Juan Dixon Quotations

We're growing up, man. We're growing up as a team. We're playing smart and we're solid for 48 minutes. Hopefully we'll keep on going in that direction.

We've struggled the last six games not getting any wins, so we wanted to come out with a lot of heart and be aggressive on both ends of the floor. Guys came out and we executed. Before the game, coach ( Nate McMillan ) drew a big heart on the chalkboard. He wanted to see what we were made of. We came out and played well tonight.

I was right there and watched the whole time. It looked good -- just came up short.

Certain guys take it personal. If I need to do something better, I expect someone to come tell me, because I can take constructive criticism. I don' think a lot of us can take it.

Baron is one of the better guards in the league. He is probably one of the top three point guards. He is a great passer and he can also defend. ... He had a great day.

He has a lot of confidence. I watched him knock down shots like that in the past. Steve is a good shooter. He's a pass-first point guard. A lot of people out there don't get to see it, but he can definitely knock down big shots when he has his opportunity.

He finally came out and told us he wanted this victory. Leading up to the game, practice, you could tell that coach, he wasn't getting too caught up in this. But he wanted this victory bad.

I thought we turned the ball over a little too much, but it's something we can learn from.

I think we're definitely getting close, as far as just executing his game plan -- his style of play on both ends of the floor. Great team defense the last three games. I think everybody's defensive principles are getting better.

It got sloppy out there at the end. We pulled through. Guys were able to keep their head - unlike me - and we got a much-needed win.

I was wrong, I was frustrated. I apologize. I just wanted to try to pull through and get us the win.

Our defense was great. Can't say enough about our defense. It's tough, because it easily could've been a five-game winning streak if we just executed better down the stretch.

Nah, it's just another game. I mean, yeah, I'm going back to play against my old team, but there aren't any hard feelings.

It feels good going into each and every game knowing when you are going into the game, ... I know here, coach is looking to put me in around the three- or four-minute mark of the first quarter. Last year, I had no idea. You could never get a feel for the rotation.

I think guys are learning defensive principles and where they're supposed to be on the basketball court. So hopefully we can go out there and execute on the defensive end. It's a good challenge for us to see where we are.

We came out flat today. We have been at home for a while but it's no excuse for us to come out like we did. They went on an early run and maintained that energy the rest of the game. We have to come out with a better effort next game.

Those guys are learning the game. They're playing with more confidence.

We'll take the four in a row however we can get it.

Blake and I have been playing with each other since his freshman year and my sophomore year (at Maryland) so we have lots of fun playing with one another. We understand each other and the game. We've learned a lot since we've been in the game so hopefully we can continue to push the young guys on the team and hopefully we can continue to get better.

First of all, I want to apologize to my coach, teammates and the organization. That was way out of my character and I was wrong. I was frustrated, thought I had been fouled a number of times trying to get the ball up the court and I just really wanted to win this game.

It's easy looks. When you have a guy who's going to demand a double team, someone's going to get easy looks.

That's embarrassing. People don't care? I care. I'm sure a lot of other of my teammates care. We're just out there getting our tails whipped and it's really embarrassing.

I really don't even know what to say. I've lost before, but never like this. We're just a confidence-booster for other teams.

I really wanted to win this game. We had Dallas and we had Denver and we let those games slip away down the stretch. I really wanted to go out there and be aggressive and help us get this win.

For the most part it don't look like a lot of us are out there caring. We came out against the Clippers like we didn't want to be there. We have to be professional about our jobs. We're here for another three weeks. So we need to come out here, practice hard. We need to care.

All my shots were flat. We didn't shoot the ball well as a team (39 percent) but we still had an opportunity at the end. We had a couple bad plays and that's all it takes against a good team.

The coaching staff has done a great job with us. We are playing great basketball. We're playing well on the defensive end and running the offense. Blake and I just want to come out and be solid.