HEAD COACH MIKE BROWN
(On J.J. Hickson's play tonight):
"J.J. had a nice game for us. I thought early on he moved well without the ball, he rebounded well and then he ran the floor. Our guys did a nice job of finding him. His activity was good, especially early in the game."
(On what he has to do to get J.J. to produce well on a consistent basis):
"We don't expect that from him nightly right now. He's capable, but we are not looking for him to give us 23 (points) and eight (rebounds) every night he steps on the floor. If he's active, comes up with some rebounds and loose balls and things like that and does a good job defensively, then I'm happy."
(On being able to rest some starters tonight):
"It was a big thing tonight. That's one of the first things that Danny (Ferry), Chris Grant and Lance Blanks said - that it was great to keep the minutes low for guys like LeBron and Shaq. It was a good thing to be able to keep their minutes down tonight. We felt good about it."
(On being versatile enough to win despite missing some key players):
"Our team is deep. There is a lot of versatility on our roster. You have a guy like LeBron that you can play at the one, the two, the three, the four or the five. It's been evident the last few games that we were able to move some things around because of him. This team is built to play at any type of size and, knock on wood, hopefully guys don't go down. If guys do go down, we have other guys who are able to step up and hold down the fort until our main guys get back."
LEBRON JAMES
(On winning convincingly tonight):
"A win is a win. We're okay with having ones where our starters don't have to play a lot, and we're okay where we have to finish the game off in a heart pounder for our coaches and fans."
(On J.J. Hickson's play tonight):
"He was really active, slashing to the rim, grabbing offensive rebounds and just making plays. It was good to see him with his legs up under himself tonight. He was excellent."
(On other guys stepping up):
"It's good when other guys step up. Daniel has been a starter for us before so he knows what to do when he's in the ball game and it was good to see everyone else fill in to keep the momentum."
(On Shaq and Z playing at the same time):
"They're two really good passers, two really good players. They know exactly what to do out there on the court. To have that, it's great."
(On Jamario Moon's play):
"He brings so much athleticism and the ability to guard more than one position."
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL
(On recovering from a slow start tonight):
"It was nice. We kind of got off to a slow start, but whenever this team gets off to a slow start, I know were going to come back. I'd almost rather us get off to a slow start. In the fourth quarter, we were able to get some rest and the other guys played hard."
(On how the team is playing):
"It feels good. I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, but I've had this feeling six times before. I don't like to get too happy because any given day, the switch can flip and it all could go wrong. We want to be playing at a good, high level going into the all-star break."
(On whether the Cavs should get more than one all-star):
"LeBron is playing at a great level. Mo's been playing well. It's always been a bureaucratic process. I've been fortunate to go (15) times so from this point on in my career, I won't complain if I don't make it. It's all about the voting and who the fans want to see."
(On J.J. Hickson's upside):
"I told J.J. when I first got here, ‘J.J., you could be Cedric Ceballos.' Of course, he doesn't know who that was. I played with Cedric Ceballos, who never got any plays called for him, but he averaged 20 (points) and 10 (rebounds), and I think J.J. can do the same thing."
J.J. HICKSON
(On playing more aggressive tonight):
"I had a bad game against Miami, so I took it upon myself to come out and be more aggressive on the offensive and defensive side. It all started with defense. I was aggressive with defensive rebounds and when you're aggressive on defense, that will lead to offense."
(On not being selected for the Rookie Challenge game at All-Star Weekend):
"That's an individual accolade and I'm all about my team. If I make it, I make it, and if I don't, I don't. I'm here to play hard and win a championship."
(On being left open by defenses):
"I think a lot of teams do that... I'll take the open shots if they're going to keep leaving me open. I'll take the easy looks, easy layups and dunks."
(On the team's overall depth):
"We're a good team. I don't think there is any question about it. We're a good team from LeBron all the way down to the last man on the bench. Our whole team is prepared to play anytime, so when someone gets hurt the next man has to step up. We've been doing a good job of stepping up."