Avery Johnson Fortunate Quotations

We struggled to guard Yao in the first half, but we made some adjustments and were much more physical in the second half. We were fortunate enough to hold him down then.

We are fortunate to get out of here with a victory. Both teams played some really awesome defense and we just couldn't get our offense in gear in the second half. This is another game that we proved to ourselves that we can win basketball games with our defense. I don't know if we would have won this game in the past. Now we are a different team.

Overall it was a good team effort and we were fortunate enough to be able to rest some guys in the fourth quarter.

We feel fortunate to get out of here with a victory. Both teams played awesome defense. I don't know if we win this game in the past. Now, we're a different team.

We stepped up big defensively in the fourth quarter. We were fortunate to get away from them.

We thought our first-quarter defense really set the tone. We worked on a lot of stuff this morning and we were fortunate to have some carry over.

We were fortunate to win for several reasons.

We were fortunate enough get some stops and play some tough, hard-nosed defense. This is the fifth win on a five-game road trip. We have been on the road eleven or twelve days and we played some pretty good defense against a team scoring 150, 120 and 115 points, so I am awfully proud of our guys.

We had three of our top scorers shoot 12-for-40 from the field, and that won't happen many nights. We were really fortunate to win this game.

We kind of threw the first punch and kept on punching. We were fortunate enough to put together one of our better games of the (season).

There was a four- or five-day process when they were on their rooftops, sleeping on roofs and in attics trying to escape, ... Once it hit, you don't have any communication no cellphone, no e-mail, anything with your family. It took five or six days just to find some of my close family. They're OK right now, and we're grateful. Now it's a matter of helping people who are less fortunate than my family.

It's nothing about me. If we're fortunate enough to be a part of that situation, it just shows that the guys that play for the Mavericks won some games and we're in the heat of the race. It's no goal of ours. It's a nice honor if something like that were to happen.