Elton Brand

Elton: After practice, you see him talking to him, going through drills, taking shots. Of course that's his direct competition, but you see him wanting to help the young guy.

Elton: It's been great having that bench threat. We haven't had that the entire season, so to have all those guys coming off the bench - not only holding a lead but sometimes adding to a lead and playing defense - it's great for the starters.

Elton: Being at .500 on the road is a big deal for us.

Elton: He was unstoppable. We were just trying to get him the ball. He was scoring at will down there, left hand, right hand. They had no answer for him tonight.

Elton: We wanted to attack them tonight. That's what they did so well against us at home earlier. We wanted guys to penetrate and go to the hole, which is what we did successfully tonight.

Elton: It was like a reunion.

Elton: Sam really got hot and it's easy to find him when he is like that, he gets unconscious and hits big shots for us.

Elton: His long-range shot really hurt us. His 3-bombs were devastating. Every time we scored and tried to make a run, he pulled up on the break and knocked one down. And that put it out of reach. But the defense was terrible against Miller. We didn't help out enough on the screens and he was getting open looks. It was disappointing, because we know he's a shooter.

Elton: We waited a little to late to play with a sense of urgency, with intensity. I was just hoping that we could get it into overtime and continue the momentum that we had going.

Elton: Having an all-time record under our belts says a lot about this team. We pride ourselves on defense and boxing out.

Elton: We have to play the way we played at the end of the game. We've got to start the game off with a sense of urgency and intensity.

Elton: We had them. We built a 20-point lead, but they kept fighting. It's a lesson-learned. Overall, we came out with a victory.

Elton: We had them. We built a 20-point lead, but they kept fighting. It's a lesson-learned. Overall, we came out with a victory.

Elton: It's no longer a city thing. It's a playoff-seeding thing. No more statement games. No more learning from losses.

Elton: It was a huge game for morale.

Elton: We had a good chance to win. We don't take any positives from this, even though we came close against a good team.

Elton: We had a good plan against a great player. We did a good job against him.

Elton: My '99 squad, that was one of the best teams we had in a while over there. We could definitely take this year's team. We'd get after those guys.

Elton: That might have been for the past, for teams that weren't winning. I guess Chauncey and I might have to eliminate ourselves from that poll.

Elton: If we want to contend with the upper-echelon teams, then we have to play well (Wednesday) and expect to win. They're going to be revved up at home, so we got to bring it.

Elton: We've never been in this position before; we're changing a lot of people's minds about what the Clippers are about, and no doubt, Sam is a big, big part of that.

Elton: He's a solid acquisition for us. He plays many spots on the floor, he can spread the court, and that's something we didn't have.

Elton: I didn't see the game, but I saw the highlights. It's still kind of incomprehensible to me. Eighty-one, whew!

Elton: It's one of my best games - definitely up there. We didn't want to come off our (4-2) road trip and be disappointed with our effort at home.

Elton: You try not to let it change you or get too absorbed in it, but it's a lot of fun, just winning, playing basketball, getting on that court. It's just a lot of fun.

Elton: We knew that play was coming. We were going to close the door and deny all options.

Elton: At that time, it doesn't matter what he's shooting - 0-for-10, 0-for-20 - he's going to knock down a big shot for us.

Elton: All of the other years, OK, we weren't winning. But now I would be really bummed about not going.

Elton: That's the way it should be. I learned that my rookie year. I averaged 20 and 10, while Dale Davis averaged nine and eight. He was on Indiana and they were in second place in the East or whatever and he got the All-Star nod. This time we're the fourth best team in the West, I expect to be there.

Elton: It means a lot. Every step we take, first time we're 5-0, first time we're 10 games above .500, first time we have a winning January. Everything we do we take pride in.

Elton: It gives us a lot of confidence. That we can go on the road and win those tough, tight games shows a lot about our character.

Elton: He hits big shot after big shot. He is fearless. He is a great addition and I love having him. Anytime we need a big shot, he is not afraid to take them. He hits most of them.

Elton: We got out of rotation and we paid dearly for it. We're not trying to take any moral victories ... we wanted to win. It's encouraging but we'd rather have that 'W'.

Elton: We tried to speed up the game and do some things that would benefit us. There was a lot of energy spent coming back from the first-quarter run they had.

Elton: That was the most complete road win of the year. I was trying to set a tone for this game right from the start. Once they started doubling me, guys were open and I was able to share the rock. This was a good win for us.

Elton: I wanted to set a tone, I really wanted this game. They kept finding me in positions I could score and once they started doubling me really hard on the catch, there were other guys open. I didn't mind sharing the rock.

Elton: It was a great win. I tried to set a tone early and my teammates put me in a great position to score.

Elton: Can you play with a guy like that? Heck, yeah.

Elton: We wanted to control the pace. We didn't want to let them get any fast-break points like they did when we played in New Jersey.

Elton: We wanted to get off to a good start, come out with some good energy and fire. We did that and they got behind, and we just wanted to keep plugging away.

Elton: We didn't really lose our swagger. We just didn't play well defensively in some games. We feel confident coming into every game and we've been playing well as of late.

Elton: Golden State is hovering right about .500 and they're behind us in the Pacific, so it's very instrumental. We're in there, so we have to stay ahead of the teams that are behind us and catch some of the upper-echelon teams.

Elton: It's embarrassing. You can't get embarrassed on your home court like that. You have to play with some pride and some intensity. We came out in the third quarter with a sense of urgency, but you've got to start the ballgame off like that.

Elton: Matt is on top of this town. He has USC playing for their third straight championship and they have everyone in this town really excited.

Elton: We just had a tough stretch there where we couldn't make anything. Taking them to OT, that's one thing, but we had an opportunity for a victory here.

Elton: We knew they were white-hot and were winning a lot of ballgames, but we were confident coming in. Even down four at the half, we were still confident. We knew that once we made our adjustments, we'd be OK in the second half.

Elton: Sometimes, I used to make a joke how in restaurants in L.A., the Lakers' valet was in the front and we had the valet out in the back.

Elton: I thought he might be a little standoffish and not want to be here, ... He's a great guy, he's funny and he's got your back, 100 percent.

Elton: We still need to prove that we're still a top-notch organization, ... We're going towards that road. I don't have PlayStation in my locker, flat screens or DVD's in my locker.

Elton: There is no question that series would be exciting to play. Not only for the Western Conference finals implications but also for the rivalry.

Elton: It's just a great feeling.

Elton: This is absolutely satisfying. It's like vindication because we worked so hard and this organization didn't give up. We definitely have the confidence to go out there, advance again and keep going. We feel we can beat every team out there.

Elton: Somebody said he did it in college. They had tape.

Elton: That would mean a lot. All the hoopla about who's better goes out the window. It's right there on the court.

Elton: Whoever we get in the next round, we'll be ready, definitely.

Elton: We can be proud of ourselves but we still have goals. We have to be looking forward to the next round. This is absolutely satisfying. It's like vindication because we worked hard and this organization didn't give up.

Elton: We definitely kept him in check.

Elton: It's just a great feeling. It's still kind of surreal. I might not appreciate it until we start the second round.

Elton: It helped them that they had a lot of fresh bodies.

Elton: We have to cut our turnovers down and box out. It's that simple.

Elton: The referees blew the whistle a lot. Anthony got to the line a lot. Our guys on our team got to the line a few times.

Elton: My reaction is indifferent. It's something they have to deal with. We just have to focus on our team.

Elton: That's something they have to deal with. My focus is on our team right now.

Elton: We will not be overconfident. Sam and I will not let that happen.

Elton: It means a lot, from our management all the way down to the ball boys. Even though it's just one game, it means a lot. We have to protect the home-court advantage.

Elton: We can learn from it. We're going to have to play harder. We have to sharpen up.

Elton: It was pretty, and then it got ugly. It was a long time coming, and it was an important win for the organization.

Elton: I just wanted to get out of Dodge, clear my mind, not think about the disappointment anymore, lie on the beach. I'd rather be in the playoffs any time.

Elton: There's a feeling of excitement, and a little bit of the unknown.

Elton: This isn't our fault. We're not doing anything wrong, but the league has put us in this position.

Elton: They're a good team. We're expecting a battle. We're going to try to limit them with their fast-break points because that's what they do. They get up and down and that's one of the things we're focused on. We've got to limit their fast break points because they're tops in the league.

Elton: Finishing sixth is a great thing. You want as much home court as possible.

Elton: I expect a hard-fought series from Denver. We got home-court advantage, and that should help. The Nuggets are a tough club, and so is Dallas. I felt that we matched up well with either.

Elton: I'm not going to try to lose. But if we finish behind Memphis with the sixth seed, we're better off.

Elton: There's some players out there who are very deserving, with more wins. And that plays into it. If we had some more wins, then I think my chances would be really high.

Elton: It is a great milestone for us to win 45 games. I am proud to be with the organization. It is important that we got this win. We had some tough games lately so we needed to get this win.

Elton: It's disappointing, but we'll bounce back. I'm very optimistic. As a team, we didn't shoot well. Personally, I got great looks, but just didn't knock them down.

Elton: There are a lot of multicultural people at Duke, and everybody felt that way, not just the athletes.

Elton: Mike Miller brings a lot. He can shoot the ball, rebound well. The intangibles are there for Memphis with him coming off the bench.

Elton: We need to win one more game to qualify but it is great for our mindset. It is definitely a statement.

Elton: It's been tough over the years, so to be here in this position feels good, but we have a lot more to accomplish.

Elton: It feels good, but we still have a lot more to accomplish. But it's a milestone we want to check off. I'm just glad the organization put the pieces around guys to enable us to win and compete at the highest level.

Elton: We have a winning record and that is a big thing for us. It feels good, but we still have a lot more to accomplish. It is a milestone we want to check off. I am just glad the organization has put the pieces around us so that we can learn and compete at the highest level.

Elton: It's a big deal. Each milestone is a big step.

Elton: We tried to take them out early. This was a must-win for us.

Elton: If they want to double-team, that's OK because we've got guys who can score all over the place. Wilcox gave us a great spark off the bench, and that's what we look for him to do every night. We have a lot of confidence in him because of what he does in practice. And when he plays like this, it really helps us out a lot.

Elton: They really hurt us in that second quarter. We kind of played their tempo a little bit. You've got to make shots against this team so they have to take the ball out of bounds so they can't outrun us.

Elton: We got sloppy at the end, but we accomplished what we wanted to.

Elton: I definitely didn't want to let the team down. I was a little rusty early on, but after that I felt good.

Elton: They're aggressive, so we wanted to go hard at them, get to the line and knock down our free throws so that we'd be in a position to win the game. I knew Ostertag had five fouls, so I really wanted to attack him because he clogs that middle up, gets those tip-ins and gets extra possessions for them.

Elton: We were No. 1 in field-goal defense coming in, but I don't know about now.

Elton: We're hurting all around, offensively and defensively. We're looking forward to getting him back.

Elton: Granted, they're playing without Shaq, but they beat some quality teams without Shaq. It's a big win for us.

Elton: In the past, we might have folded, but we erased that 12-point lead and we're up three at halftime. It's a great, great feeling. It's much different than before.

Elton: I don't know if it's because he's slim or what, I thought he'd come in a giddy guy. But he's serious. He wants to play, and wants to play well in this league. It's evident in the way he approaches things. And man can he pass the ball. Sometimes you've got to remind yourself that he's on the court, because the ball could be coming your way at any time.

Elton: In a close game, I think we're going to try to win. I think we need practice at that. There's no better time than now.

Elton: But we just didn't gather up the ball. We didn't box out.

Elton: We got some good stops once we decided to play defense.

Elton: Once we win and get to the playoffs, it's all going to change.

Elton: We want to be one of the top teams in the West, and we think we are.

Elton: To have Corey back? that's exactly what I'm talking about.

Elton: We wanted to go undefeated, but it's not realistic to win every game.

Elton: If we had led all the way and let them steal it at the end, it would have seemed like some of last year's woes. You don't want to make a big deal out of three games, but it is a great start.

Elton: It was our getaway game, so we wanted to get this victory.

Elton: Sam was out there on their side last year hitting big shots, and now he's on ours.

Elton: The NBA is the best job in the world. and you have to look good in business.

Elton: We were last in three-point field goals, and that makes a big difference in wins and losses.

Elton: Without a doubt, the swagger level goes up. Sam Cassell has been talking trash as soon as he came here. That's what we need. We need somebody that's confident like that, saying, hey, jump on our bandwagon or get left behind. We haven't had that.