Maurice Cheeks Points Quotations

When he got hurt in Memphis he was playing at a high level in the first half. We need him. We need him out there. We need his energy and certainly we need the way he?s capable of putting points on the board.

Forty points and 10 assists. When he wasn't scoring, he was creating opportunities for other guys. Tonight was a prime example of a team effort. Our intensity was much better from the start.

We've been there, where we've been up 18 or 19 points. We've been there, where we've been up seven or eight points with two minutes to go in the game. So we've been in a lot of situations where we know the game could turn around. We had plays that turned the game around for us.

I think after a while, after we start missing the easy shots, I think we start pressing a little bit and trying to make up for the easy shots that we missed and we just continued to miss. At one point I remember looking at the clock when we had 33 points and I don't remember the next time we scored. Then, the same thing happened in the third quarter when we just could not make a shot.

Coming into a building like this, playing a very good basketball team like this, you know if you get up 20 points they're going to make a run. They had a chance at the end. But our attention to detail was big, from the first minute of the game to the last minute.

Our energy got us back in the game. But you've got to play perfect when you get down 28 points or so.

If you're missing a player like Allen you have to overcompensate. You're not going to replace a guy who scores 33-34 points a game, but you can replace him in other areas when you get production from everyone.

If you're missing a player like Allen, you have to overcompensate. You're not going to replace a guy who scores 33-34 points a game, but you can replace him in other areas when you get production from everyone.

The game was such a seesaw game. We were down 16 points and it didn't look like we had a chance of getting back in the game, and then things started transpiring. ... Hopefully we can build off that (today) and let the emotion from that game just carry us throughout.