This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Official postgame quotes and notes following the Jazz's 109-107 double overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night at EnergySolutions Arena.
Notes: The Jazz are now 95-59 all-time against the Clippers, and 60-17 at home...Utah is now 12-6 all-time in double overtime games (6-2 at home)...The last home double-overtime game was 1/12/02 vs. MEM (L, 95-97), and the last double overtime home win was 1/24/00 vs. LAL (W, 105-101)...The Jazz had three games into double overtime or more in 2008-09 (none in 2009-10), going 1-2 that year with the last double overtime win 12/19/08 at Detroit (120-114) and the last double overtime game on 3/14/09 at Miami (their next opponent), with the game going to a third overtime and the Jazz losing 129-140...The Jazz have won eight of the last nine meetings with the Clippers, and the 15 past games at home against the Clippers...Deron had a game-leading and season-high 30 points, and both Jefferson (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Millsap (25 points, 13 rebounds) had double-doubles (Jefferson's third this season and Millsap's fourth this season).
Jerry Sloan – Head Coach (3-3)On the game"Well, it was nice to be able to get back and get back in the ballgame, and have a chance to win, and then the fact that we did, I thought those guys played really hard to try to get back in when we got a tough start. They just manhandled us most of the time in the first half, and we fought back and got back in it. It was great to see that."
On keeping the momentum up with the road games coming up"Wherever we play, it doesn't make any difference. This team is a much improved team, they've got some tough guys to try to deal with, but we've got to come with more desire to get after it in the first half. We got beat the first two quarters and then we won the second two quarters."
Deron Williams – Guard (30 points, 7 assists)On the game"It was a tough game. This group came out and played tough tonight. Took it to us early and we had to fight our battle all day. So that made it a lot tougher on us."
On the tough win"We didn't come out very good in the first half. We were able to regain it in the second half. Played better, had more energy, it just took us a while to get going."
"It's tough, especially when you give up 14 offensive rebounds. A lot of it is the guards (fault). I think we need to come back and do a better job of helping out. A lot of the teams we have played have been shooting a lot of threes...long shots, long rebounds."
"This would have been a tough one if we would have lost it, I might have cried. I'm glad we won...seriously."
On the tenacity of the Clippers
"Any time you get a team like that, they are going to have their backs against the wall. They came out and took advantage of us in the first quarter."On playing 54 minutes
"I'm going to feel them tomorrow."
Al Jefferson – Center (27 points, 6 rebounds)On the game"I'll tell you the last thing I wanted was a double overtime and a loss, because I know if we go through all of that and lose the game...I'll tell you, it was just one of those games you're going to have. It was an ugly win. But I'll take it any day of the week."
On how important tomorrow's rest is"Real important. We've got four games in five nights against four great teams. It's what the NBA's all about."
On winning the offensive rebound battle"That's good to know. Even better that we won the game. It was a fight, man. Blake Griffin and those guys—I was so happy when he fouled out. I've never been so excited about something in my life because that boy, he's amazing. He's amazing. I take my hat off to him."
Andrei Kirilenko – Forward (18 points, 1 rebound)On the game
"It was interesting. We got a sloppy start and finished off the half. Got 20 points down. Then we kind of regrouped a bit in the second half and started playing way better from defense to offense. Cut the deficit and we get up to seven points then we go back to sloppy which put us in overtime. I am very happy we stayed focus. Especially defensively, we stayed concentrated."
On scoring 18 points"When I get those kind of points, its very helpful for the team. I am definitely going to try to be more aggressive and almost all my shots coming midrange to three. I'm not trying to concentrate on those shots but I took what the game gave me."
"Any time you get a team like that, they are going to have their backs against the wall. They came out and took advantage of us in the first quarter."
Notes: The Clippers are now 2-9 in their last 11 games vs. the Jazz, and have lost their last 15 games in Salt Lake City, the last win coming on 1/22/03. Los Angeles started the game on a 12-2 run and ended up outscoring the Jazz by 13 in the first quarter, and led by 16 at the half. The first quarter was a season best performance for the Clippers, scoring 33, and a season-high for points in a half at 55. Blake Griffin had 13 of his 15 first-half points in the first quarter but was held to only one point in the second half, ending the game with 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. This is Griffin's fourth double-double in the season. Chris Kaman had a season high 23 points, while guard Eric Gordon tied his season high of 27 points.
Vinny Del Negro Coach (1-6)On the game"We hit a couple threes. Our guys were fighting all game. From that standpoint, we grew. But it still hurts to lose and we had a good opportunity tonight that we weren't able to capitalize. If we keep working on the way we are and stay on course, next time we'll hopefully have a better opportunity."
On the last play in regulation"It was designed for [Eric] Gordon to go off something and for Rasual [Butler] coming back off another screen. It just worked out. I thought we played both game plays better. It was unfortunate that Gordon had a little sting in his shoulder so he couldn't be out there. He deserved to be out there. Turnovers beat us tonight. I am pleased with the way we fought. And if we continue to do that, that's good stuff for us.
Blake Griffin – Forward (16 Points, 17 Rebounds)On his team"I like our intensity. We've gotten better and better over the past seven games. We got to make that next step and continue to grow."
On his progress"I'm doing alright. I'm learning. That's the key for me, and just learning and being able to use the things I learn in the game."
Chris Kaman – Center (23 Points, 7 Rebounds)On the game"We hit them hard in the first half. We hit them right away. We did a good job of keeping pressure on them. We have been having trouble with that third quarter coming out. They came out and that is what the Utah Jazz are known for. They execute and they run their sets and they play hard. They came out and did what they are supposed to do and what Coach Sloan has them doing really well. I got a lot of respect for that."
On how the Jazz played"They did a good job and we just didn't fight and we didn't kick in until late in the third. We just kind of hung out and hung out. But we fought tonight and we did some good things. Ultimately we'd like to win but you know its part of life its part of basketball. They were a little bit better then us tonight."Eric Gordon – Guard (27 Points, 5 Assists)On game"I just wanted to win. It was a tough game. We haven't won here in awhile. It's just time that we get better, step up a little bit. Guys played well. We just had too many let downs. I guarantee if we play like that against other teams we will win."
On Deron Williams"He is a good competitor and an outstanding player. It is just hard to guard him, mostly because he can shoot. He comes off a lot of screens and they got a lot of plays set up for him. It is hard when you got a guy who is coming off that many screens and making a good pass to the low post guys."
— Brian T. Smith
Twitter: tribjazz