On his team's effort and focus, especially in the second half to put the game away:

"I like the way that we finished the game, finding a way to finish. I think that's very important. Obviously there's always going to be things to clean up, some of the habits, but I think our guys did a great job. Again, 32 assists, us being able to share the basketball — we've talked about that over the last four games. We've been averaging close to 30, 31 assists. And so that's what it's got to be about. 

Defensively, some steps back — Terence Shannon got himself going a little bit — but our ability to focus in on the game plan and get the job done at home in front of our fans."

On the ball movement and why the offense clicks when the assists are high:

"The ball has energy. When you're touching it, moving it, sharing it, touching the paint — I think that's a big key that we've constantly talked about. When that ball hits the paint, now you find the right person and make the right decision. These guys have done a good job of that over these last four. That's part of the process. Early transition baskets, touching the paint, driving, attacking, cutting — all those little small pieces are important for us."

On the impact of having Franz Wagner and AB back in the lineup together for the first time since December:

"It buys guys time with minutes. Guys have been carrying a heavy load with guys being out. So our ability to sub and make rotations at the right time, get combinations in there — it's going to take them a moment to find a clean rhythm and that's what practices and film are for. But having those two guys back in the fold — defensively first, guarding multiple positions, and then offensively the pace that they play, the downhill attacking — that's part of touching the paint, being able to find guys."

On the message Jalen Suggs sent to the fans and what this fan base means to him after the final regular-season home game:

"I've said it time and time again and I'm just getting goosebumps now thinking about how great our fans are. They stick with you and they want to be a part of it so much — and they are a part of it. They're a reason why we get going. There are moments in the game — we get a steal, we get a big stop — they raise our level. Our fans are absolutely incredible and I don't even say that lightly. It's just unbelievable how much they support, how much they care, how much energy they bring to our group of guys who need it when we're at home. I think that's so important for us moving forward."

On Paolo Banchero's attack mindset tonight:

"He's tough to guard. He's already getting downhill as much as he can and teams do a great job of trying to plug that paint up, but he put his mind to the fact that he's going to get downhill. He's going to attack the basket whether they have shot blocking or not. He put his head down and he went and I think his ability to do that for us changes the game."

On Goga Bitadze having one of his best games of the season:

"Goga does whatever it takes to win and that was it. He sparked us because they were getting stuff at the rim. They had five offensive rebounds in the first quarter and they were getting little 50/50 basketballs and he changed it with his energy. He got offensive rebounds. He put the paint protection for us in a great way. 

To talk about your three-point shot, there was a moment in the game he was on the left wing. He stopped and thought about it for a second. You could see his face and then he did the next best thing — turned the corner, handed it off to a guard, turned the corner, and then he's going to be rewarded for it. Goga's going to do whatever it takes to help this team win. That's why we love him and that's why the guys cheer and root for him when he makes plays — because they know how much he absolutely cares."

On the spacing and opportunities for Banchero and Bane to attack with the full group available:

"When you have both of those guys in plays, the team's loading up to them. So you put them on different sides of the ball. Next thing you know, that ball changes sides of the floor. You got to deal with Paolo on one side, you got to deal with Desmond on the other one. Jalen's doing a great job of initiating the action to make sure that those guys are both touching the basketball. Our ability to just share it, move it — that's part of it. You got to have guys out there that they honor and respect, and these guys are drawing a ton so they're making the right play down the stretch."

On keeping the high assist numbers into the playoffs with more half-court offense:

"Defense — get stops to get out and run to get the easy baskets. That's the number one thing. And then the second side of it is when we are in the half court, we have to be extremely intentional about what we do and how we play. If there's a matchup that we like, we find it. If not, you got to share it. When you put two on the basketball, you got to be able to spray it. We want to go from good to great and be intentional in everything that we're doing when the playoffs start."

On the high number of turnovers despite the recent wins:

"Absolutely. Those are the small details that matter. You can't give away possessions and that's what matters. We talk about the offensive rebounds that we gave up to them. You talk about the turnovers. Those are small things that need to be cleaned up because we want to win the possession battle each night."

On the moment Franz Wagner went down and then returned:

"It was scary obviously just with what he's just gone through. So our ability to have him go back, get it checked out, and then come back in the game was huge. It's just a sigh of relief in a lot of ways. Again, this is why we're always careful with guys when they come back — not doing more than they are able to do. His ability to come back in the game was again a breath of fresh air and a sigh of relief."

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