Mosley breaks down fourth-quarter execution, clutch performances, and the infectious energy that fueled a crucial comeback victory over the Raptors.
On the fourth quarter performance and what stood out:
"I thought we executed down the stretch, held them to six fast break points in that second half, which I thought was great. Just being able to find the matchups that we needed, intentional in our work. But again, that fourth quarter was very special for our guys."
On the starting lineup's dominance when on the floor together:
"I just think they were just finding each other, finding the right things. If you notice in moments it was one time it was AB, one time it was Jaylen, one time it was Paolo, one time it was Dez, and then the unsung hero to me in this is when Wendell Carter Jr. didn't say a word, guarded how he needed to guard, rebounded when he needed to rebound, and then he was rewarded just for being underneath the basket. He never said a word. He just did his job, which he does every single night consistently. And that's what we continue to need from him."
On turning to the starting group early in the fourth quarter and sustaining the run:
"Just being able to make sure we sustained it, got ourselves back in it and then the energy that those guys brought. I thought was fantastic. So again, those guys did a heck of a job withstanding the run and then coming back from it."
On what a win like this can do for the team's confidence and momentum at this stage of the season:
"I think it just continues to say what we're capable of doing. You look at the other night, the Miami game, we held them to 20 and scored 40. I think it's those things when you understand exactly how good you can be in these moments. What you have to do is that we can sit and watch this and learn from it. What were the things that allowed us to be successful here and that was sharing and moving the basketball, playing with intention, getting back in transition and keeping them out of early easy baskets."
On managing Jalen Suggs' minutes restriction and his impact:
"You saw what he did. His energy, and we've said it about him time and time again, his energy is infectious and what he does for these guys and this group and this fan base and this crowd. He gets everybody going and it starts with his defense and then there was just some offensive plays. I'm going to have to go back and look at the film and see exactly what he did for that dump off to Wendell. But I think he just does so many things that are just winning plays in these moments."
On Desmond Bane's season-high three-point makes and attempts, and his quick trigger:
"Love it for him. Love that for him and understand he understood the coverages where guys were on him getting to his shot. But I think he was shooting close to 10 last year in Memphis, and I think that's when he's at his best clip. For us to be able to continue to find him in these situations says a lot about our guys, and him being able to let that thing go was huge."
On the rotation decisions and what goes into taking guys in/out:
"The first part of that is banking on it not having an injury-riddled season. Now that those guys get minutes, when guys are out, they're bumping back in. So just what goes into it is now it's going to be about matchups, different times, different rotations, different guys. It's going to have to be that for now down the stretch because any given night it can be somebody else's number called like we said with the starters. Next night it might be somebody off the bench and gives a big spark. So guys just have to stay ready for the remainder of this year of the regular season."
On the message at the end of the third quarter to regroup after Toronto's run:
"Stay the course. It's a 48-minute game. It's not won or lost necessarily in that third quarter. They had their momentum swing. That's what you say in huddles. They had their run. We've had our run. And so now we got to go into this fourth quarter and do the right thing and go on our run. Understanding that game's not over till that final horn goes off. Our guys played that way. That's what you saw in the run that we went on."
On how the team avoided letting missed shots from prior games affect them tonight:
"I thought we did a great job in that first half. I think there was one moment we were shooting 20-something percent from the three and that didn't impact the way we played. You shake it off because you've been there. We've been there before. They felt that, but then they said, 'We got to make sure we sit down and guard the right way.' They communicated to one another. They organized the things that were on the floor. They understood the coverages that we were in. All those things were a big part of why we walk away with this win because these guys were so highly connected."