going to be good, but we're not going to be San Antonio. Hopefully, we learn from this."
"The Spurs are what we thought they were...they're what we thought they were. We played 'em in preseason...who the hell takes the 5th game in preseason like it's bullshiit? Bullshiit! We played 'em in the 5th game, everybody played 3 quarters. The Spurs are who we thought they were...and that's why we took the damn court. Now, if you wanna crown 'em, then crown their ass!! But they are who we thought they were...and we let 'em off the hook!" - JVG
"We lost because our starters got complacent, and then TIRED, and when the Spurs put in their RESTED starters ours had nothing left in the tank. " JVG
http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Quotes_Spurs_92_Rockets_84-195458-34.html They Said It ... Game Quotes: Spurs 94, Rockets 82 ROCKETS COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY (on whether he was pleased with the shot selection, even though they went 16 minutes missing shots) "We don't have to go individually through each shot. Some yes, some no." (on the last 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter when San Antonio starting make a charge) "That was on our defensive selection. It started at the beginning of the 3rd quarter we gave them (San Antonio) 3 easy hoops. (Bruce) Bowen jumper, lay-up by (Fabricio) Oberto, then they had 1 more that was just easy. And, like our team does, we tried to pick and choose how hard we were going to play defensively. You can credit San Antonio with continuing to play when it got tough for us in the 4th. We had a lot of give to us. That's the difference in the teams right now." (on whether the attitude of the Rockets was evidence that they were beginning to lose their momentum) "Their body language had nothing to do with the officiating, it was just different demeanors from 2 different teams. One when it was tough got tougher and continued to play and our team, we didn't have that same intensity to get up into the game. And if you're only going to play in this league hard and with great purpose when it's going well for you, then you're going to be limited because many times in this league, it doesn't go well for you." TRACY McGRADY (on what changed for the Rockets in the 2nd half) "(It was) our intensity. We kind of let our guard down. We may be felt too good about ourselves. We were like +18 with 3 minutes to go in the 3rd and when I looked up, it was a 2-point game. We stopped fighting and when you've got a team down like that (San Antonio), however you got to that point, you have to continue to execute and provide that kind of energy because they're too good." (on the Rockets' 2nd half collapse) "It was a team let-down defensively and I think that when things started to get tight, we folded. In order for us to be at that level that San Antonio is at, we have to learn how to close these types of games out. Until we learn how to do that, we're going to be good, but we're not going to be San Antonio good. Hopefully we learn from this mistake." (on the Spurs' execution offensively in the 2nd half) "It was unbelievable. They didn't panic, they just took their time and executed their offense. They know who they wanted to give the ball to and that's the sign of a great team. When they were down 18 points, they didn't panic at all; they just came down and ran their sets. They didn't take ill-advised shots and they did what they were supposed to do." YAO MING (on what occurred in the 2nd half) "We just killed ourselves. It was a really frustrating game, particularly the 4th quarter and the 3 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter. We were up 19 points, similar to the game against the Knicks where we left a chance for them to come back. The Spurs are one of the best teams in the league and you can't give them chances like that. We just left chances for them. We played great in the beginning, but we can not finish games. We have to learn how to do that to play in the next level." (on whether the Rockets' problems offensively affected their defense) "I missed shots and sometimes I miss shots, but no matter how many shots I miss, I need to keep shooting until it turns around because I'm shooting around 55%. Even though there were a couple of minutes where I struggled, I still think I was shooting well." (on what the Spurs did differently in the 2nd half ) "They clogged the paint. They tried to push us out of the paint so that we would shoot jump shots and they have a good rebounding team so when we started missing shots, it's hard to get 2nd chances. They did that very well. At the end of the 3rd quarter, I think they scored 11 or 12 points in a row and that was a chance that we gave to them." SHANE BATTIER (on what went wrong for the Rockets in the 2nd half) "We didn't end the 3rd quarter very well and they (Spurs) went on a huge run of like 30-4. You can't let a great team like the Spurs do that to you and expect to win too many games. We didn't play our best in the 2nd half when we had to." (on the play of the Spurs) "They're a very good team and they're probably playing better than anybody right now in the entire league. To beat them, you have to play a fundamentally sound game and you can't make the silly mistakes that we made tonight and expect to win." (on the keys to the Spurs' comeback) "I thought that we didn't respond to them making shots. In a situation like that, you have to believe in what you're trying to do and we did a nice job in the 1st half of following our game plan, but when they went on their run, we sort of went away from what was working for us and you can't do that." SAN ANTONIO SPURS HEAD COACH GREG POPOVICH (on the game) "It was a very good game for us against a very good team. They are one of the best teams in the NBA. Our starters didn't play very smart in the first half but they came back. I though this was one of Tim's best defensive games of his career. He was great out there." (on Beno Udrih's third quarter shooting) "You have to make shots and if you don't make them, you are in trouble. He made his shots and that got us going. Beno (Udrih), Robert (Horry) and Francisco (Elson) are the reason we won this game." (on Tracy McGrady's play) "He looked like the usual Spur killer of all time out there. Tracy got it going in the first half and he went with it. We were able to do a few things in the second half to get the ball out of his hands." TIM DUNCAN (on the key to the game) "Our bench turned the game around for us and gave us an opportunity to come back and win the game. We were not good defensively in the first half and then the effort in the second half was our best defense of the year" (on defending Yao (Ming)) "Pop (Coach Popovich) put me on him in the second half and we tried to make it crowded on him in the lane and contested every shot he took. Yao (Ming) is much the same player but his quality of touches is better" MANU GINOBILI (on the game) "The spark the bench gave us when they cut the lead down to four really got the momentum changed. The bench was huge for us tonight." (on the Spurs play) "Against a team like Houston it is very difficult to come back on them when you get down too far. We played very good defense down the stretch and that was the key to the victory. In the second half we tried to make it hard for Yao (Ming) to get the ball down low and shoot. We started sharing the ball well and our screens were great. We executed our plays very well." ROBERT HORRY (on his play) "I've been 0-for all year so it was about due. It was just a matter of time. It's been a very frustrating start for me. I've been telling everybody how much I don't like the ball at all." (do you like it any better now?) "....No, not at all."
You idiot, TD has always been saying Yao is a great player. This agrees with what JVG says, it's not Yao has made major improvement. It's people just start to realize Yao has been so good always. They don't want to agree they are stupid.
Tracy and all of these players including the coach sound like a sad sack of doo doo the way they talk.
Thanks guys, I really appreciate this. I just couldn't find them, I guess they were buried somewhere in the numerous posts. I especially liked JVG being so graphic, that was refreshing.
karma b*tch! they (spurs) should have lost to us yesterday and won today. oh well, a spurs loss is a rockets win, i will take thta every night!
They expended all their energy with that comeback, it was harder than it looked. The Spurs rarely if ever lose at home, kind of embarassing for them. But somehow, I don't feel sad.
Yes, I am sorry for that. I tried to change it immediately after I posted but apparently it stays there once it's done.
"Every mediocre team (talks about) energy, execution, precision," Van Gundy said. "You never hear San Antonio. All the good teams, they don't talk about it because they do it. Jeff Van Gundy Stop talking tmac, JUST DO IT.
