New Orleans Hornets vs. February 13, 2013 Hornets Post Game Quotes

Hornets Head Coach Monty Williams: On going into the All Star break with this win: “Anytime you can win a game in the NBA you feel good about it. The defensive effort tonight was tremendous, coupled with the fact that they (Blazers) were probably tired coming off a five game road trip before the All Star break. They played a great game in Miami last night so we are not going to get carried away with the win because I know that team can play a lot better than they played tonight. Our guys did a good job of taking care of business though. It was good to see Anthony (Davis) be aggressive after the night he had In Detroit. I’ve seen a lot of growth from a lot of our guys and now we have to enjoy this one and take a few days off and get ready for the last part of the season.”

On the first half of the game getting in the mud: “Any time you are playing a team with a guy like L.A. (LaMarcus Aldridge), you feel like if you can put them away or if you can get a big lead you want to take advantage of it because he can get going. (Damian) Lillard was not as sharp as he normally is so I was a bit concerned about those two, if they can get going we could be in trouble. We did a good job of getting stops; we held them to 14 points in the first quarter and 12 in the second. I think we all were in the same boat and we haven’t been able to handle that first game back home off a trip so it was good to see us respond the way that we did in the third quarter. I feel like that team is so dynamic with L.A. and Nicolas (Batum) and Damian (Lillard), but I thought Greivis (Vasquez) did a good job on Damian tonight. I thought Ryan (Anderson) came in and was attacking the basket, Jason (Smith) gave us a spark and Chief (Aminu) didn’t play big minutes tonight but he hangs around that double-double, which is something that we need. His attack to the basket was really good, and Austin (Rivers) stepping up for Eric (Gordon) tonight, I thought he was really good going to the basket ”

Hornets Center : On second half dominance: “We just tried to stay aggressive, we started off in the first half and played good defense and just tried to carry that over to the second half. We just got after it tonight and stuck with the game plan. We kept talking, and when we do that it’s hard to beat us.”

On Anthony Davis going to All-Star weekend: “I’m excited and a little nervous, but once I get out there, I’ll just have fun.”

Hornets Guard Greivis Vasquez: On playing against LaMarcus Aldridge: “He’s a great player, and he has great hands and plays with a lot of energy, you just have to keep going after him.”

On playing with Anthony Davis: “As a rookie there were a lot of expectations, but he has handled it well and will continue to improve. The future looks bright for him.”

On playing the complete win tonight: “I really don’t want to go on the break. We are playing well, I’d like to just keep going. We are playing Hornets right now, and we are making progress and we are continuing to play hard. I know I’m understanding the game much better. I now see things that I didn’t see before. I guess it’s just the experience.”

New Orleans Hornets vs. Portland Trail Blazers February 13, 2013 Trail Blazers Post Game Quotes

Trail Blazers Head Coach On the game: “We got our butt’s kicked. We didn’t play well and they were prepared for us, and obviously we didn’t play a very good game. Defense kind of kept us in it for the 1st half. We couldn’t get anything going offensively, and it was a long night.”

On why the offense was bad: “Obvious with Wes (Matthews) that it affected it a little bit, and when LaMarcus (Aldridge) went out for a little bit that affected us. They were really aggressive on Damian (Lillard), and they doubled L.A (Aldridge) on the , that gave us an opportunity to play against some rotations, and we had some shots we could make. They got the ball out of Damian’s hands, and LaMarcus’ hands, and we weren’t able to make plays after that”.

Trail Blazers Forward Nicolas Batum On the loss and the timing of the All-Star Break: “It is embarrassing, one of the most embarrassing nights of the year. When we get back next Monday we’ll need to get ready for Phoenix. We need a good break and to get some rest and then get back and have a good game against Phoenix.”

On offensive struggles: “We just try to keep shooting. I don’t know what our shooting percentage was, but we only scored 62 points. It was very tough on this road trip. It’s a rough way to go into the All-Star break losing five games in a row with a big loss, so we just need to get back on track next Monday.”

Trail Blazers Guard On the losing streak and the benefit of the All-Star Break: “We had a losing streak like this earlier, and we came back with a vengeance. It’s all about peaking at the right time. The beauty of the season in the NBA is that there are so many ups and downs and runs and glory and being mad. We’re just in a funk right now. I hope the All-Star Break will cure that. Everybody can get home, clear their minds, reflect, see where we’re really at and what we can be, and then come back and hit the ground running against Phoenix.”

On Portland’s playoff chances “It’s pretty frustrating with a five game losing streak. We wanted to go out with a good taste in our mouth going into the All-Star Break, still being so close into the playoff race, and we’re still not out of it by any means. To be injured in the first minute-and-a-half and not be able to fight with my team was tough.”