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Official postgame quotes and notes following the Jazz's 94-82 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.
Notes: The Jazz loss snaps a four-game winning streak against the Spurs...The Jazz were down by 15 points in the first quarter...The Jazz committed three turnovers and missed five shots before making their first basket of the game...The Jazz committed six turnovers in the first quarter...The Jazz scored a season- low for an opening quarter at home (14)...The Jazz scored a season-low for points in the fourth quarter (14)...For the second time this season, the Jazz allowed an opponents' starting five to score in double figures (11/13 against Charlotte was the other time)...In the third quarter there were 21 free-throws attempted (14 by the Spurs, 7 for the Jazz).
Phil Johnson – Acting Head Coach (9-8 overall as acting head coach, Jazz are 8-5 this season)On the game"We played a very good basketball team tonight, obviously, but we held that team to 44 percent from the field, 25 percent from the three, and we lose the game. We had 14 turnovers, but that's not the thing. Offensive rebounds killed us. We didn't take care of the defensive boards. I mean, that's the ballgame. They're very disciplined, they're very good at what they do, they're a very good defensive team. They held us to a low percentage and we missed our free throws. Pretty much, that's the ballgame."
On how disappointing the team's rebounding has been the last few games
"Yeah, it's disappointing, obviously. We've got to concentrate, we've got to block out. We've gone over it, we've watched film, we've talked about it. We haven't had a lot of time to practice, we've had guys out with injuries and so forth, so it's something we simply have to concentrate on."
Paul Millsap – Forward (12 points, 7 rebounds)On the game"We didn't have too much energy out there. The energy wasn't there. They (Spurs) played with it today. They had a good scheme and they went with it."
On the reason for the big difference in rebounding"I guess effort. They were going after it every play. They've got some good guys down there that can offensive rebound the ball and they got second chance points and that hurt us."
On Tony Parker's dribble penetration"We tried to make a few adjustments, but a guy like that, you can try to keep him out of the lane, but he's always going to find a way to get there."
On how the Spurs pulled away in the fourth quarter"They had more energy coming out and we just didn't fight."
C.J. Miles – Guard (11 points, 3 rebounds)On the fourth quarter"They did a good job of just executing their stuff and getting stops when they needed them. They got a lot of offensive rebounds; that really hurt us. But they just do, what veterans do, they close it out."
On turning around and playing again tomorrow night"You definitely want to have some days where you can break stuff down and really be able to go hard in practice. But lately we haven't been able to do that, because we've played so much and there's only so much we've been able to do. It's great we get to be able to play tomorrow and take out our frustrations and get it out of our system."
Raja Bell – Guard (9 points, 2 rebounds)On the defensive mindset of the Jazz"I think some of that is being more physical than the other team and playing with an edge about you, and a bit of toughness. Then some of that is just us having to get on the same page with what we want to do about penetration and screen-roll defense. I think tonight was another example of teams putting us in a lot of pick and rolls and really attacking us in that way and we haven't handled it well the last couple of nights, so I assume teams will continue to do that until we figure it out."
On the toughness of the Jazz in the paint"I think we're plenty tough enough, but we have to play tougher. It's not a question of whether or not the guys on this team have heart and are tough. But it's one thing to be tough, and it's another thing to play tough and play physical and impose yourself on someone. A lot of guys in this league don't actually like to play like that. As physical a game as it can be, if you hit someone first, a lot of times you get the upper hand for the rest of the night."
Deron Williams – Guard (23 points, 5 assists)On getting outrebounded"Its something we've got to get better at. It's something that's going to cost us some more games if we don't. It's having the mentality of going after the ball, but it's got to be everybody, you can't just say it's the big man. It's got to come from everywhere."
On the toughness of the Spurs"They were definitely tougher than us tonight. It just seemed like they wanted the game more. They're a great team. They're getting older, but they still know how to play the game the right way and that's why they're successful. Since I got into this league, I've always wished we could model ourselves after the Spurs and what they do; of course with our flair."
On Tony Parker's game"He did a great job of getting down the lane, whether it was for himself or setting up his teammates. That's his game. Like I said before the game, he's one of the hardest people to guard. He's one of the fastest guys with the ball in the NBA and he's added that 17 to 18 foot jumper so you have to respect that."Notes: This win breaks a four-game losing streak against the Jazz ... All five starters scored in double figures, with Charlotte the only other Jazz opponent to do so this season (11/13) ... In all 10 San Antonio wins this season, four or more Spurs players tallied double-digit scoring ... Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker have each scored in double figures in the first 11 games this season ... This is the first time in four games that the Spurs have allowed an opponent to score more than 14 points in the third quarter ... With two made free throws at 5:28 of the third quarter, Tim Duncan became the Spurs NBA all-time leading scorer ... Tim Duncan also became the Spurs NBA all-time leader in games played with 988.
Gregg Popovich – Head Coach (10-1)On how the bench contributed with all starters ending the game in double digits"Our bench has been better in the past. I think our team defense tonight was very good. I thought we got a lot of deflections and the team defense helped us. The bench did not do their usual job scoring like they have in other games."
On the flow of the game"I do not think either team was real sharp tonight. I think both teams have played better games and we each picked a night where we were both a bit sloppy and things were not great. Neither team shot very well and it was just one of the deals where maybe we got a bit more shots than they did."
On Tim Duncan breaking the Spurs scoring record"I am just happy for him. You know he is the driving force behind our championships and for him to have the record now with games played and points is appropriate. I am excited for him."
Manu Ginobili– Guard (15 Points, 4 Assists)On the game tonight"It is not easy to win here. They are a tough team, they execute great so we are very happy to beat them here. It is also not easy to beat them on the boards like we did, so it is great."
On the rebounding differential"During the game you really do not realize as much but when you grab the stat sheet and see then that you beat them by 15 that is something that does not happen very often so great job by DeJuan and TD (Tim Duncan)."
Tim Duncan – Forward (19 Points, 14 Rebounds)On the game and his record setting night"It was a great win for us. It was not particularly pretty, kind of ups and down but great defensively and great to get that kind of milestone behind me. "It means a whole lot. More than anything it's a bragging right. I'm going to stick it to him a little bit. He started my career with me. It's been a long career so far. It's just great."On the rebounding difference"We gave them one chance and got it off the board and got a lot of opportunities to push it back at them and got some offense that way. In the half court I though they were pretty solid but we were able to push it up, move the ball around and get some open shots."
On team's health"It's been a huge difference. I think all of us feel really good right now. This is the best I've felt in a couple of years. A little bit off rhythm right now. Not playing great but starting to get it back. Manu is playing awesome. Tony is playing awesome. Richard's acclimated to what we're doing and what we've asked him to do. And he's been playing great. Everybody's feeling good. Everyone is healthy and we're playing well."
— Brian T. Smith
Twitter: tribjazz