Eddie Jordan Win Quotations

This was a good win for us tonight. We were competitive and were more organized down the stretch. Tonight we talked about not being impatient on defense, and playing each position for the full 24 seconds. There is no reason why we cannot play like this for the next 21 games. That is our challenge - to finish the season strong and to play with discipline like we did tonight.

He was out there tonight with a bum knee playing defense and being the quarterback for us. His will to win is why the great ones are great.

He wants to win - that is his No. 1 priority. He is a leader for this team in a different way. He is not loud, verbal or demonstrative, but he leads by gutting it out and fighting for rebounds. He can score from the outside, in the paint and on runners. He has emerged as a major leader for us during this stretch of games.

He's had it going from outside ever since January. It looked like it was going in. I thought we fought hard and we gave ourselves a chance to win at the end, which is all you can ask for.

I thought to win on the road is a big deal in the NBA, the season opener, almost a brand new team for us, ... We're trying to learn how to play with each other. We're a very deep team, a very veteran team and I'm just trying to find the right combinations out there with guys who are playing well, so it is a terrific win. They had a chance to tie it with three shots at the end and the basketball gods were with us.

We have to let it seep out and get over it. And as the night goes along and it turns into a long morning we have to come back together and go to work and win a game on Sunday.

We said it in pre-game that even though they've been down and we've been doing pretty good, the way they are now is how we were at one point. Just one win gets it going and we were very aware that they could get it going.

We knew it wasn't going to be easy. They are a very competitive team and always have been. I think it took Miami a 16-0 run in the second half to win the game last night. They are so depleted with injuries and my heart goes out to Bernie.

We wanted to win this game in the worst way. Its a tough, tough loss, but we have to deal with it and get ready for Miami tomorrow night.

We always say that one win can get you going and that one loss can get you going the other way. We just have to shift into another gear like we did in the last quarter and a half and come at with the same intensity and stay at that intensity.

Tonight was a good win but we were not as productive overall as I would have liked. We just had too many turnovers against their press and their scrambling defense.

This is a tough one to lose. We gave ourselves a chance to win even though we played bad in the second half, you just can't give up 60 points in the paint and expect to win.

It says a lot about the direction we're going in, with the new starting lineup a huge, huge defensive emphasis. Some guys didn't play as many minutes tonight as normal, but we really cared about doing the things that it takes to win and not about what's going to shoot up in the stat sheet.