To have 36 assists on 43 baskets shows that we are playing team basketball. We aren't as good as we looked tonight, and we aren't as bad as we looked in Dallas.

I thought we were not as mentally alert. We played somewhat out of character, but as bad as we played we still had a chance with a minute to go. We didn't capitalize on our opportunities down the stretch. You play 82 games, and you don't like to say you didn't have it, but we didn't have it tonight.

I've been in situations where I've taken bad teams and moved them in the right direction. In those situations, there is no pressure. Would it have been easy for me to take another job and not have as much (pressure)? Pressure is what you put on yourself. I don't really feel any pressure walking into a situation.

I thought that we were not as mentally alert. But as bad as we played, we still had a chance with a minute to go.

If you took a team from the West and made it play in the East on a nightly basis, they would find out how tough it is. It's such a grind. The East is tougher mentally. It's a grind night in and night out. . . . Trust me. The East is not as bad as they make it out to be.

We were mentally a step slow. We had some defensive breakdowns, we played out of character. But as bad as we played, we still had a chance to win the game with a minute to go.