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(On the game tonight): "Thirty-six good minutes of basketball. That's basically what we played. We didn't play very well in the fourth quarter. The things that we talked about, such as running them off the three-point line, we didn't do a very good job of that. There were some shots they made that we did a very good job of challenging, but for the most part we still have to do a better job of protecting or guarding the three-point line. That's one of the biggest things on the defensive end and that's where they kind of killed us, especially in the fourth quarter. Other than that, you guys have to probably tell me who's the so called best center in the league right now because I think Andy's up there. I don't think he gets enough credit for how hard he plays and the things he's been able to do for us. Unfortunately we haven't been able to combine his effort with wins right now. There's not a guy in the league right now that's playing better, so I think he needs to know that. Right now he should be on that all-star ballot as one of the top guys in the league, my opinion. I'm biased."
(On what the Cavs can to better defend the three): "I don't know. I know we have to keep harping on it. I know our guys have to be a little bit more committed and that's one thing that I told them in the locker room. We have to be committed to running guys off (the three-point line). I know at times you feel a little vulnerable as a player doing that, but we have to do it. We have to realize, after 31 games, that right now we're the worst in the league as far as defending the three point line. We have to get better at it. We have to keep working at it, but we have to trust each other enough to (where) guys are running guys off the line, they know that their teammates are going to help them. Again, that comes with time as well, but it's something we have to just do a better job of."
(On the fourth quarter when both benches were in the game): "They have a lot of firepower. There's no doubt about that. We don't have as much as they do. There's no doubt about that too. I thought our starters definitely needed a break and (Van Gundy) had some of his starters out. Their bench did a real good job of executing and making shots. I thought in the fourth quarter, we just started turning the ball over too much. We had 19 turnovers tonight, we had 17 the other night and that's not us. We've been very good, pretty much all season long. We're one of the best teams in the league as far as taking care of the ball. When you play a team like this, as good as they are, you have to take care of the ball because that's 19 more opportunities to score and that's too much."
(On if he's happy with how Andy guarded Howard): "Very happy. A lot of the credit (is to) Andy. We had a game plan of really not double teaming Howard because it opens up the three so much for them, so from a one-on-one standpoint, he did an excellent job on him. He got in early foul trouble on him, but one thing about Andy, he just battles. He battles every single night. He plays hard every single night. When you give him a challenge like that against Howard, we gave him that challenge against Stoudemire, and he comes ready to play, so I was real happy with the way that we defended him."
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(On Orlando being so effective from three-point range tonight): "That's what I think makes them a tough team to defend, just because they have that presence in the middle that makes you double and do different things to stop him. That's when they start hitting you with that long ball. They've done a great job of assembling a lot of shooters around him, so it's real tough to guard those guys."
(On needing to improve their perimeter defense): "I think that has to be our focus. I think we did a better job of getting to them early. They were still making them, but we were actually there trying to run them off. I think we are understanding that that's something that we have to do, being how our defense is set. It's a growing process and we will continue to get better at it."
(On if during the game he felt like they had to start missing shots at some point): "Yes. Tonight I felt like with the way they were shooting, at some point they were going to start missing them and we were going to start making them and then we would win this game. But they continued to make shots and that's what the good teams do."
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(On Anderson Varejao's play tonight and him defending Dwight Howard): "It doesn't surprise me at all as far as the things he has been doing. That's one person that you can rely on night in and night out. Like I say, he inspired the rest of us to go out and play the same way. It seems like any time there's a challenge as far as facing one of the great centers in the league or whatever it is, he always lives up to that. It's something that we really don't have to worry about and tonight was nothing different. He controlled the paint offensively and defensively. We just need to do a better job as far as doing what we need to do as far as not letting them get into a rhythm form the three-point line and other things. With Andy, it's nothing out of the ordinary. He goes out there and gets the job done, plays hard and he's a guy in this locker room that we truly respect. You see why he is who he is. We just need the rest of the guys to go out there and play with the same type of effort night in and night out and hopefully we can turn things around as well."
HEAD COACH STAN VAN GUNDY
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(On staying with same rotation in fourth quarter without Dwight Howard): "It took me 32 games, but we finally found our fourth quarter lineup. Sometimes you have to search for awhile. Those guys got off to a great start in the fourth quarter. It's a one-point game going in, we had foul trouble with Brandon (Bass) and Dwight (Howard),so I was fully expecting to bring both of those two guys back. Ryan (Anderson) hit the two threes, we got rolling a little bit and the lead stayed up at the six-minute mark. I was talking to the assistants about bringing Dwight back and J.J. (Redick) and Jason Richardson, who had all played very, very well, and they (assistants) said, ‘man, we're playing really, really well.' I was concerned because they were bringing their guys back in, but we stayed with those guys and they did a great job. It was just a great fourth quarter. I thought Earl (Clark) did a good job, he got very tired at the end, but up until then, I thought we played well at both ends."
(On defensive changes in the second half): "I put up three adjustments at halftime and two of them were X and Os things and the third one was to play harder. And, usually, that's the best adjustment you can make and I thought our guys played a lot harder. Look, I didn't think we brought a lot to that game today, just being honest. We shot the ball extremely well and we needed every one of them in the game today. Had we not shot the ball as well, we didn't bring enough to that game otherwise. The good part is, I think we're the kind of team that has different ways we can win a game. We won it with our shooting today, then clamping down a little bit when we needed to in the second half."
(On Gilbert Arenas and newcomers): "Gil, clearly other than the turnovers, had a very good night. He rebounded the ball, he shot the ball well and he had 11 assists. We've got to take care of the ball a lot better. We've not been turning it over a lot since the trade. Our concentration wasn't great. We need to bring more to the game, but we finished it great and did enough good things to win the game. I thought we played well together offensively today and I think we have been playing well together. Defensively, it's still a work in progress. We weren't very good today. I think they're receptive and they want to get better."
(On scoring with three-pointers): "I don't care where the points come from. We've put together our team to shoot the ball and the Cavaliers are a team that give up a lot of threes at a high percentage. They're packing it in the paint, and they've given up a lot of threes all year. So, that's the way they play and we'll take what the defense gives. I thought we moved the ball well."
JASON RICHARDSON
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(On getting off to a good start with the three-point field goal): "They (Cavs) were fronting Dwight (Howard) and they were trying to limit his touches. I think he did a good job of passing the ball out. We knocked some shots down tonight."
(On keys to four-game win streak): "We're playing hard. Even though we're making mistakes and we really haven't been together that long, we're going out and doing everything it takes to win games. We might start out slow, but somewhere throughout the game, we find a way where we pick up the defense and our intensity and pull games out."
EARL CLARK
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(On his fourth quarter contributions): "I was just coming out and playing hard. Get some stops, we were scoring the whole game and that's what we needed to do, get some stops. That's what we tried to focus on. I just tried to take open shots, don't force the issue and just play basketball. And, I played with confidence."
GILBERT ARENAS
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(On what the Magic are showing with newcomers): "That we fight. I know sometimes, it looks like we're just playing through the motions, but when we really need to dig down and get stops, we can. We're showing that at any given moment, that anybody can take this game over."
(On keys to second half): "We were shooting 60 percent and we were scoring. We were just letting them score too. I think it was just turning the ball over a little bit too much. We were just trying to force passes and once we just said settle down and shoot the ball more when we were open, I think we did a lot better."