Quote board: Hear what the Mavericks have to say after beating the Warriors

Nov 30, 2022 - 5:45 AM

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The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Golden State Warriors 116-113 in a wild game Tuesday night in Dallas. Dallas snapped a four game losing streak, inching their record back even to 10-10.

There were a lot of gutsy performances in this one, so the Mavericks were in a good mood to talk compared to the last week. Here’s what the key players had to say.

Jason Kidd

(On the team’s ball handling after Spencer Dinwiddie’s ejection...)

“I thought Josh [Green] stepped up. He did a great job for us tonight. Timmy [Hardaway Jr.], it was a committee. We had [Christian] Wood bring the ball up. Josh played incredible tonight for us. But I thought we had to bring Luka [Dončić] back a little bit earlier because of the ball handling situation and I thought he did a really good job of trusting his teammates, especially down the stretch. Josh made some great plays for us on both ends of the floor.”

(On the wide-open look for Klay Thompson at the end of the game...)

“It looked like the Utah game all over again. They ran kind of the same play over the top, got a good look. We got lucky.”

(On clutch time and securing a win...)

“I think when you look at just the calmness, the confidence that that group had on the floor at both ends. The Warriors got great looks and when they missed, they came up with the rebound. We gave them, at one time, a couple of opportunities but we got the rebound that we needed. Again, Timmy [Hardaway Jr.] was big, made some big shots for us tonight. Then you look at Josh [Green] being able to play make and again, getting to the basket. He’s not afraid. It was a great team win.”

(On why Tim Hardaway Jr. was put in the starting lineup after a tough start to the season...)

“He was due. These guys are human and we’re trying to put these guys in a position to feel good. For Timmy [Hardaway Jr.], we needed him to start to maybe pick up Reggie [Bullock] and he did that tonight. We’re going to at some point come back to Reggie. But again, when guys are playing well, Josh [Green] is playing well, he’s going to eat into some minutes of maybe Timmy or Reggie or Doe [Dorian Finney-Smith]. That’s just how it looks right now. I thought Timmy played an incredible game. We had a good talk yesterday. He came in to work. Whenever you see someone not shooting the ball well and not playing well and coming in maybe on a day off when you can stay at home, he was in there working. That’s what it takes to sometimes get out of a shooting slump; you’ve got to put in the actual work.”

Luka Doncic

(On getting out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter…)

“Sharing the ball and defending. Those two things were the keys in the first quarter.”

(On taking pride on the defensive end…)

“It was great. I was participating and giving it everything I had. I was really tired at the end. We needed this game. We needed this win. I think we deserved this win and we for sure needed this win.”

(On the team’s play after Spencer Dinwiddie pick up a flagrant penalty 2 foul…)

“We just filled the shoes. Josh [Green] was there and he played a great game. Tim [Hardaway Jr.] was there. Everybody, as a team, I think we played a great game. They scored 113, but we separated the defense and we played a great game as a team.

Tim Hardaway Jr.

(On Luka Dončić’s 40-point triple-double…)

“It’s nothing new to me. I mean when he gets those triple-doubles it shows we’re knocking down shots. You know whatever it takes to get a win I guess.”

(On his own shot making tonight…)

“Yeah, just having a little more confidence. Releasing at the top and mechanics were fine. Just making sure I’m releasing at the top of my jump shot and not on the way down.”

(On his conversation with Jason Kidd yesterday and what he took away from it mentally…)

“It was great. Just picking each other’s brain for the most part and that’s basically it. I’m not going to get too deep into the conversation. It’s between us, but you know it was great – just to be able to talk and communicate and hear each other speak. It was all great, it was all positive, and just one thing I will say he just wanted me to go out there and have fun and be the Tim that everybody knows. For the most part, that’s what I tried to do.”

(On what they were able to do to get the 17-point lead in the first quarter…)

“Just for the most part just making sure we took to our coverages communicating on the defensive end. When we got the rebound making sure they didn’t get second-chance shots. When we got the ball pushing the pace and for the most part, we were open so knocking down your open shots.”

(On what changes they had to make once Spencer Dinwiddie got ejected from the game…)

“Changes? Nothing, we have confidence in everybody. Josh Green did a phenomenal job coming in, filling in, and picking up the pace on both ends of the floor. Maxi [Kleber] included, and everybody had a part. Everybody had a part in this win. I think when Josh Green dove on the ball, it was out on him, but when he dove on the ball got a couple of deflections on that one play in the second half, I think that really energized our team. So, it was great just to see that.”

Josh Green

(On Luka Doncic’s 40-point triple double…)

“I guess the next thing is a 100-point game, right? That’s what I’m hoping for we’ll see. Coming soon.”

(On if they had to do anything differently once Spencer Dinwiddie got ejected from the game…)

“No. When he first did, I was like, ‘dang, I haven’t played point guard in a while.’ I think when I made that turnover though I was like ‘it’s time to hoop.’ When they started talking that’s when I realized just play the same basketball and just do what I do. I can’t count the amount of times I came off an on-ball screen in the NBA. You know it’s been only one or two times, but it’s just basketball – what I used to do. I try to just slow down and just play.”

(On what was going through his mind when Klay Thompson shot the last shot at the end…)

“You have no idea. It literally felt like that shot was up in the air for 10 minutes and I was just waiting. He’s a great player and a great shooter. I need to watch film on that – and so does the rest of the team on that last play – and how to defend that. It’s always very suspenseful when you have one of the best shooters of all-time shooting the game-winning shot.”

(On what was going through his mind when you ended up at the scorer’s table at the end of the game…)

“A couple of things. First of all, wow, I really messed that one up on that last play. They got what they wanted and got the open shot. Also, I haven’t really finished too many games in my three years in the NBA. So as much as I was happy, not too many people get a chance to go on the court against Steph Curry and Klay [Thompson]. To be on the court at such a crucial time in the game it’s like what you dream of. It’s moments like that so for me it’s cool to take a second to be able to realize what happened. Now it’s just like moving forward and getting ready for the next game.”

(On his development and being more aggressive offensively…)

“I think it’s just looking at it like what do you got to lose. Last year, I was passing up on shots and quite frankly, they were bricking and missing and doing everything I didn’t want them to do. For me, this year just coming in and being confident. If I miss one you know just make the next one. I realize it hurts the team when you don’t shoot the open ball or you don’t do stuff like that. For me to just playing. If I’m open, I shoot it.”

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