To win a game where we only make 12 field goals in the second half, obviously our defense is good. I thought we were very active and it won the game for us.

We . . . stopped running back on defense.

We can trace our problems to basically one thing. Our home record is below par.

They were more active. They came to win. I’m not sure what we came to do.

A.D.’s leadership presence is definitely something we’ve missed. There’s no doubt about that. And Griff was very important to our team. We miss that (veteran leadership).

This is the time of year when the great players and the great teams elevate their play. We need all of our guys to elevate their play. He’s certainly an important part of that.

It’s no secret that the last couple of years we were trying to rebuild and redo our team, and there’s a lot of teams that try to do that and can’t get in the playoffs....

We played hard. We didn’t play as smart as we needed to in some instances.

No, because I’ve heard similar things throughout the course of the year. It’s something he’s going to have to get over. He needs to face the personal responsibility of what he needs to get done....

Everything is a little looser now and can look a little more sloppy. I guess (that’s) what the league’s after.

We do this a lot. It’s bothersome. When you don’t get to the line very much, and then you get there and can’t make them, that’s a bad combination. We have to be able to...

It would be impossible at this point to dream up something that Shaq hasn’t already seen. He’s seen double teams from the passer, double teams on the catch, double teams when he dribbles once.

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that question… wait a minute, I do have a dollar for every time I’ve been asked that question.

He’s got size. All the teams keep drafting younger and younger players. It’s becoming more and more rare that you get a guy from college who has an NBA body and NBA athleticism. Eddie has...

Malik has had some good minutes lately. He’s shooting 49 percent. He doesn’t have a lot of attempts, but he’s been able to knock down the perimeter shot, hold his position and he’s had some...

Every game he plays in, he’s … one of the toughest guys on the floor. He’s got size, strength, athleticism, and he can play. He gives them one of the best players in the game,...

Banks speeds up the tempo a little bit. He can really push it and create a lot of problems. Davis is a great scorer and a great athletic wing player.

Ben played so well and took the open shots. Sometimes he turns those down and ends up taking a more difficult one.

Tyson had the blocks. Two of those blocks were big league blocks, the one from behind and the one directly on Paul when he came down the middle. We were able to make our free...

He’s well over 700 free throws. [If] you put any two of our guys together, they’re not even close to that.

Detroit had their own agenda, which is to rest their guys, and Washington had motivation so that is understandable. That’s why you play all 82.

Why, is Shaq not playing?

The question we had is what if this was regular season and a back-to-back? You would know before the next game so why does it take so long?

They just dominated us all over the floor, and then probably the most disappointing thing — I thought in the third quarter, we quit. That’s something I have to address. … We were in the...

There was a lot of out-of-position fouling. If we don’t let them go to the line that much, we probably get the win. We had a lot of trouble (defensively). The last three games, we...

I didn’t see the replay yet, but I’m sure it was a good call.

We came out at halftime totally casual. Just kind of winging the ball all over the place, acting as though they were going to give us the game. We’ve done this so many times now....

We have a bunch of guys who basically have to decide if they want to be sort of the typical NBA player, which nowadays is more of an excuse-maker and a blamer and has his...

What we tried to talk to the guys about [Tuesday] morning was that we’ve got a long trip. We can’t have a carry-over from game to game, quarter to quarter, minute to minute. We’ve got...

I thought overall it was one of Kirk’s better games.

We feel like they are all must games now. We have to put together a string of wins, but that will be tough to do.

We waited 2 ‘, quarters before we got any energy going. Once we did, we were able to chip away at it and give ourselves half a chance.

I just sprinkled the magic dust on them and they took off. I don’t remember what I said.

They still haven’t proved they can play well in a big game at home.

It would be nice to have Darius because he is another big man who can shoot it. There’s a lot of pressure on Malik because he’s our only big who can shoot it outside.

Our defense hasn’t been good enough to win. We haven’t been physical enough, and they’ve taken it to us.

I’ve never been part of a team where that didn’t occur at some point. And sometimes behind the scenes is way worse than that.

I’m pretty sure Larry invented the game. I’m pretty sure about that.

This was a very difficult practice, and they’re going to continue to be difficult. We’re just not playing at an intensity level that’s necessary for us to win. The guys know it. It’s something we’ve...

Our movement around the floor was not as sharp as it has been. We did a lot of stumbling around out there tonight.

We did not play well enough to win. We had way to many breakdowns, mentally and physically.

You start getting past the mid-point or getting to the 30-game point and you have a chance to pick up a full game on a team, you’d like to take advantage of that.

With the exception of Tyson Chandler, we came out flat. The other four starters weren’t at that level so the Kings really took it to us. We got it close and then they just turned...

This is a game where, if you’re going to get serious about what you’re going to do this season, you’ve got to lay it all on the line in the third quarter when we have...

They’re a different team than when we saw them last time.

Normally, I can watch a bunch of 9-year-olds play Little League baseball and spot the leader right away. It’s not that hard to spot. People pretty much are who they are. But I’ve seen people...

This is a win we are grateful to have. It was a great comeback.

The name that comes to mind when I played is [Bill] Laimbeer. I mean, they’re two totally different players. And then [Dennis] Rodman here. Those are two guys that tended to get on people’s nerves,...

We got it tight there a couple times, kind of left our feet, got a little out of control. But having said that, we got a decent look at a 3-point shot to tie the...

We had good performances across the board. We like the tempo of our offense, the way it’s been going these three games. … We want to push it up. Tonight, we were more fortunate with...