Rockets Jazz Post Game Quotes

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ROCKETS HEAD COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY

(on the play of Tracy McGrady since his return to the line-up) "I think it all goes hand-in-hand. I think he feels pretty good, I think when you play as well as he's playing, you feel pretty good. So, I think the ball's going in and another reason is he doesn't have to ever temper his aggression to put the ball inside. I think it's easier to play that way, it's not better necessarily, but it's easier. We try to play quicker, not necessarily just transition, but the pick and roll is quicker which is usually involving him, so the way he started that game was really special."

(on getting a win over a "quality opponent") "I keep going back to this -- you guys say 'quality', I say everybody's good. That's what I think. I don't agree with the thinking you have a good part of the schedule or a bad part of the schedule. You play 82 (games) and all of them are challenging in their own right. I don't look at it the same way. I'm not saying you're wrong, I just don't look at it the same way."

(on the minutes that Dikembe Mutombo played) "We had no defensive presence when he was out. The lane was wide open when he was out, he was very, very good...very good."

TRACY McGRADY

(on his 44-point game) "I just set a tone right away. (Utah is) a very well-coached team, a very well-disciplined team, they're a great execution team and a team that is going to play hard. I just wanted to set the tone right away and let my teammates know that this is how it's going to be until the final buzzer ends. Once I got it rolling, our guys followed my lead; they did a great job of getting me the ball in the right spots and I was fortunate enough to knock down a lot of shots tonight, so I've got to credit my teammates for getting me the ball."

(on Utah's decision to double-team him at times in the 2nd half) "I knew they were going to have to double especially once a guy has it rolling like that. They sent the double-team a couple of times, but with the shooters out there, it's tough to double. My guys are knocking down shots, Rafer (Alston) hit a couple of 3s and Shane (Battier) hit a couple of 3s. If I've got it rolling like that and my guys are knocking down shots, we can beat the best of them in this league."

(on whether tonight was his best game so far this season) "No. It was definitely a great scoring exhibition out there, but I don't think it was my best game at all. It looks good, but not at all. The win was better, especially taking care of our 4-game home stand, winning all 4 games."

(on the Rockets' success at home this year) "I think we understand how important it is for us to take care of home. In order for us to have home-court advantage in the post-season, taking care of home has definitely got to be something that we focus on and have to get done. We have to have an unbelievable home winning record and try to even it up on the road."

(on the play of Dikembe Mutombo) "For Deke (Dikembe Mutombo), the clock is definitely turned back, say about 25 years."

SHANE BATTIER

(on the play of Tracy McGrady) "When old #1 starts firing that thing like he did tonight, it's a fun thing to watch. I don't know if it's a trademark, but I want a good t-shirt that says, 'Tracy is MacTacular'."

(on the importance of tonight's win) "It really was for us. We wanted to come out and we had a really poor showing the last time in Utah opening night. They're playing at such a high level and we wanted to come out with a great deal of energy and finish this home-stand off the right way and give us some momentum for the road trip."

(on the play of Dikembe Mutombo) "I don't know what Deke (Dikembe Mutombo) is putting in his Gatorade, but he should sell it. I know a lot of middle-aged people out there who would pay a lot of money for it."

(on the challenge of facing of Andrei Kirilenko) "All I know is I thought I had a wide-open look at the top of the key and before I knew it, he blocked it and he was dunking on the other end. He is a physical specimen. He is so long and athletic, there's really no player like him in the NBA."

DIKEMBE MUTOMBO

(on the physical nature of tonight's game) "It was not going to be easy for us. The game was going to be very physical from the beginning to the end.
That team beat us so well in Utah, and we had to find something to give to them back. We came out with a great intensity from the beginning and we didn't let it back. We just kind of pushed them out of the building."

(on his 35 minutes of play) "I don't play that much time anymore. When the opponent is like this, you come out and try to help your team succeed. I wanted to go out there and just leave everything and that's what Coach (Van
Gundy) is asking of me. I played about 30 (minutes) today...maybe I need to go home and sleep."

(on Utah Jazz's style of play) "They are one of those teams that loves to post up their big guys. Today was not their game plan, which kind of helped me a little bit to control the paint a little bit and to just play my game.”

RAFER ALSTON

"It was hard for me to get back (on defense) because I'm a fan of basketball," Alston said. "I'm sitting there watching everything he's doing and then, all of the sudden, there's a rebound and the Jazz are on a fast break going the other way. I end up getting my behind chewed out for not getting back, but I had to tell Coach when you're watching a guy like that, it's like you're watching him on television."

UTAH JAZZ HEAD COACH JERRY SLOAN

(on the game) "They did a terrific job in taking us out of our offense and all we took were outside shots. We never kept them on defense, for maybe 10 seconds at a time. I thought we could get back in the game but we took too many outside shots. If you don't run your offense then you had better hit all your shots, and we didn't."

(on Tracy McGrady) "We're not going to stop him, man on man. They put the ball in his hands and that's the outcome most of the time."

(on defending the Rockets) "We couldn't get to them quick enough to go into a zone defense. They are so quick, they make you guard them. A big difference in the game was their offense rebounding. They are a very talented team."

ANDREI KIRILENKO

(on the game) "It's hard when the other team is scoring all the time. I'm excited that we fought back and didn't accept it. It was a disappointing loss. We didn't play our game and when we keep running back and forth, we don't get the job done."

(on Tracy McGrady's play) "T-Mac (Tracy McGrady) had a terrific game. Guys like him you can't stop alone, but you need team help."

DEREK FISHER

(on the game) "It's tough to get behind on the road early. It's hard to go uphill but we kept fighting and eventually we ran out of gas because it takes a lot of energy to come back. They are a low turnover team and when we got behind it was more difficult for us."

(on the Rockets) "Houston did a good job and you have to give them credit.
Another solid part of their defense is their team rebounding. (Dikembe) Mutombo was big for them on the boards."

MATT HARPRING

(on Tracy McGrady) "When you get off to a good start, he got his confidence going and he was hard to stop. You try to let him settle but when he is in a zone like that he is one of the toughest guys to guard in the league."

(on Dikembe Mutombo's play) "If they can get that kind of play out of Dikembe (Mutombo), they won't miss Yao (Ming). I wish he had played that well when I was in Philly with him and we would have won the Championship."