Mavs/Timberwolves Postgame, Luka, Kyrie, Edwards, KAT, Coaches Reactions | 2024 WCF, GM1

Oh, Chris, what did you see offensively that made it difficult to sustain things, especially down the stretch? There's terrible offense down the stretch, bad shooting, lame turnovers, you know, and I thought the same thing at the end of the first half. because you know we haven't really closed close quarters very well the last few games. um, you know, it cost us a game in the Denver series, um, you know, and I certainly had an impact in this game tonight as well. so we became better in the decisive moments, you shot a lot more three-pointers than you normally do, that part of the plan was just with his protection or how, what did you think of the selection in general?

To be honest, they were good shots. You were doing Drive making a correct play kicking. I thought there were even more threes, so you mentioned rim protection as a factor in this series. How did you see him? The presence of animated and clumsy people in The Rim impacts your offense. I mean, I thought we could have finished a little more around the rim. I thought we kicked a lot. Know. I thought you knew they were big there, but. To be honest, I didn't think we had a lot of really good looks? um you know, 62 points in the paint for Dallas doubled you in the first half.

What did the defense have that you couldn't? to keep them from scoring inside, yeah, as soon as Rudy came out of the paint, sorry, as soon as Rudy came out of the court, they just drove, drove, we weren't very good with the ball, we weren't very good on The Rim, we were soft there so luuka got going a little bit in the fourth quarter especially the 70 run last time you've had success with the high wall against him tonight not so much of that but goar had a couple of moments, with t with towns, is there a situation where Put it in the five to achieve that look with staying still as RI protector outside of that, you know, that 70 run, I think it was two jumps back in the paint and a three so I don't think they came out the way he picks and throws those those those points right there um, but you know we're gonna continue to look at matchups and coverages and you know we know that in a series like this we're gonna have to do it all at some point. moment.

In the last two series you can really make guys feel it with the perimeter ball pressure. Yes, Luca and Kyrie obviously had a lot of success tonight. Are there things like you think that can be better? I don't know, derail. them a little bit more or they're just different players, well you know their ability on the ball, you know you're not going to disturb them like maybe some of the others, you know, the pressure that we've been able to apply, but still you have to know how to pick them up. wear them down, um, you know Kyrie got off to a good start, kind of cooled off a little bit, um, you know, Luca picked up, I mean, Luca still shoots well under 50%, uh, three of 10 from the line, uh . three point line so I thought we did a pretty good job he's going to make tough shots he's a great player um and then like Jaden and Kyle I mean obviously early in the game they dared to basically make those shots like that guy. from the performance tonight is that what you're going to need to move forward in the series, yeah, I mean, Jaden is in a great vein right now, he needs to stay confident and, you know, I thought Kyle was really good tonight and maybe I could have even played. him a little bit more uh at that point, so Ant took 12 of the 16 shots from him tonight from three point range.

If they look good to you, do you want me to attack more and try to score on The Rim or what? Did you think about his shot mix? Yeah, I mean, I thought the three he got were pretty good. You know, we'd like to take it downhill a little more. um. You know, we'll watch the tape and. I see ways to do it, um, but I thought there were opportunities to go downhill, particularly in the first half. So how did you feel you handled the pick and roll defensively? um, pretty good, I mean, you know, I thought it was the penetration that hurts more than the pick and roll, so other questions thank you, thank you Dwayne price m.com Luka, what does it mean to come here and take control of the series until Home cour Advantage in the first game?

It's a great moment, we know how difficult it is. It's playing in this place, especially against a team like Timber, they have so many weapons, so it's a great time to win. What kind of message did they send? I mean, they have a high team. You came here tonight and I got it back. Really good, I mean we improved our rebounding a lot since the trade deadline, so everyone is aggressive on the defensive glass and we've been improving a lot on the defensive end, what do you see from Kyrie in the first one? half and how important it was for him to come out firing like that in a big way, like I said, you know he's probably going to be down 20 if he doesn't score that many points, so I appreciate him keeping us in the game and then in the fourth quarter you took care of which got you rolling there and then, I also want to ask you about the couple of defensive stops you had there late, oh, all the defensive teams came out, you didn't get a vote, you know, no I don't know if you'll be surprised by that next year. , so let's start with we got you going uh offense in the fourth I just told myself you know we have to win this game uh I have to be much better uh because three quarters I I didn't play well so I came in fourth, I came in to my place and let the team win, then you had the steel on McDaniels and probably the first time in your life you burst a balloon, take us to that.

It's not like you didn't see my young man, okay, the first time on a 10 foot edge, you probably did, so if you could, if you could, you could take us through those couple plays, I mean, just be active with my hands, you know, Jaden had been through a lot the whole game, he basically couldn't miss, so I had to do a little better job with him, but on that last play, you know, we tried to see The Scouting exploring what people do, so just read the game, you know, I like to read the game, Luka, you guys shot four threes in the corners.

It's pretty much the opposite of how Oklahoma City played. They really stuck to it. How different does it feel? Did you feel the amount of space? That thing about you driving into the painting, I mean, they're known for collapsing the painting, so I think we can do a much better job of photographing the three of them getting open looks. I think PJ and I had some open looks. We could have called. he knocked down but we made the important ones uh I see we shot 24% from three you know uh we just have to take more open shots and keep shooting there's a great shot and keep moving the ball like you said you made the important ones .

What was it like just moving forward in that fourth quarter to get the ones you needed and the ones that mattered? Yeah, just believe, uh, stay together, uh, everyone believes, uh, on this team, so you know, it's the four of us down, uh, we stay. together and we got the win and Luka, how much confidence can you gain from that? The fact that you guys didn't shoot well from three and still won here on the road against a tough team the way you did, yeah, it's pretty surprising, but uh. Still, it's just one game, so we have to do it, we have to come back and try to play the same way, hit some shots and get another win if possible.

Luka, we've seen you and Kyrie put up the kind of points combined. They've done it many times, but when you score like that, how difficult is it to beat them as a team when you have things like that? Yeah, I mean, it all depends on how we play defense. I think our defense could be the way. better, I think we played good defense today, but we can be much better and then with our public relations, you know, that's how it was last year. Our point of view, I mean, in the preseason was to move the ball faster, play with rhythm and me.

I think we've been doing well, Luca, who you talked about earlier this postseason, fighting for your Real Madrid DNA quote when you're working on these comebacks in a game like tonight, does any of that youth training carry over? manifest in those moments? it's the effect there, I mean, definitely, you know, once you play there, uh, for many years and you won, I won there, so it kind of stays with you and you know, sometimes you remember those beautiful moments when you win and what it means to win Lucas. Like you guys had a pretty aggressive game plan in terms of protecting Anthony tonight, what was the thought process that it was going to be someone but him that beat us?

No, I mean, he's an incredible player. You have to put several bodies in it. You know, if he goes one on one, it's kind of hard to stop him. He's an incredible player, so I think we did a great job with him, but he's going to come back stronger and we have to be prepared for everything, and because there are a number of players that you know need to see several younger bodies the first time they they won a game, a little bit different feeling now as we go into the second game, now that you got the win in the first game, I mean, yeah, but we have to be, uh, we have. to stay the same you know we can relax now in a game one we can't relax we have the same we have to play with the same mentality during the playoffs you face some pretty aggressive defenders on the ball and you have effectively gotten into The Gap, How important is it to you to be able to weave with contact to get to your places?

Yes, it's very important, that's what I said in the fourth quarter. You know, I just try to get in my spot and be confident on those shots. so I just have to do more, thank you, thank you guys, on the play where Luca lobbed to Rudy Gober, what have you seen from him as a short defender throughout this postseason? Yeah, I think it was a great play. for Luca, just understanding the tendencies, his basketball IQ, knowing what was going to happen there, what a great defensive play, we always talk about his offense, but I think this time of year, he's his defenseman, definitely.

He's gotten better, but again, um, going up with the rebounds, we had G give up some offensive rebounds, but Lucas' defense stopped there and then he was able to rely on the offensive end. I thought Kai got us off to a great start and then Luca. You know, he picked us up in the second half and made plays, scored the ball and then found guys, so it was a big road win for us, but Luca again stepped up on the defensive end to help us get the W. What was Kyrie doing in the first half? Jason with the 24 points set the tone that Kai was being, you know, just picking his spots, using, you know, different spots on the court to attack.

I thought he did a great job helping. Everybody relax, you know, on the offensive end and then I thought defensively I was competing. We had to do a better job protecting the three-point line, but I thought Kai was big for us in the first half and he got us started. "A good start and we were only down three and we felt like we didn't play well. There was a lot of talk about how tall they were, but you guys beat them on the boards tonight, just talk about that a little bit, oh us." You're tall too, everyone is tall these days, uh, Kai is tall, um, look, we have to do a better job of rebounding the ball, we can't give them a second or third chance and that would be something we talk about tomorrow, but we understand it. that they are crashing, they are sending more than they normally do, so we have to be better at that and recognize that the physical aspect is something that we have talked about, you know, all year, of being able to be. physical uh when the shot goes up so that's an area that we have to improve on but again being able to rebound the ball this time of year is important for any team and so hopefully we can find that. a way to do that in the second game, so I hope we can find a way to do that in the second game, pretty quiet from Lucas sters for three quarters and then he went off in the fourth, what did you see that did that get in? the fourth uh maybe the rest early um you know, just understanding uh we're trying to keep those two under 40 minutes and um and being able to finish the marathon is a series um a lot of times we focus on just one game, but one thing leads to the other, so we had the luxury of resting him right before halftime and knowing that the second half was going to be a fight, hopefully, that helped give him the opportunity to go there in the fourth and make the shots that he's had here all season and then being able to find the open guy.

I thought he did a really good job tonight and then he moved to the free throw line making his free throws and you mentioned the three point line, uh, you know, you guys obviously took the pain and only made four shots inside the arc. . How much is that kind of? Do you know? Are you willing to give up 49 three-pointers? It's a worrying number if you know how to pack the paint and remove that part of the game? We have to remove everything. That's just coach talk. But seriously, I think when you look at this league, they have so much talent. we are going to give up something we have to be better at the three point line this was not up to par again they made a lot of three pointersin the corners uh we have to be better in our rotations um and then understand with the triples that they I achieved it in the first half, nobody panicked, there was just a lot of confidence and that's the best thing about our team is that everyone trusts each other Others, no matter how bad or how well we are playing as a group, we continue to hold up. pushing forward to find a way to win and we did tonight Jason, you saw the ant get loose in the first two series just defensively, what's your game plan against him? like you have athletes that can stay in front of him and pack the paint and not give it those drives in a straight line to the basket, he has talent. uh sometimes you just have to wait for it to fail and it seemed like tonight it wasn't. he's able to shoot, you know, three off the dribble, he's able to get to the rim, he's able to make plays for his teammates, he had some turnovers there that he normally doesn't have, but again, we're just trying to send as many bodies as we can and make it difficult, there will be battles where he will win some of them and hopefully we can win some of them and at the end of the day you are just trying to make it difficult for him. and you tip your hat if he makes a play or if he scores.

I mean, the last time you guys were in the Conference Finals you were playing a team that had won three championships up to that point, this time you can make the argument. you are the more experienced team or your two best players are the more experienced players do you think that played a role in the Poise you played at the end of tonight's game? Yeah we're just the underdogs so I'm just going to know Embrace that role and play and uh and understand um that's who we are and and along the way we have to find a way to win um now it's about adjustments they're going to make some adjustments um we're gonna make some adjustments and again your guys are gonna step up.

Conley has been in this situation. Gober has been in this situation so they have some guys there that have played and understand that it's not just about one game, it's about the series and for us it's how we can get better for the second game because this is new for us We usually don't win the first game so we have to go back and see how we did, but we have to understand what's coming for the second game and hopefully we'll be ready. My bad I didn't mean to interrupt you, no, do you really think you guys are the underdogs or is that coach's speech from the media, Jason?

How confident can your team be? By not playing well, you're talking about all the things that didn't go well tonight and you still won this road game against a good team. Can you even use that to build even more and be ready to go all out? second game yes, we have no choice, we have a second game here on Friday and we have to go back and look at the things that hurt us and we have to be better if we want to win. It's hard to win this time of year, no matter who you play.

All four teams are good. It's hard to win on the road. But we found ourselves to be able to do it tonight. But still. I felt like we didn't play well, but sometimes it's okay to not play well and find a way to win and that's just the character of this group in that locker room. It's all about winning, no one cares about statistics, triple doubles. or who has the most points, it's about the team and that's what makes this group special. It seemed like Minnesota came out with a defensive strategy that was almost the exact opposite of what you were seeing against Oklahoma City.

They know they shot. They shot four three-pointers in the corners. You know that was a big part of the previous series. How different the approach was and how it affected offensive goals for you guys. Now let's take whatever. give us uh we want to promote threes they took the threes um when you have so many points in the paint against a team uh the number one team defensively um we'll take it if that's what you're going to give us and I thought the group pivoted very well to understand what what was being done on the court by taking away the three-pointers and taking the layups.

I thought Kai was aggressive being able to get into the paint and Luca did the same, so uh. Again, um, if that's the way they're going to play us, then we have to be able to take the pain and take them both down and then follow up with Luca's high pass, if he can jump that high defensively, does that means? that he has dunks and his on offense they are going to call them plays they are Luca's shoes they have to be Luca's shoes those are special shoes like MJ has special shoes Luca has special shoes um for his vertical um I don't I don't know what he did in the combine for his vertical career, but I don't think he wants us to know, well, he will let us know.

Brady ran the 40-yard dash that was known for, so when you look at what he did. Luca, but you know that special players make special plays and many times it is not always on the offensive side, there are more guys. Kyrie is ready to thank the coach. I know they are one of the best in defense, but how is it evaluated? your bigs did it on the other end of the ball yeah I thought the bigs did a good job there are some areas we have to improve but again I thought they did they competed at a high level understanding that Minnesota is a team that puts a lot of pressure with goar setup selections and their ability to roll, catch and finish or play so I thought the bigs uh life did great.

Gaff did great, but there is room for improvement. Thanks coach, thanks, go ahead guys, Kyrie. you set your first quarter high for the postseason and then a little bit more, on top of that, what did you see from the beginning to attack so aggressively? I mean, we just had to start the game aggressively and uh, just make sure to get Rudy away from the basketball as much as possible. uh we understand that he's the defensive player of the year. They have the first team, the second team, all the defensive guys, so we were able to attack them in transition before they set up their defense.

I had some opportunities to make, I have some opportunities to make, so I felt good in the first quarter and I was just adjusting, you know where we are and it's the Western Conference Finals, a lot of anxiety, some nerves, um, I've been here. before, a little bit more poise on my part, just being able to start the game with confidence and that aggression, you know, it seemed like they were really working to take away threes, especially you know you guys took four corner threes, it's enormously. different than what you just saw against Oklahoma City, how would you describe the differences in what you're seeing on the offensive end?

I mean, they have guys that can cover a lot of space and do a lot of little things. things that don't show up on the stat sheet, they contest a lot of shots and their rotations are pretty fast, so we know we're going against a high-powered offense but also a high-powered defense and that's what leads to a lot of things. of his outs are a lot of turnovers or a lot of live turnovers and coming out has a chance to score on us before we set up our defense. You know we're a good defensive team too, so I'm watching a lot of chess matches. out there and, you know, as long as the team that makes the most stops gets offensive rebounds, gets a lot of 50-50 basketballs, does those things and they'll win.

Krie, you talked about having experience at this stage, but but it's been a few years for you, what are the ways that you think you've grown between the player who was last in a conference final and now there's a difference in your thoughts on those two players? Yes, absolutely, I'm serious. It was just that I was surrounded by some veterans and also had the opportunity to take a back seat in the leadership role. You know, when you're 24 or 23 years old you feel like a leader, but you don't know it. what it really takes to run an organization or really touch guys, you know, on and off the court, where you give them a lot of confidence and you exude that belief in them, so I've been learning by reading a lot, you know, failing . a lot and also dealing with the heavy criticism and at the same time being able to come back to this stage and not take it for granted, you know, these moments where I look back on my career where I've suffered some nice defeats, you know , difficult.

I've been able to respond but I haven't been able to get over that hurdle again, you know, getting past the first round or the second round, so, you know, being honest about where I am as a player and then knowing that I have to support. my boys the best I can and um you know it's just a new chapter in my life you know I was a young man and I think you know people held on to my words and things and actions that I did then, but I think now . At 32 years old, I crossed that mountain a little and was able to realize that basketball is a sport that I should play and, in order to do so, I also have to improve other guys.

They can't just be out there scoring and worrying about me talking about being better. Kyrie Jason said you guys didn't play very well tonight and you found a way to win. Is there any benefit to that? I mean, can it be something that benefits them? Go ahead knowing that you don't necessarily have to play your best game and you can still do that and find a way to win here yeah I think jkid is right you know we didn't play our best game we had moments throughout the game where we looked a little bit lacadistic in terms of energy in terms of our rotations and they came in transition and hit some big threes that we wanted to take away from them, so we have some fixables, we have some things we can talk about. about tomorrow, um, but the goal of the series is to get as many wins as possible first to four, um, and at the same time respect your opponent, understanding that they will give you their best chance in the second game, so we did something great tonight, but they didn't win the series and we understand that, and we know they will be as motivated to beat us next game as they were tonight, but it just wasn't their night, it was ours and we have to continue.

Do the little things that got us this win tonight, obviously you were rolling in the first half, it was Lucas' turn there in the fourth quarter. What did you see from him in the final stretch? Do you know why you think he was capable? to get into that kind of rhythm, uh, I felt like Lucas stayed positive and, you know, in times when, you know, he was reacting to turnovers or passes that weren't going in, he wasn't converting into baskets for us, uh. He was just reminding him to keep his head up and realize where we are in the magnitude of this.

Many boys turned to him for emotional stability and emotional strength. We know that he is one of the best scorers of all. Really now I want to say he's shown it and when he comes out and doesn't necessarily play well offensively in the first half, I know in the second half he's going to be aggressive and I think we've been able to figure out that own stroke um. of just playing the point guard role, playing the primary scoring role and, um, just not lacking in other areas of the basketball game, you know he can do other things and I can do other things besides scoring, so when it comes The time to score is my time. play defense and get up in front of my guy and contest shots and continue to do the little things to get us wins and you talked about an aunt like one of those fearless kids, yeah you know she's on TNT after the game. seven talking, I got Kyrie, uh, you know what you thought of that matchup and something like that? uh, that game within the game, yeah, now as a partner, I love it, I love it, man, it's, it's not any better, you know, when aunt. he was a little bit younger, I'm sure he was watching me and, you know, when he was in high school, I was watching him, so for me it's more of those exciting matchups that I look forward to, right after the game.

It's funny because he said it right then and there and I think everyone looked good, you know better what you're talking about, you know, and I and I respect that and that fear mentality that he has is, but it's why . I love him as a competitor and why I love him as a person. But we are on that court. I know he's going to give his all. I'm going to give you everything. And by the end of the game, you know who he is. all love and we are between those lines he knows what it is and I know what it is Kyrie I think this for the sixth grade year there is going to be a new champion and you talked about how long it has been since you are Until the final stage of this conference, do you feel the urgency or opportunity that you have in front of you and is it a message that in a way you impart to the boys?

I mean, I'm just talking about not taking things for granted and also understanding the moment when, "You're at um again. I've been to the mountain stop. I've succeeded and I've also failed. So I see this moment as an opportunity." to help other guys. They really adapt and are aware of what comes with this." There's a lot of maturity that comes with it there's a lot of awareness of strategy and there's a lot of basketball techniques that you have to know as well so I think it's a combination of us coming together as a young team. How do you know this veteran leader and, you know,just telling them the right things they need to hear in the right places and it really eliminates the off-court stuff, the little off-court things that we do to translate things.

On the court, you know, that's what makes a great team, you know, one thing is we go out and play, that's what we do, but off the court, we really support each other, we do the little things, so you and Luke are clearly the best. more experienced players on this roster, do you notice the level of trust that grows among some of your younger teammates towards you, even during the course of the game? Even if things don't go well, everyone stands firm and no one really stays, yeah, yeah. I think we've had enough tests in these last two series where we've lost on the road and we've been able to win on the road. road and we showed ourselves how to respond to losses, but I think this is the first series where we've been able to start with a win.

You know, now we have to learn to deal with this too. We can not. Being satisfied, the job isn't even nearly done, so that's what excites us as a competitor: being able to do it again and knowing that you have to play even harder to get another win. Jaden, it seemed like you had a really good rhythm offensively. Especially early tonight, what do you think was that conference holdover that you built in the last two games of the last series or how are you feeling? Yeah, just shooting the ball with confidence, I mean working on my game every day and just being confident in it, so it's nothing different for me, just keep shooting and don't worry about misses and you, um, If you took too many Threes tonight, it was that your rim protection is affecting your shot selection or how you saw your offense.

They kind of come together, uh, I mean, they're on the ground, the big man's not very high up like the last two series, um, and we didn't really know what to expect, I mean, you know, he came out and opened up a bunch. . Many times and I took the shots and will do them next time. I live with that. Jaden, excuse me, Jaden, most of your offensive production was during the first three quarters and then also defensively, your numbers against Luca were much stronger in the first three. quarters than the last one, you saw something move on both sides of the ball for you in the fourth no, I mean, he just started making shots, I mean, I was playing the same defense, he was just doing it with my hand on his faces and then offensively I just missed the same thing, I mean, I just missed shots.

I'm not worried and you talked yesterday or today about adjusting to a different team, so Dallas plays so differently. Do you think it only takes one game to figure it out? a little bit different approach and how do you think you'll recover from this? uh, I don't know, I think we just came out, we came out flat today, I mean, and then we found our energy and then we went flat again, so I think it was all up to us today, um, I didn't go down that much, um, yeah, just stuff like that, we were a little tired, probably for you two, it was kind of between you two and Nille and Kyle also changed who was protecting Luca and Kyrie.

How does that work of choosing who gets it and how did you guys feel you handled those matchups today? I mean, it's if Jaden is in the game and just one of those guys is in the game, Jaden is probably going to protect one of them, um, but if they're both in the game and it's J and I, then J and I we will be on them or if nille, the three of us are in After the game and I'm a little tired, I told him to give me a break, but I think we did a good job.

They both took 24 shots. LCA took 26. Kyrie took 23, he actually had 30 and 33, so I think we did it. pretty good job and you kind of mentioned, in the last series, with the long layup between games two and three, did you think that it might have affected you, which you alluded to a moment ago, did you think that the rush of game seven maybe was something like that? Did it affect you at all coming in today, yeah, sure, I mean, everyone can see it was a small step behind everyone, especially me. Kyrie got a transition layup. I think we scored and he just outplayed me.

I'm just exhausted, so yeah, sure, but we'll be fine. Any other questions, so the first couple, so the first couple of series seemed like they had wider margin games, as far as you know, wins or losses in this game. The first comes down to knowing many key possessions late in the game. Can you see what the story of this series is? I do not know, man. I don't think we played our best basketball tonight from one to 15. I think Jen was the only one that came ready to play tonight and I think everyone else let her down, so I think if we bring our best Brandon basketball whenever on Friday, I think we'll see what kind of The game will be on Friday, everyone will bring their best brand, uh, brand of basketball, friends, Timber Wolves, and we'll see how it goes, question, Janen, do you think it's just a matter of adjusting a little things and do it better?

There are big adjustments that you think you have to make between one and two, no, I think we just have to do the little things a little better. I mean, they got like a couple offensive rebounds at the end and they turned into points, so I mean. It's just little things, really, yeah, Mr. Carl, what did you see offensively for you individually and then as a group, that made it difficult, especially in the fourth quarter, to get the shots that you needed? I didn't play with enough energy, I just looked tired and on top of that we just didn't move with that kind of focus.

I feel like we just didn't move as well as we usually do and, um, defensively. You know we have to get even more counter points, you know it's something we depend on and obviously also, we just didn't do enough, we didn't do enough today, it's a bit about just adapting to an opponent and a style. completely different game than you had last series in Denver, um, yeah, but I think we've done a great job of adjusting all year, so we just didn't do enough tonight, uh, you know, when they needed it . to make shots, they did and, you know, it's frustrating, it's frustrating when you feel like you could have given yourself a better chance to win tonight.

Carl Finch was quite upset with the execution at the end of the game, what did you see that didn't work? um towards the second half of the fourth quarter um we just have to finish the quarters better we have to be better at finishing the quarters and uh uh I think what I'm probably most upset about is that, like I said, you're more upset about the chances you didn't give yourself. yourself to win the game and um, I know he won't be happy, obviously it's not with um, not having a chance, you know, having a turnover in those types of situations and stuff.

I know he, uh, is a stickler for how Nurkic and Joic so rightly played, they played The Bigs in the first two rounds, this team seemed much more committed to playing The Bigs on The Rim, what changes are there in That and how do you take advantage of it? of that in the second game, um, you know, you have to be better. I think we didn't shoot our best LED at them either, having those forward passes from Luka Donic and everyone you know, allowing them to use their athleticism, their athletes and, um, press. our defense, which, in turn, also helps us match up or be in the right spots or whatever the case may be, so you know we're going to have to make adjustments and, um, we'll have a good practice tomorrow and we'll go back to the drawing table.

They had 44 points in the paint in the first half, 62 total, so 18 in the second half, many of those points coming from Kyrie. Kyrie, a lot of them in the first half, obviously, um. What adjustments did you make and resolve things? I mean, the improvement was dramatic, but they still got off and had balloons. I mean, there's always the balloon, yeah, AB. In fact, you know, I think that one like I said, the energy that I know that playing with a little more energy will cover up some mistakes of our aggressiveness. I think one thing everyone in this room knows is that when we play TS basketball and defend at a high level, we tend to make mistakes. mistakes but we make a lot of those mistakes and aggression and activity um, you know, today when you don't have that kind of activity, aggression can't be covered up, you know, so, um, I think in the second half of my perspective , I haven't seen the tape, obviously, I'm in the moment, but you can see a little bit more desperation in the US, understanding that the game was slipping away and the game, you know, time was running out and we had to give us. an opportunity and take advantage of it, so I think in that desperation again it goes back to our activity and our energy use and I think that's why in the second half we did a better job of maybe turning it into, you know, miss. that bunny or you know that dunk, you know Nas Reed has an amazing chase Block in the paint in uh I think Jaylen is green or me, I don't know exactly, but that kind of thing, that desperate activity, uh had covered a lot of our painting.

Point question, Carl, you guys have a lot of success on the offensive boards and crashing from the core and everything, but like you mentioned, you had a couple of breakouts, you had a couple of quick transition buckets, how do you balance that? team on the offensive boards but still managing to come back and making sure to protect that, yeah, I mean being a little more aggressive on the offensive side of offensive rebounding, especially on a night like tonight when we're not shooting the best you can, so you want to have a defensive balance, you know you want to be able to run a cover two, get back on defense, especially against a team that has a quarterback like LCA Don, so, yeah, it's disappointing, it's the disappointing tonight, uh , Brit says I know we lost a lot of points in the paint and if anything with our team and our defense, uh, the way we're built, you know the length and the size that we have, we can't allow points in the paint , uh, anyway, um.

That's our biggest advantage in the league, you know, the three great lineups that we have and um, we, we, we, we can't, we can't allow that, so we have to be tougher there. Carl, you were pretty upset when that happened. The attention of the offensive goal was drawn. What did you see there? How difficult that decision was at the time. I was more upset because you know the play happened. I just want to help my team win and then by doing that the crowd went crazy. We got momentum. I got the crowd involved and out of nowhere I heard that it's not going to be told, so I think that's where my anger was, was the amount of confusion I think there was around the play. um, it's unfortunate that you know. a game we like, we're not shooting well, you're definitely going to get those kind of points when they come and, uh, those hustle plays, and you know, we just didn't go our way, I mean, at the end of the day.

We, that game didn't cost us the game, it was like we called the points in the paint, you know, the fact that we didn't get more fast break points, the fact that we didn't play Timber Wolves defense, um, those are the things. That cost us the game. You know it's just a moment in the game that could have helped us cover up the fact of how we played tonight. Thanks BR, yes.