On the game:
“These two teams are very similar. Both played really hard, however they (Denver Nuggets) just played extremely well. I think the game turned from a confidence standpoint in the third quarter. They started running more in the third quarter and that opened up the lead. We got back in it, but in the end, they just wanted it more. I give them a lot of credit. They have lost 14 in a row, and they played with a sense of urgency that was bigger than ours at the time that the game was on the line.”

On the ball handling:
“We did not handle the ball well. There was a point in the late third quarter early fourth quarter where we had three or four turnovers in a row. We had opportunities in transition, but we were very careless with the ball and it cost us. We did not contain the ball and they kept getting by us.”

On the fourth quarter fouls:
“When you’re a help team and they continue to break down the defense, you get stuck fouling and sending them to the line. They continued to either get to the rim or get fouled. From that standpoint, they were more committed.”

On the game:
“We have to keep practicing. It’s been a tough season for us, but we just need to keep going at it. A loss is a loss but it just so happens that we lost two in a row. Tonight was a game that was very winnable.”

On the game:
“They just played well and made shots. (Vincent) Yarbrough had a shot with no time on the clock and that kind of did it. They made tough plays. I was still coming down, trying to make plays and get it done. I wasn’t clicking myself, but a lot of guys really stepped up. Rasual (Butler) did an excellent job and stepped up. He did some real special things out there again, for the second night in a row. I just have to do something, I have to switch it up a bit and play hard. I need to play more consistent and make plays.”

On the game:
“It’s always tough when you’re out there giving it your all. There were mistakes that really hurt us. We kept tying it up and going up, but we couldn’t get a lead that we could maintain. They were desperate and we were desperate, but they came out with the win. They did more things right then we did. We just need to do what’s necessary to win the next game. We need to do this game-by-game at this level.”

On the game:
“We’ve lost a lot of tough games, but they really showed a lot of courage down the stretch. For the first time, instead of letting a lead evaporate, we built on it. That’s a real positive. It feels good to win period. I’ll just leave it at that.”

On ending their losing streak:
“It was difficult. As I said many times, successful people don’t get frustrated or discouraged. They might get temporarily discouraged, and I keep bringing that up to our players.”

On the development of the younger players:
“We’ve had a lot of good performances from a lot of young players. In addition to Juwan (Howard) and Marcus Camby showing a lot of leadership, everyone contributed. Young players tend to have a tendency to defer. I don’t want them deferring, I want them making plays. Vincent (Yarbrough) came in and hit a big three right in front of the bench at the end of the shot clock. Junior (Harrington) took it upon himself to make plays. (Nikoloz) Tskitishvili did a real nice job. Nene (Hilario) was very, very good. I need the younger players to step up and make plays.

On the game:
“Everyone played well for us tonight. Juwan [Howard] has been the guy for us all year keeping us in the ball game, so at times we look for him to lead us. Tonight he gave the ball up a couple times and we went out there and played hard. We have been working hard all year, so to finally pull it out, felt good. I tried to take advantage of mismatches and build my confidence throughout the game.”

On getting the losing streak over:
“It is a load off your shoulders. Everyone has been playing hard. It is good to get the losing streak behind us.”

On the game:
“Feels good to finally get a win. Everybody has been working so hard and staying with it and we finally got a win. My teammates played well at the end and we got the game. We have a game tomorrow and we will try and get that one and put a streak together. We are just trying to win every time we go out.”

On the game:
“We started off strong in the third quarter. I build my game on confidence, I was able to get some easy dunks, which raised my spirits and the team was playing solid defense. Many of the games that we have lost were like today in that we played really hard. It is difficult to accept the games that we lost. Today was a great feeling because we won. You need to look at the turnovers today, we did a better job of handling the ball.”