(On tonight’s game): "You have to give Chicago credit. They came in here and gutted it out. They were very gritty tonight. They got to a lot of loose balls, especially a couple of them late. We didn’t shoot the ball well. In a one-point game, we shot 60 percent from the free throw line. We had our chances and we didn’t pull it out. That’s why every night, no matter who you play, it’s going to be a dog fight."
(On the last call): "I thought LeBron drove the ball and Noah came across the paint. As he came across the paint, he jumped. I understand the rule of verticality, but if you’re going across the paint or the lane and you meet somebody on the other side, I don’t know."
LEBRON JAMES
(On the team still getting acclimated on both sides of the ball):"I think we are still learning. I think defensively with a new team you can always be on the same page because at the end of the day you can fly around, you can communicate, you can help each other and you can get through it a lot easier. On the offensive end it takes a little longer because if you’re not on the same page and if you don’t know the sets right when they are called then you can look out of sync and you get into a lot of late clock situations, which is a lot of one-on-one basketball…stagnant. You’re taking some shots that you wouldn’t take if everybody was on the same page. I think offensively it’s going to take a little while to get our offense down pact. Defensively we look good, but you have got to score the basketball in this league also to win games."
(On if he felt contact on the last play of the game): "I felt a push from (Luol) Deng and I felt some contact up top from (Joakim) Noah."
(On if there is a safe way to chase after loose balls): "Not really. I thought I could get it. The best way to do it is to not go for it. Me being the guy I am, I want to get every last break (I can get). It happens sometimes."
(On why it was such a low-scoring game): "Neither team could make a shot. It’s that simple. Both teams got stops. Both teams rebounded the ball over 40 times. No team could make that backbreaking shot. They had a couple of times where they could have made it, we had a couple that we could have made late in the game. Sometimes you have those games in the NBA where it’s one of those grind-out games."
SHAQUILLE O’NEAL
(On getting aggressive in the second half and scoring down low): "I was trying to (get it going). We just have to keep playing and keep digging down. We had a chance to win at the end. If we limit some of our silly mistakes, we’ll be fine."
(On his scoring in the second half): "I’ve been around 17 years, and there’s not a double or triple-team I haven’t seen. I was shooting them, they felt pretty good. As you saw, a couple of them rolled in and out."
(On the team’s mindset right now): "We have a lot of resolve. In the three games we have lost, we pretty much beat ourselves by what we’re not doing. Once we master that, then we’ll be fine."