New Orleans Hornets vs. February 24, 2013 Hornets Post Game Quotes

Hornets Head Coach Monty Williams: On the improved play of his team: “I thought the play that really set us off was Chief [Aminu] coming from the weak side to the shot, then he’s the guy that creates an alley for Eric [Gordon] to get Anthony [Davis] a dunk. I thought his energy in the second half was a lot better. They hit some threes tonight, but I thought our defense was a lot better in the second half. That’s who we have to be. We’re not a team that can put up a hundred and ten points every single night. We have to defend in order to have a chance. Our effort was better, but I can still point out fifteen things that we have to correct. Until that happens, we’re going to be a team that looks like we can play on some nights, and on other nights look like we don’t know what we’re doing. But, that’s a young team.”

On the play of Jason Smith: “His energy is something that we’ve been riding all year long. He was in the paint all night long and he knocked down a couple of jump shots. I feel he’s an X factor for us. He’s a big time professional. He’s grown into his role. He came here and was a bit of a project. To see where he’s going and how he approaches the game with his mindset, says a lot about our program. Guys can come here and get better. He’s our leader. He’s the heartbeat of our team. He doesn’t talk a lot. He just goes out there and gets it done, and when he does say something, everybody listens. Everybody wants someone like Jason on their team.”

Hornets Guard Roger Mason Jr: On his performance tonight: “I felt real good, and part of being a pro is just staying ready. With a young group, you have to get that experience, but a lot of times I have to always be ready.”

On extending the lead in the 4th quarter: “We buckled down defensively. They were getting what they wanted in the third quarter, but in the fourth we buckled down defensively, made them try to share the ball and we were able to be successful.”

Hornets Forward Anthony Davis: On the game: “It was a big team effort. We came out with a lot of intensity. Our points came in transition, and in the second half we got some stops and just capitalized.”

On his points in the paint: “I had to be aggressive. I had to stop settling for jump shots and start attacking the basket. When we do that, we are a hard team to beat. We have guys that are good offensive rebounders, so we could kick back out to guys to shoot or go back up with it. That’s what we tried to do tonight.”

New Orleans Hornets vs. Sacramento Kings February 24, 2013 Kings Post Game Quotes

Kings Head Coach Keith Smart On the loss: “I thought that we played a great game up until about five minutes and twenty-three seconds. I thought that we were able to keep all of the big threes out of the game, like the last time that we were here. I thought that we did a great job of managing the screen rolls that allow (Ryan) Anderson as well as (Jason) Smith to get off three point shooting. I thought that we did a great job, and then it fell apart within that time frame. Then we gave up the big threes. That’s something that we could not do. You couldn’t give up those threes at that point of the game. I thought that, for the most part, we were right where we needed to be. We made a great run. They went up by 11, maybe 12, and I thought that we made a great run to get back into the basketball game and made some big shots. John Salmons actually played a very good game and made some big, timely threes to get us back in the ballgame. Then, we had some turnovers, run-outs, the dunks. We just didn’t manage that moment, that little pocket of the game…six minutes, three minutes, two minutes. We didn’t manage that six minute (time) very well.”

On the difference in the Hornets’ three point field goals: “You’re doubling up. You double-up every time, so every opportunity that you have to give them a two…If you’re going to let guys who can really shoot a three, now you have a couple on the floor (at one time), they are going to double-up the possessions. You have to get two possessions back to get that. We may only come down and give them a two point basket. If they are going to make the threes, that’s a huge weapon that New Orleans has. They utilize it very, very well. The one thing about when you have great shooters on the floor is that they have to be willing passers. They have willing passers that make the right plays. (Eric) Gordon does a great job. He’ll move the ball up and traps. All of their guys do a great job. Then you have guys who can shoot the ball and make plays.”

On needing to improve the team’s shooting percentage: “Those are finishes. As we go back and look at the film, I would imagine that we probably missed maybe 10 or more layups. If you get half of those, you have a great percentage because you are shooting at the rim. We missed so many layups and opportunities to score at the rim. That is going to hurt you. We made some threes. A couple of guys were hot to make those threes. When you don’t finish when you get opportunities to get into the paint, you have to finish.”

Kings Guard Marcus Thorton On the Hornets defense: “They do a good job on the defensive end. That’s what Coach Monty stresses, so how they played is no surprise.”

On the effort in the second half: “We never give up. When we have the lead, we need to keep it. We sometimes find ourselves having to battle back. Sometimes it just doesn’t work like that.”

Kings Guard On the difference between college and pro ball: “It’s a big step up from the college game. You’re playing against the best players in the world. You have to get used to the talent level and the speed.”

On playing tonight: “It felt good when I was out there. I scored a few points, got a couple of rebounds and some assists. I just try to give our team a spark whenever I can.”

On the potential move of the team: “It’s not really a distraction. You just have to go out and play to the best of your ability and not really worry about it. If you’re worrying about it, you’re not really able to give your play all of your attention.”