Utah Jazz's Earl Watson says 'emotion' took over against Lakers

Official postgame quotes and notes following the Jazz's 96-87 home win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

Notes: The Jazz is 57-100 all-time against the Lakers with a 41-38 mark at home … The Jazz move to 7-1 when holding opponents to 90 points or less … Al Jefferson recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds … Paul Millsap recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds … The Jazz outrebounded the Lakers 50-42 … The Jazz bench outscored the Lakers bench 49-12 … At the beginning of the fourth quarter the Jazz went on a 15-1 run that ended at the 5:57 mark.

Tyrone Corbin – Head Coach (13-9 this season)On the energy of the second half"This crowd here and the way our home fans are, the way these guys appreciate how they support what we're trying to do here and have always supported this organization…the way they have supported this team and this group of guys. I think they fed off the fans. They got up and the guys really got energized after hearing the energy that the fans brought to them."

On the fourth quarter"That group of guys on the floor, the bench was involved in it and they made a couple good stops. Earl came across and got the big steal. We ran the floor. Enes (Kanter) and Derrick (Favors) did a great job on the bigs inside to start and Al and Paul finished it off. It was just one play after another and it just led to another exciting play for us. We have talked about it before, this is going to have to be a group of guys that continue to work and respect each other and play together and support each other on both ends of the floor. And this is what will happen for us."

Paul Millsap – Forward(16 points, 13 rebounds)On Earl Watson's play"Man, Earl Watson isn't even supposed to be playing right now, that's the crazy thing about it. You know, he's out there on one leg, having an amazing game for us. He's big for us."

On having momentum going into the road trip"It's a big deal for us. It's a momentum swing for us. Hopefully we can use this to get on the road and get some wins on the road. We're going to need it."

On the team's defensive effort against the Lakers"You know, it doesn't matter if our offense is going or not, we still need to get stops. We need to stop them from scoring even if we're not scoring points. We did that tonight. Our second unit did a great job for us and we got the win."Earl Watson – Guard (8 points, 11 assists)On playing when he was listed as "doubtful" this morning"I got lucky that I have some good people to work with me. I came back to Utah and had the training staff with me all morning. I was able to run…I was lucky."

On the 15-0 run in the fourth quarter"You really don't notice because you are lost in the game. The emotion takes over and before you know it the lead starts to build. This was a big win for us. Our team played great. The young guys played well, and the starters came back in and closed it up."

On the play of Kanter and Favors"They are going to get better as the season goes on. They are young, neither one is 21 yet, they are going to continue to be healthy. So we just stay together and continue to build their game and get better as the year goes on."

C.J. Miles – Forward (7 Points, 2 Rebounds)On the win"I think when we just drop in and compete, everything takes care of itself. On the break we get stops, dunks, layups, open shots and everybody gets involved. The biggest thing is that we played really good defense in the second half."

On the importance of winning this game"It's as important as it gets. They dislike us, we dislike them, but we respect them as a good team. And for us to get a win against them on our own floor, and get the momentum, knowing what this next month is going to be like…it's big."

Derrick Favors – Forward (12 Points, 8 Rebounds)On his own play and Kanter's play"Me and him (Kanter) came in and played good defense. But I think Coach trusts us a little bit, so we come in and play defense, rebound, and score when we get the opportunity."

On the Lakers coming to town"It's big. We are getting ready to go on this road trip, so we needed this win."

On Earl Watson's leadership"He brings the energy and toughness. He gets everyone going. He talks to you on the sideline, and lets you know what is going on in the game, and he is always looking for you."Notes: The Lakers now lead the all-time series with the Jazz 100-57, including 38-41 on the road … Los Angeles fell to 1-5 in games they failed to reach 90 points … Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum each scored more than 20 points, but no other Laker scored more than five points … The Jazz bench outscored the Lakers bench 49-12 … Mike Brown was ejected with 8:35 left in the game … The Lakers were outscored 16-1 to start the fourth quarter.

Mike Brown – Head Coach (14-10 this season)On being thrown out of the game"I was trying to give our guys some juice. I got techs, I shouldn't have gotten two techs. I put our guys in a deeper hole than we were already in, and that probably cost the game. I apologized to our guys, I take most the responsibility for that. I shouldn't have done what I did, let me get that clear, because it put us in a deeper hole than what were in."

On why Utah won the game"I thought that Utah came out and they were physical with us from the beginning. It started with them being very physical with our second unit and our second unit weren't able to do much. And then it continued in the second half."

On the game"Utah was very physical defensively tonight with us. They kicked our behind on the glass, they were up on us in the halfcourt and you have got to give them credit, because the way they were playing is the correct way to play the game of basketball. They were on track of playing the right way, which could help them win the game. I made it probably a little worse by getting kicked out."

Kobe Bryant – Guard (26 points, 1 rebound)On what he thought the difference was in the game"It's been our Achilles' heel all season… offensive rebounds. They did a great job controlling the glass, getting second and third chances. We have to do a much better job controlling that."

On the fourth quarter"We just have to be patient… just be calm. We've been in this situation before. We just have to stick with it. We have to focus on rebounding the basketball. We're not doing a very good job of controlling the defensive glass. Teams are getting so many second chance opportunities."Pau Gasol – Forward (24 points, 16 rebounds)On the play leading to Mike Brown's ejection"There was definitely contact. There was definitely a possibility for the ref to make the call. He didn't make it. I shouldn't have been dribbling in that place to give the defense an opportunity, but he went for it. I think there was definitely contact, but there's nothing I can do about it. We're on the road. Most times you're not going to get a lot of the calls. It was just frustrating."

On the team's response to Mike Brown being tossed"We fought as hard as we could. They made plays. They made big shots. Earl (Watson) made two threes. Unfortunately, that's not where we lost the game. It's just the way we let them hang in the game just by offensive rebounding. When they had an opportunity and things happened the way they did, they took off."

The Salt Lake Tribune

Twitter: @tribjazz