Desmond Bane:

On the team’s turnaround starting in the second half of the third quarter:

"Just respond. That’s huge in this league. There’s going to be runs, nights where you’re not making shots behind the three-point line, things aren’t going your way. I thought our spirit and energy was a little off in that first half, getting wrapped up in maybe not playing so well. But that third quarter we came out and changed it with our effort and our hustle."

On what sparked the instant momentum shift:

"Goa spearheaded it defensively, blocking shots. Anthony Black getting out in transition, making plays, being aggressive. Taius Jones setting the table, settling us down, getting us into what we get into. A lot of the things Taius does might not show up on the stat sheet, but he’s the rock — he steadies the ship. That group we had out there on the court was the one that really changed the momentum and we were able to ride that wave all the way to the buzzer."

On dropping 37 points in consecutive games and his shot-making tonight:

"Shout-out to Mac first and foremost. I work every summer to be the most complete basketball player I can be — nowhere near where I want to be, but I feel like my game’s in a place where I can impact the game in a lot of different ways."

On Noah’s contribution off the bench:

"Huge. That dude didn’t even know how to speak English when he got over here and he’s fitting right in. Couple hustle plays, big threes, driving closeouts — he’s truly a plug-and-play player. He’s going to compete on defense, hustle for loose balls, keep the ball moving. Give the front office credit — that’s a great pick."

On his growing confidence closing games and comfort with this group:

"It’s been an evolution. From my time in Memphis I started as a catch-and-shoot guy. The year Ja was suspended I was put in a lot of situations to close games and honestly didn’t do a great job — growing pains. Now I feel very comfortable in those situations, whether I’m on the ball or off the ball, confident that I can make a play."

On the importance of willing yourself to wins on off nights:

"It’s huge. That’s the difference between really good teams and average teams. It would have been easy for us to hang our head and lay down, especially against a team that plays so fast, shares the ball, constantly trying to touch the paint. They made us work for this win tonight — took a lot of effort on both sides of the ball. Glad we were able to get it done."

On Anthony Black’s growth into the sixth-man role:

"I knew come open gym that he was going to be a problem. What he can do with the ball in his hands, defensively — he’s a true Swiss Army knife that can impact the game in so many different ways. Keep telling him continue to be aggressive, be yourself, don’t hang your head when it’s not going your way. He was great in that second half for us."

On playing in the backcourt with Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black:

"Him and AB make my life a lot easier. Jalen’s going to take the primary backcourt matchup, AB’s going to guard the top wing — that’s what they want to do. I haven’t been on many teams where everybody on the team wants to defend and really takes pride in their matchups. It’s been a great thing to be a part of. Took me a little time to lean into that, but now I feel like we’re settling in — definitely on the defensive end and on the offensive end as well."

Anthony Black: 

On the team’s rhythm and comeback from the second half of the third quarter onward:

"Just our resilience. There was a point where we were down 12 to 15 points. Just standing there through their run — areas of growth we’ve been looking to take, and I feel like we did tonight. Definitely a big step of growth for us."

On how much easier Desmond Bane makes everyone else’s game:

"A lot easier. That could be said for everybody on the court. A lot of times there’s three, four sets of eyes on him. Whenever you do get the ball, you’re playing off closeouts, playing off him. His playmaking ability is also really high, so he creates a lot of shots for us."

On building the identity of 60+ paint points in three straight games:

"Just staying with it — getting stops, getting out in transition, using our size, popping the ball around. Playing off closeouts, attacking our man — it’s just leading us to get into the paint. We know that’s where it starts for us."

On where the resilience to come back from down 15 comes from:

"Just an added level of maturity for each of our players. The last couple years that’s something we struggled with — when teams go on runs we’d kind of implode or start pointing fingers. Today we did a good job trying to find solutions, saying what needed to be said, and just coming out and playing hard in the second half."

On the importance of the bench group flipping the game:

"Super important. Since I’ve been here the bench has always took pride in trying to be the best bench in the league. That’s something we’re trying to do again this year. We feel like we have the talent and it’s our responsibility to come in and change the game. Tonight we did a good job of that. Everybody off the bench was positive and contributing. We’re all trusting each other, we know our responsibilities, and we’re just trying to flip the game and bring energy whenever the first group might not have it."

On the upcoming stretch and treating it like a seven-game series:

"For sure. We do our series, so definitely looking to take care of home and have a good homestand. We know we got some good opponents coming up, but we’ve shown we can compete with any team on our night. It’s just about us continuing to do what we do, clean up the things we need to clean up, and keep getting better. We’ll be in most of the games we play."

On his increased confidence attacking, finishing, and shooting off the dribble:

"Yeah, for sure. Those are things I’m working on with Sham — ball-handling, shooting off the dribble, different finishes inside the three-point line. But the biggest development is just my aggression — going out there trying to score, trying to get to the rim every time, and then shooting my open shots. It’s a mentality shift more than anything. I’m having fun, having a lot of fun again."