Pelicans Head Coach Alvin Gentry: On the loss: “I thought we had our opportunities, I thought we had our chances. We just didn't take advantage of it. I thought we did about as good a job on Russell in the first half as you can do. That being said, the guy still ends up with 17 rebounds and whatever, 11 assists and 27 points, whatever it is. But, I thought we gave ourselves opportunities, we just didn't take advantage of it. Missed lay-ups, breakaways were the difference between it being a five-point game rather than a nine-point game. We miss, they go down and score. On the road, you just can't do things like that. And then, we had to come up with big plays, and we just didn't come up with the big plays to win the game on the road.”
On the 4th quarter adjustments and improvements: “I thought our defense was good throughout the game. I thought our offense really hurt us tonight. I just thought that we didn't score the basketball. Shooting 36% on the road is not going to give you an opportunity to win. We were still right there, and given the opportunity, Russell's going to make a big play, and the big 3-pointer that he made was probably the difference in the game. On the road you have to make the tough plays and come up with things and we just didn't quite get there. We didn't quite finish it. I thought our defense was pretty good in the 4th quarter. We cut a 14 or 15-point lead and got it to four, but then you have to finish the game, and we didn't quite have the juice to finish the game.”
On Buddy's second half lift: “He played well, but as I've said all along he's going to have some good games, and he's going to struggle some. He struggled early on, but we told him he has to stay with his shot. You have to believe in and trust in your shot. I thought he got himself pretty straight then. I thought he rushed a couple. But…you come back and you want to play well in front of the people who love you most. I thought he did a great job of calming himself down, and he made some good plays. He missed a tough lay-up near the end of the game, but I'm glad that he took that shot. I'm glad that he went in and tried to take that shot and tried to complete it. It's just one of those games that we had opportunities we just didn't end up closing.”
Pelicans Guard Buddy Hield: On what it felt like to be back in Oklahoma: “It felt better when I made shots. It's been a long time… I haven't felt like that in a long time. It's so great to get back in there and get in a rhythm and see the ball go through the net. I've been struggling the last couple games, but I feel more confident. I feel like this helped me in the long run and during the season, help me be able to boost my teammates.”
On the fans giving him a standing ovation when he came in the game: “It was crazy. That's why I shot the air ball. Man, the people love me out here, but I have so much respect I have to pay to Oklahoma. This is home to me. Every time I come back, they embrace me well, like the warm welcome they gave me. I had a lot of jitters. I said 'man!' when I shot from the corner, everybody was standing, I shot an air ball, but I made it up for them. It was good confidence boost for me. I really appreciate the fans out here.”
Pelicans Forward Anthony Davis: On the final quarter: “We missed a lot of easy shots. I think they got 62 points in the paint. For us offensively, we just missed a lot of easy shots, some wide open shots and layups. I guess it was just one of those games.”
On how the Pelicans forced Westbrook to turn over the ball: “I think we did a good job and loaded up. There were some times that he got in the paint. I think overall, we did a great job on him. I think we did a good job on Russell just trying to load up so he sees a lot of blue jerseys and make it difficult for him to shoot his shot.”
On Buddy Hield's performance: “It was good. He was back in Oklahoma making shots. I am glad that he was able to make shots. He was struggling a little bit but he made some big plays for us and hit some big threes for us so hopefully he will continue to keep it going tomorrow and try to improve.”
