Cavaliers 101, Spurs 87
Game Quotes: Cavaliers vs. Spurs - February 13, 2006
COACH MIKE BROWN
(On the game)
“This was a big win against a great team. They (San Antonio) are well coached. If they (San Antonio) aren’t the best-coached team in the league, then they are in the top 2 or three. I am very proud of my team tonight. I thought that my guys brought focus, energy and effort. We could’ve easily given up and started to look forward to trying to get a win in Boston, especially coming off a loss against Golden State.”
(On LeBron’s performance)
“He played 40 minutes and scores 44 points, on 19 for 33 from the field. I thought that he did a great job of attacking the rim, even though the Spurs have two big men down around the basket all the time. He willed himself to the rim and he willed this win for us. He was aggressive on his post-ups and he tried to get to the rim and draw a foul.”
(On Drew Gooden and Z)
“Our two big men, Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, did a great job on the boards. Those two guys combined had 21 rebounds. To out-rebound the Spurs is a big feat.”
(On Stephen Graham)
“I thought Stephen Graham came in and tried to give us a lift at both ends of the floor. I thought that he gave us some toughness on the defensive end of the floor. He gave us some rebounding. He played pretty good defense on some All-Star caliber players in Michael Finley and Manu Ginobili. Offensively he was aggressive, by driving the basketball and by not being afraid to knock down shots when he was open.”
(On the defense on Tim)
“In the first half, I think Tim (Duncan) did what he wanted when it came to the low-post. But in the second half, our guys stepped up and tried to play him more physical. We also tried to keep him guessing in the post with our double teams. All our guys that played defense on him did a terrific job.”
LEBRON JAMES
(On executing on the floor to win a big game)
“It was a great win. Guys were mentally focused. I saw it in the guy’s eyes. They got out to a quick start, but we did a great job of executing offensively and defensively and won a big game, a real big game.”
(On stepping up and playing a great game)
“I had to. Tonight was one of those games going into the All-Star Break; guys can slack off just a little bit going into All-Star Break. I don’t know why, but it always happens. I wanted to come out aggressive tonight and help my team get a win. Tonight I did a great job of doing that and we were able to get the win.”
(On being able to beat great teams but having trouble against below .500 teams)
“It’s just growing up. We have to grow up. We can’t keep beating teams like Phoenix, and Detroit, and San Antonio, and then loss to a sub-par .500 team. It’s not going to help us. We have to grow up, and just keep getting better.”
(On maintaining focus without Larry Hughes)
“We miss Larry. I think everybody miss Larry. We already know that, but have to try are best to try and maintain our focus, and pray for Larry’s recovery, and get better.”
(On the last game in Boston before the All-Star Break)
“I told the guys, a win like this means nothing if we go into Boston and lose. We have to do a great job of coming out and doing a great job against Boston. We haven’t been successful in Boston a lot, but we have to mentally prepare ourselves. We will savor this moment tonight, and try to get a win on Wednesday.”
DREW GOODEN
(On LeBron’s excellent play and the rest of the team playing within their roles)
“It was just looking easy out there for him. He attacked the basket, he finished, and he made plays for our team. Everybody else just played within their roles, and we got the win.”
(On competing and playing well against top teams in the league)
“I was thinking that in the second quarter. We are playing so well against San Antonio, but we lose to the Warriors without Baron Davis and Troy Murphy last home game. I think it is a good sign in a way because it shows we compete. We played Detroit here, we played Miami, and now San Antonio which are top teams in the league and got wins, and we beat Phoenix.”
(On having 30 wins at the All-Star Break and the differences between last year and this year)
“I think the difference between this year and last year is that the schedule the first half of last year was a little bit easier. I wouldn’t use that as an excuse, but I think it was a little bit easier than this first half. I think that 30 wins that we had in the first half last year doesn’t compare to 30 wins that we have now. We have played some tough teams. In our second half it doesn’t look as hard and as crammed in. We had a crammed in schedule playing four games in five nights sometimes, or four games in six nights. We know, especially the guys that are on this team for last year, know the feeling of having 30 wins at All-Star Break and not making the playoffs. We don’t want that to happen.”
GREGG POPOVICH
(On the game)
“Cleveland did a great job tonight. Mike Brown really had his team prepared and they played with intensity and very physically for 48 minutes. LeBron (James) was, obviously, great. But, it was a bad combination to have LeBron be great and for us to give up that many points off turnovers and off the offensive boards. It was like a triple whammy. They (Cavs) took advantage of it, so they were great.”
(On Cavs use of James defensively on Tony Parker)
“That was the least of our problems. They had 22 points off our turnovers and 22 points off their offensive rebounds. That, along with LeBron playing great, was the game.”
(On LeBron James)
“He was fantastic. That’s why he’s one of the best players in the league who is going to have a hall of fame career. Everything has already been said (on James), I don’t think I can add to it. He’s a great one.”
TONY PARKER
(On the Spurs)
“We just didn’t play well, especially me. Too many turnovers. I think I was too much in a hurry, trying to make some stuff happen. I definitely have to approach those games like I approached Phoenix and just take my time.”
(On LeBron James, especially his defense against him)
“He just had one of those games where he just got it going early and the outside shot was going in for him. He was just hard to stop. Teams like to do that against me, put a bigger guy on me. I just have to get used to it. I was backing off (James), so I just have to hit my outside shot.”
(On Spurs long road trip as a factor)
“We didn’t play well enough to win the game. If we had lost by one or two, yeah, maybe we could say that, but not tonight. We didn’t play well at all. You have to give credit to Cleveland, they played great tonight.”
TIM DUNCAN
(On LeBron James and Spurs)
“He played great. On top of that, we turned the ball over and gave up offensive rebounds. It was just taylor made for a loss for us. We just did everything possible, not to give it away because they played great, to set it up for them.”
(On the loss on back end of a long road trip)
“It happens. Your coming in to other people’s houses and they’re bringing their home crowd energy and your having to ward that off every night. We’re in a back-to-back here, and people (Spurs) had some dead legs tonight and you could just tell it. But, we’ve been playing well so far, but we hit a slump tonight. We just have to re-group, have a rest day tomorrow, and we’re right back on the court and start over again.”
(On LeBron James)
“He was amazing today. Our rotations were not there. We didn’t have enough juice and we didn’t execute very well, so that’s what happens against a player like that. The pick and roll (defense) wasn’t good enough, and we did start to double team, but it wasn’t an aggressive one. It wasn’t good enough for him to give up the ball. He saw that and he made us pay.”