On the main reason the team came up short against Oklahoma City:

"I thought we had that run—they had that run at the end of the first quarter, early second quarter. Our bench unit weren't able to generate points. They were getting layups after layups. Thought that created a little separation for them and we made it close and had our chances. But when the game got tight, they beat us to the 50/50 balls, offensive rebounds, gave themselves extra possessions. I liked a lot of things that we did on the offensive end, moving the ball, turn it over a little too much. We talked about that coming in, just how aggressive they are with their hands and getting steals. But I thought our mentality was right and we were trying to play the right way."

On whether the team played better than the previous night and why the second night of back-to-backs has been better at times:

"Yeah, I thought that we played better. Yeah, for sure. And I'm not sure why we play better on the second night, but I thought our spirit and our fight was in a good place tonight."

On whether SGA getting to the free throw line so frequently is frustrating for the defense:

"Yeah, but he's a good player. He puts a lot of pressure on you defensively. He gets to the free throw line a lot, but he also has the defense on their heels a lot. When you're able to manipulate the defense like that, defense tends to overreact and he finds a way to get to the line. But he's MVP of the league for a reason."

On approaching these late-season games like playoff games given the impact on standings:

"We're approaching them with the right mentality, the right mindset. Coach is doing a great job preparing us. Our players are coming in hungry, understanding what's at hand and what we're trying to accomplish. Our mindset is in the right spot. We just won seven games in a row, lost to an Atlanta team that's won 10 in a row and the team that's got the best record in the league. I don't think we need to start hanging our heads or anything. We just got to go and get a game against Charlotte."

On what happened in the last five minutes that allowed OKC to pull ahead, and the importance of treasuring possessions in late-game situations:

"I think I saw some today that were like the third or fourth best team in those situations in the league this year. Ball didn't bounce our way tonight. SGA made some tough shots. We had some fouls, couple turnovers. That's how the game goes. The only thing you can ask for is a fighting chance. They executed better than us down the stretch." 

"And I don't think it's something that you can just point to the end of the game. It's third quarter, fourth quarter when they're getting those 50/50 balls, when they score or get fouled when we should be going the other way with the ball in our hands. Those allow for us to be up five versus them be up five and then we'll see what happens."

On how the coaching staff and new coaches this year help prepare the team for different matchups game-to-game:

"I think they're doing a great job getting us ready. We're going to need everybody. I thought Jamal Cain came in and gave us huge minutes tonight and in Miami a couple games ago. Goga coming in and playing. Everybody's staying ready, staying hungry. Our mindset's in the right spot and coaches are doing a great job keeping us like that. So we'll bounce back."

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