We had 10 straight empty possessions. We missed a ton of open shots, and that puts a ton of pressure on the defense. It was a combination of their No. 1 scoring defense and us missing a lot of uncontested shots.
It hasn't been since the (All-Star) break where we were able to come out and do what we did to make it 8-0, and it started on the defensive end. We played really good defense in the first half, forcing them to shoot some shots with just three or four seconds left on the shot clock.
We only had three field goals, but more importantly, we gave up 27 points. We just had some defensive breakdowns. Sometimes we played good defense and they made shots. That's why we're tipping our hats to them.
Their defense fueled their offense. They kept making stops.
The heart and will that this guy has is unbelievable. His defense on Kobe, his assertiveness on offense -- he would not let our team lose tonight. He put us on his back.