This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Official postgame quotes and notes following the Jazz's 94-85 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday at Energy Solutions Arena.
Notes: Jazz have won 12 of the last 13 games, and the last seven games at home against the Grizzlies...Utah is now 43-14 all-time and 24-6 at home against Memphis...The Jazz is 10-0 this season when leading after the third quarter...The Jazz led 20-16 after the first quarter, which is the lowest scoring first quarter by a Jazz opponent this season (previously 17 two times – IND 12/1, @ GS 11/5)...There has been a different leading scorer by the Jazz in the last four meetings (Deron Williams (27, tonight), Ronnie Brewer (25), CJ Miles (24) and Mehmet Okur (16))...CJ Miles scored 15 of his 20 points in the second quarter, which is a team season-high in the second quarter (previously 13 by CJ vs. SAC, 11/22)... The Jazz have held the last 10 opponents under 100 points.
Jerry Sloan – (16-6 this season)On the game"I think they played pretty hard. They hung in there with us most of the night. They played a tough game last night so, it was a nice win for us. It wasn't a pretty win, but we take them any way we can get them."
On the Grizzlies being tough in the paint"Their big guys get inside really well, and [Rudy] Gay got inside a couple of times, and we got caught, I think, trying to think about help let him get in there a couple times. Raja Bell did a really good job of trying to give us help in the middle early in the game...I thought he really had an excellent game."
C.J. Miles – Guard (20 points, 2 steals) On the game"That's my job [coming off the bench].That's the position they put me in. I recognized it was a little slow offensively. I just tried to be aggressive, but not try to take bad shots...in the second half everybody else got going.
On the defense on Rudy Gay"AK [Andrei Kirilenko] did a great job. I just tried to make it tough on him, make him take tough shots. He's [Rudy Gay] a great player."
Raja Bell – Guard (14 points, 3 rebounds) On his game offensively and shooting"I'm always ready to shoot. Some nights you don't get a lot of shots because of the flow of the game and other nights you get them. Tonight was one of those nights I was getting some of those good, clean looks. I jumped up there and tried to make the most of them."
On whether or not they overlooked this game"I think this one (game) was business as usual. We understood what our week was after this game, but we understood this was a game we needed to have going into a tough week. We didn't take it lightly. They're a good team; they came out and took us out of some things early, they really pounded us on the offensive glass. You give them credit, but we stuck in there and got a win."
On being a big win"Coming off a loss to get this one at home against a solid team was a big win for us. Hopefully it will springboard us into the rest of the week because know we have some big games coming up."
Deron Williams – Guard (27 points, 8 assists) On the team's offense"I don't know, we didn't really click as a group all night. It was kind of a defensive battle. We played well in spurts. I think C.J. shot very well for us and that helped."
On the his own offense"I scored in bunches as well. It wasn't just a quarter or anything like that."
On C.J.'s importance to the team"He's [CJ Miles] very key. The games he's come in and gotten 18 or 20 points, we've been really successful. We need that from him. We need him to be that consistent scorer off the bench and bring a lot of energy."
On the team's shooting"We don't need just one guy to shoot the ball well; we need everybody to help space the floor and let the big guys work inside. It needs to come from everybody. It will help once we get Memo [Okur] back because it's just an extra scorer out there. We look forward to getting him back."
Al Jefferson – Forward (12 points, 10 rebounds) On focus this week and tonight's game"It's a great start, great win for us. They played hard, we played hard. Me and Paul didn't have the best games, but that's how great this team is when two main guys don't have a great game and you still pick up a win."
On the defense on Rudy Gay"I think AK and those guys did a great job on him. They made him shoot contested shots. Even great shooters struggle a bit, but I think we did a good job."
Paul Millsap – Forward (7 points, 7 rebounds) On the points in the paint"We did a good job collapsing, trying to get the ball out from their bigs. They do a good job down there and we tried keeping them out of the lane. We did a good job doing that."
On the week and Wednesday night"Definitely a tough week for us, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. We just need to come in and play our game. [On Wednesday] We'll have to get off a good start. We have to play the whole 48 minutes, and do a good job helping each other on defense."Notes: With the loss, the Grizzles have now lost four in a row and six on the road...They are 2-10 on the road this season... The Grizzlies last road win came on 11/6 at Sacramento (100-91) ... The Grizzles have lost seven in a row in Salt Lake City... The Grizzles had six shots blocked in the first half and an opponent tying season-high of 10 blocked shots for the game...In the first half, the Grizzles held the Jazz to 34.9 percent shooting, but only shot 36.4 percent themselves...The Grizzles lead the NBA in points in the paint average per game (48.0), they scored 54 points in the paint tonight...Zach Randolph record his 12th double-double of the season (17 points, 14 rebounds)...The Grizzles shot a season worst 9.1 percent from the three-point line...One night after scoring a season and career-high 17 points, rookie Xavier Henry scored two points...The Grizzles had four starters in double figures...The Grizzles held Andrei Kirilenko and Paul Millsap to a combined 4-for-22 shooting night.
Lionel Hollins – (8-14 this season) On the game"Not to make excuses but I thought our team battled hard after a tough game last night, after being down 21, coming back and making a ball game of it and (then) losing by one and then coming in here tonight playing a tough physical team that plays very well at home and is very well coached. They execute and that's what ground us up at the end. They executed and got some stuff, got some layups and then they spurted on us and we just couldn't overcome that."
On last four minutes of the game"There were a couple of second chance opportunities but it was also loose balls on the floor that we didn't get, quick shots, turnovers on offense as well. It wasn't just the last four minutes I think the whole fourth quarter we were down. When you're down, you can't make those kinds of mistakes you have to be perfect. We could never make a stream of good plays offensively and defensively to get us back to where we could tie the game or get the lead."
Marc Gasol – Center (13 points, 7 rebounds) On if he's frustrated by the losing streak"Frustrated is a big word. It's always frustrating to lose but you always have to see the positive side of things and I think right now we know that a year ago against both of these teams we played yesterday and tonight we had no chance to be in the game if we weren't even close in the first half and it was a blowout both games. On the other hand, this year, in both games we battled back and played with physicality against both teams and that's what we're trying to do, be a little positive and get ready for the next one in Phoenix."
On not being able to get stops in the 3rd quarter"Well, basketball is that way, you get some stops and then the other team gets some stops and it's back and forth. The difference is they got too many to end the game. They got rebounds, they got layups, they got and- ones and that just killed us in the end of the game and we may be a little tired, but you have to be very focused because it's a game-breaker, you win or you lose on those things."O.J. Mayo – Guard (6 points, 3 rebounds) On the game"We're playing hard. We played a hard-fought game last night and came in here against a well-rested Jazz team who we know are going to be tough at home. It's a tough loss, but I am happy the way we competed all four quarters."
On the progress of the team"Things could be better for us. We are struggling a bit and coming into the season we knew that these were the types of losing stretches we needed to avoid in order to be a good team. We've been in a majority of our games, but have made some minor mistakes some nights. We've just got to continue to play hard."
Mike Conley – Guard (19 points, 5 assists) On the game"We played hard enough (tonight). We played with effort and we played more like ourselves and gave ourselves a chance to win against a really good team that plays very well at home. We knew we were going to have to give everything we had if we were going to win this game and break this slump we are on."
On guarding Deron Williams"He is very tough and physical. He is a big point guard and when you put your hands on him he will get the foul, but if you don't he'll blow right by you because he's so big and strong. It's a pick your poison type deal and you just do your best and hope he misses some shots."
— Brian T. Smith
Twitter: tribjazz