Coach & Player Quotes After Thunder Beats Spurs

Scott Brooks

On Spurs' consistency:

"Nothing different, they started another season. That's what they do and they do it every year. Next year they're gonna be in the same position. They're so consistent with their approach with great players and a great coach and they play well together. That creates 50 wins every year."

On Gregg Popovich

"We respect what they do, no question. I have a lot of respect for coach Pop, he's one of the best pro coaches in all sports, not just the NBA. He just has a very competitive, serious approach every night and he doesn't fluctuate game to game."

On defense:

"I thought our defense was outstanding. They're a hard team to guard, but I thought our guys did a great job with our length, making them miss some shots. I thought the defense was the key tonight. It's all about our effort on the defensive end to create opportunities for the offense."

On Reggie Jackson:

"Reggie was good in pick-and-rolls. He's one of the best finishers around the basket. We put him in situations where he can get to the basket and he does a good job of finding gaps, angles; he gets in there and he finishes around the rim."

On Jeremy Lamb:

"I thought Jeremy came in and gave us great energy on both ends. He's gonna continue to develop and evolve as the season goes along."

Reggie Jackson

On teaming with Lamb for a big night:

"Just another athletic backcourt that's always in attack mode, just trying to find shots for ourselves and for others."

On stepping up Westbrook's struggles:

"We all try and pick up the next man. Russ (Westbrook) rarely has nights like this, I think that's why he's a perennial All Star. Nights like this, you just keep telling him to go after it and be aggressive."

RELATED STORY:  Instant Analysis: Thunder Snaps Spurs' 11-Game Winning Streak

Kendrick Perkins

On winning despite not playing well offensively:

"Character is the word. We showed a lot of character tonight. We didn't play well offensively and coach said we looked tired offensively but that's because they run their sets so hard at the offensive end. I think we did a pretty good job of locking in defensively, top through bottom everybody came in and gave us something positive. Sometimes you've gotta take an ugly win but it was a grind-out win and I thought we dug deep."

On Lamb and Jackson's night:

"Reggie (Jackson) & (Jeremy) Lamb as far as scoring, they came in and gave us a huge spark and I thought it was an overall good team win."

On defensive effort:

"I thought we had the mindset whether it was Serge (Ibaka) erasing a shot or Kevin (Durant) jumping in the passing lane, Nick (Collison) taking a charge, Thabo (Sefolosha) getting a deflection, it was kind of all around. When you're building a championship team it's gonna take top to bottom (effort) and that's what we're starting to become."

"I told the team after the game I thought it was one of the better wins in the season (regular-season win) since I've been here; just talking about character-wise. Usually when our offense don't be going right we tend to give up 100 points but I thought everybody pretty much stuck with it. Body language was good, we kept having each other's back."

RELATED STORY:  Jackson Explodes, Leads Thunder Past Spurs

Kevin Durant

On team defense:

"Yeah I think our defense was really good. I think that's just a combination of us using our length, making second and third efforts and just playing hard."

On Reggie Jackson:

"He was aggressive all night, getting to the rim. That's what he does, nobody can stay in front of him. That's what we need from him, he gave us a nice spark. He gets so low on his drives, he's so quick. He had and unbelievable game tonight, it's something that we expect from him. I'm looking forward to him having great games down the line."

RELATED STORY:  Ibaka Showing OKC Extension Was Right Move

Jeremy Lamb

On Thunder outscoring San Antonio 25-15 in third quarter:

"It's a game of runs, I think momentum changed in a lot of points in the game, but yeah that was one of the times it changed for the better so that was a good stretch."

On his confidence:

"I think my confidence is growing but at the same time I've got a lot to work on, a lot to learn, so I'm just soaking everything up. When you have your teammates, your coaching staff behind you, helping you every day, not only in the games but in practice, encouraging you, helping you, I have no choice but to get better."

On his big game:

"It felt good. My teammates found me when I was open so I was able to knock down a couple shots. Some games you'll miss everything some games you'll make everything."

Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich

On importance of tonight's game:

"When two good teams play, coaches don't have to say anything. Players on good teams are competitive and both looking forward to the game, but at the same time, we'll both be different teams come playoff time, so this is a time for learning and figuring out what you need to improve."

"I think every game to some degree is a measuring stick no matter who you play. Improvement is what we're all interested in. Developing habits and doing things consistently. It doesn't matter who you're playing, it matters how you're playing. Obviously playing a good team can probably teach you a lot more than playing a team that's not so good."

On guarding Kevin Durant:

"Kevin's kind of turning into (longtime Spurs' foe) Amare Stoudemire for us; no matter how we guard him he gets 30. No matter what you do, he's gonna figure out a way to score. We try to stop him, he just gets his shots off, gets to the line and does what he does no matter what. That's who Kevin Durant is, that's why he's so great."