"He was at the rim all night. He has tremendous athleticism, strength, force and instincts."

"People got a view of absolute greatness. It's absolutely beyond description. I haven't seen players do that in a long time."

"I think people got a view of absolute greatness, back and forth. The bigger the moment, both of them stepped up even bigger and bigger."

"When a milestone is conquered, the subtle erosion called entitlement begins its consuming grind. The team regards its greatness as a trait and a right. Half hearted effort becomes habit and saps a champion."

"We feel that he will be able to play three positions for us, giving us added versatility."

"We didn't play with great desire and we got our heads handed to us for the second game in a row. Crossroads No. 1 is where we're at right now."

"But it's up to Shaquille, too. I mean, it's up to him. And this is where the old coach came out of Stu. He started using some coaching terminology. He said, 'Well, you've got to get him to make a V-cut every now and then. If he makes a V-cut, then they impede his progress, they'll call it."

"We had a great fourth quarter defensively. We did not get into foul trouble early and made some really big defensive plays. They shot the ball extremely well tonight. We were down going into the fourth quarter and really raised the level of our defense."

"I should have played him in New Jersey. I regret that. He could have helped on (Vince) Carter."

"It's a reality we have to understand. (O'Neal) has to be more diligent. We have to be more diligent protecting him. We need him in the game."

"I'd like my reputation to stay as it is and to be remembered for a wonderful decade."

"We feel like with this trade we traded a lot, but we got back three quality players, ... Antoine Walker is one of the very best, multi-faceted, versatile players in this game."

"We traded a lot, but we got back three quality players. Antoine Walker is one of the very best multi-faceted, versatile players in this game. ... He is able to handle the ball, pass it, make plays, shoot 3's and rebound the ball. There isn't anyone in this league better at doing that."

"We feel like with this trade we traded a lot, but we got back three quality players. Antoine Walker is one of the very best, multi-faceted, versatile players in this game."

"I'm not happy with it."

"This is to see whether the two years, all the drill work and all the hard work have manifested itself into something positive for him. It should be something he should be eager to do."

"I'm really tired of talking about it. I hate to do it, but there's a huge double standard here. He turns in, it's a foul on him. And they're pushing and shoving on him all the time."

"It's an ongoing battle. It's becoming more and more and more difficult to do it. There's so much talent, so much ball-handling ability. There's so many things that officials allow perimeter players to get away with that it's difficult to guard the ball."

"I think they've turned the corner. They've accumulated a tremendous amount of talent. Ever since (Thomas) has come here, the talent level has gone through the roof. That's all I know."

"I think they've turned the corner. They've acquired a tremendous amount of talent."

"We're supposed to be one of the top teams in the league. We've assembled some of the top talent in the league. This team needs to understand that when we come to another team's arena, that it is a big event. We came in here and the Hornets took it from us."

"As soon as we begin to struggle offensively or get a little bit discouraged, two or three things happen to us and we stop playing defense."

"We got a break tonight. Bobby Simmons is a great player - Mo Williams - those two guys would have created a lot of problems for us. The thing about a speed team, if you can see them walking up and down the court, you've done something."

"(Walsh) is not going to become a little whip in this thing. He held out and got fair value."