It means the guys are working very hard at it and it’s paying off. There’s no magic in that, really. It’s just that we have the a system that we teach, and the guys have...

Our guys always come back. But it was the second game in a row we weren’t ready to play when the ball went up. We’re still learning on the fly. We don’t have guys with...

I really don’t think so. Each one of these games has the best referees. I don’t think too much carries over, unless this sort of continues on and the series got pushed on. I know...

With our group, we’ve found that this works for us. Nobody’s complained. We don’t have much of a complaining group.

For whatever reason, we meant business when the ball went up tonight. That’s the team I see in practice. It was good to see them take it into the game.

We haven’t played well of late. It’s obvious for anybody to see. In order for us to win an NBA game, we have to play a lot better than we’ve been playing.

There is no question we have been fouling too much. We have silly fouls, but then I see the other team fouling like that and not being called. (Anthony) shot 21 free throws. He almost...

In all my years being in the league, including myself, I’ve never known any rookie to come in and knock your socks off. [The NBA] is a big step up; it’s the amount of work...

We’ve lost so many games like this; they’ve been close games and we’re trying to fight to the end, but a play has to be made.

I’m not sure. I guess that’ll come out [tonight]. We’ll have to see the way we respond.

It’s safe to say that’s a lie. I wasn’t even aware anybody said that. I didn’t even get into it verbally with anybody during the game.

Ben got the ball, so we went to a high pick-and-roll setup. Mike made a good play.

That made it interesting. They came out in the third quarter and started getting after us, and we didn’t handle that really well. But we were able to make our free throws and take care...

It was one of our best all-around efforts of the season. The guys were really in tune with the game plan. Ben made some big shots, but it was Andres who made the difference in...

We didn’t play as smart as we needed to in some instances. But we put it all out there. … We took it down to the end. We had our opportunities. We just weren’t able...

We’ve got to do a better job with that chain of events.

When the time came to make plays, they made a flurry. That coupled with some very poor decisions that we made (and) in a matter of minutes the game was gone.

I’ve said it many times, Kirk does so many things for our team that his shot-making is down the list.

They were able to make big plays at the end and we weren’t.

During the game, if you’re an injured player, a sport coat and slacks should be a bare minimum. And you should always appear to be professional when you’re entering the arena.

Look, anytime you have a guy with that size that you can throw the ball to and he can get scores around the basket, you’re going to miss that aspect of it. There are things...

Our defense was very good. We needed it.

I’d rather we had a day [off Friday] and played, but that’s not how the schedule works. We’ve got some guys banged up. We’ll give them a day of rest and then come back and...

We fouled a lot tonight, we had a night where we were just flat not into it right from the beginning of the game. And really a pretty pitiful effort.

The problem is our backs are against the wall every game right now. Somehow we have to convince the guys that.

[By] this time next week, we’re either going to feel much better about it or probably much worse. It depends on these next few games.

That’s what we need to be successful. When we have that [balance] and then Ben doing what he did, we’re a pretty good team.

We were very, very fortunate.

It’s possible. I have the unfortunate experience of . . . whenever I have tried it, he has burned us. He has made (the free throws).

We know the odds. Ninety-five percent of the time, the team that is up 2-0 wins the series. I imagine we’re going to see the best Miami has on Sunday, and we’d better be ready...

Why would anybody want me right now?

They made three’s but the free throw disparity we could not overcome. We had a lot of head-hanging and guys feeling sorry for themselves. There are points in the game where there is a simple...

It’s not only that we talk to them. The league does a good job, and the players association, of going through all that at the beginning of the year. The players have union meetings where...

We started a different lineup and played with the same amount of energy, so it’s difficult to tell (the difference). We played better tonight, but I don’t want to put it on that necessarily.

You can’t stray far from our formula that we win with, … A lot of situations where athletically we’re a little overmatched, we know we’ve got to make up for it by defending and hustle.

The opportunities we had to see him play big minutes — when Brad Miller went down, he was forced into the starting lineup with Sacramento — he played well in that role. He knows and...

I thought we were active on both ends.

This is probably our season right here, to either get back in it or not. Obviously, we have to win our home games.

It’s as important as a regular-season game can get.

We had a better-than-average NBA effort. But that’s not normally good enough for us to win.

They do a lot of the same things. They’re both from the Ben Wallace mold where you can have an effect on a game without having to contribute a lot offensively.

We’ve had our ups and downs obviously this season. But the way they closed the season speaks to what kind of group of guys this is. We had many opportunities to not be as sharp,...

He could definitely help us by practicing, but I don’t know why we would even fool around with that [now]. The only way we could consider that is if the medical people said there was...

We’ll just have to rely on our depth. It’s not something we can control right now. I saw the play several times, and he rolled it pretty good.

Tyson didn’t do much this summer, from what I’ve seen, compared to last summer when he was here almost 75 days. It’s the old thing where your agent tells you don’t do anything until you...

He has been very good. We were a little concerned putting him back on the bench. The first couple of games off the bench he did not play very well and we were concerned. Since...

He is obviously a good shooter and moved down the floor well and scored in the post. I like the way he has played.

I do believe the officials are doing their best. They also happen to be one part of the league that is beyond comment ? above and beyond comment.

Luther’s been great. I liked watching him in college. I think he’s a great all-around player. My feeling is, wherever his career is going, he’s probably going to continue to get minutes. He looks like...

It would be nice if we could play well and put somebody away. We were fortunate to get out of here with a win.