Maurice Cheeks Win Quotations

We have to get other guys involved. We're not just trying to win games with Allen and Chris doing all the scoring.

No one expected us to win this game. That's the reason you play.

I thought the second half was the reason why we won the game, because it was just the will that helped us win the game. We were down, we were a step slow in the first half, and I thought our will got us back in the game.

I thought our guys played well. It was a young group. When you throw a young group against a veteran group, you may be able to win a game like that. A veteran group is going to use their brain a little bit, and that's what they did.

We need one. We're entitled to one, I think. We've been going down to the wire a lot of games. Sometimes it feels good for the players and myself to play a game where you don't have to worry about somebody getting an offensive rebound or making a last-second shot to win a basketball game. For us, we needed that.

We wanted to let them know that's where we're going to win games, is on the defensive end. I think that's where you go. You don't try and put too much on them, but they know the drills that they're doing on the floor is the way we're going to play.

We have too many breakdowns. I think that we have to go back to the one, two, three of defense rotations, and getting guys in different positions. The only way that you can win games if you are relying on your offense night in and night out, is you have to outscore teams. We're not going to outscore teams, so our defense has to go back to the fundamentals of teaching positions.

We didn't drive the ball like we did in the first half. We shot all jump shots and that allowed them back in the game and eventually win the game because we didn't continue doing the things we were doing.

We just had a very brief meeting, and we realize that we have to win (tonight) against Boston and it?s tied up again and realizing we?re going to Chicago. So ..I think everyone still feels like we?re there. We just have to win the game against Boston.

People talk about him shooting the ball a lot, but it's not a selfish thing. If we get down, he takes a lot on himself to go and win the game. I've seen his maturation in the way he tries to will his teammates to win.

No, we lost four of five games and it didn't matter who it was. We had to win a basketball game and it so happened to be against Portland.

Any win is big. Realizing where we are and the situation that we're in, we can't afford any let downs. We knew coming in that we had to have these two wins and I just think that we focused on them.

That part of the game is better than the overall game. We'd like our defense to get better for 48 minutes. But I think as the game unfolds and when another team needs a basket, I think our defense gets a little bit better. Certainly if you're going to win games, it has to be better down the stretch.

That's not the best defense you can play. Our defense just has to get better in order for us to win games. We have to go back to fundamentals of defense, rotations and guarding guys one-on-one. You have to want to play defense.

The way they play, most people say you can't win that way, but that's how they play and they have one of the smartest point guards (Nash) in the league. They play aggressive, offensive basketball.

There were several plays where we had lapses on the defensive end that allowed them to cut the lead and then eventually win the game.

It's just a little more attention to detail. It's realizing if we're going to have a chance to win games, we're going to have to defend.

It's us trying to stay together, which we will, and to keep working to figuring out how to win games. There are a lot of things we've got to work on.

It?s not over yet, and we and I will keep going and see if we can put that unit together and get enough guys to win a game tomorrow night against Boston and then go into Chicago and win on Saturday.

It's great for us to win a game like this. Understanding the game is not over when we were down really paid off for us.

Any time you lose and you continue to lose, you take it. You have to have something good happen to you to turn your mental state over, and the only way you do that is to win a game. As you continue to lose, you feel it.

I knew it would be a lot like the last three games we had, and we'd have to win it down the stretch. We had a lot of guys step up when AI went down.

In the NBA, it?s a little different. It?s more of a job. I?m sure some NBA players -- I know myself -- are a little envious of just the feeling of it all. It?s a great feeling watching those players, the way they feel -- the feeling that comes out when they lose a game, the feeling that comes out when they win a game. It?s a great thing to watch.

Certainly, you're disappointed. The hardest part for anybody, and certainly for me, is to know you're not in it and that you failed. Failed is a hard word to say. When you set a goal for yourself to get in the playoffs and have a chance to win a championship, that means I failed in trying to accomplish what I came here to accomplish.

I certainly thought we'd win more than 43 games, absolutely. I'm disappointed, myself, based on the way we played so far.

I certainly thought we'd win more than 43 games.

You won't win games by going 0-for-19, but you will never, ever win a game going 0-for-19 and 24 turnovers. It's amazing we were that close in the game.