De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis & Coach Brown | Postgame Presser 3.7.24

De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis & Coach Brown | Postgame Presser 3.7.24

Darren you had 17 points there in the fourth quarter but it was the other guys that had to pick it up in the end just how big is it that you were able to carry them to that point when they were able to come up with that 70 run to

Finish in I mean it was great that we were able to get those stops uh when we did um obviously domas making a big play and I think that’s uh that’s something that we need just being able to pressure the ball being able to even if you don’t

Get that still you’re pushing the catch out you know 35 ft so um and obviously Malik hitting a big shot I mean that was that was a great way for us to be able to you know sneak away with this one fox how how tense were some of those moments

Down the stretch you know considering that you know you kind of had been here before against a team like this I mean obviously we’d rather not have been in that position but at the end of the day that’s it’s a close game against NBA team and you try to execute down the

Stretch you try to get stops whenever you can Dam uh you guys come back from 19 down last night you’re up 20 they come back and obviously Take the Lead there late that’s kind of the new NBA where 15 20 point leads just don’t feel as safe

Uh maybe as they did you know even even 10 years ago how does a a player’s mentality change when you’re or does it change when you’re up 20 or down 20 maybe in the first half or or you know early third quarter of a game I mean

That’s I mean that’s what you’re trying to find whenever you’re whenever you get up how can you stay up how can you put your foot on their neck make turn a 20-point lead to 30 30 to 40 um and that’s where it can be difficult but if

You want to be a really good team in this league you have to find a to be able to do that and then on the other end obviously rather not get down 20 but when you are down 20 um especially you know when it’s not in the fourth quarter

If it’s you know in the first half or third quarter um how can you find a way to get three or four stops in a row you know two three baskets in a row cause them to call a timeout and turn 20 into 12 and 12 into 8 and now it’s a

Different ball game so um it’s always going to be a game of runs but if you want to be a good team you have to be able to hold the lead and if you dig yourself in a hole you have to be able to dig yourself out of it Fox you’ve

Seen Keon and davon’s full career and their development last two games both of them have stepped up in kind of an extended role just from your perspective as a point guard what have you seen from from them and and how they’ve grown and what they’re doing on both sides I think

They’ve been big um I mean one with their ball pressure that that’s one thing that um I feel like stands out I mean when Keon steps on the court good things happen um he’s able to uh just create I mean I think he’s a he’s one of

Those guys that you would call a defensive playmaker like he just makes things happen on the defensive end and then um I think he’s a better shooter than people know obviously people haven’t seen him you haven’t seen his career um but I think he’s I mean he’s a

He’s a much better shooter than people give him credit for and obviously teams haven’t seen him as well so um a lot of times they’re going under ball screens or dhos and uh I mean we have the confidence in for him in him to shoot the ball I mean we’ve seen his shooting

Numbers in practice we’ve seen what he does in practice so um I think when he has that confidence and you go out there and you’re playing you know real NBA minutes um it starts to grow and uh he’s going to continue to grow as a player the more people see him on the

Court uh Daren just given the ups and downs like in recent weeks for you guys how how fortunate do you feel to to Come Away with the win tonight and and how I don’t know how what’s the big takeaway for you guys as a group I mean obviously

We want to play much better than we did um and finish the game much better or be in the second half play much better than we did but I mean you rather learn a lesson in a win than a loss obviously with the way that the standings are and

How close guys are um it’s good to walk away with the win but obviously we know we need to be much better another good game for Malik um just how much does his secondary playmaking provide for you guys and how much have you seen him Embrace that that

Bench roll oh it’s been big for us I mean starting last year I feel like people didn’t know how how good of a playmaker he was or how creative he could be with the ball uh because all they saw him pretty much do in his career and then in college was was score

Um and I feel like he’s grown um in that aspect and he knows that he’s one of the best pick and roll players in the league and he Embraces that we we chy to put him in position for him to be able to make plays or score for us and I mean he

Was big tonight coming in the first quarter I mean playing like five or six minutes and I think he had like nine two and three or something like that so um he’s big for us especially uh when we don’t start the game well or even when

We do start games well just having that basically like a six starter coming off coming off the bench is uh is huge for any team yeah and obviously you don’t have a uh vote at the end of the year but in your opinion who would be the

Sixth Man of the Year right now I mean I don’t even think he should be close honestly uh who won I don’t even remember who woned last year to be honest um but I feel like he should have won it last year and I think he’s long

In way uh the front runner for for for six man in a year like it shouldn’t even be close dearen on a sort of a Down note you’ve got a couple of guys that are struggling right now how do you get Kevin how do you get ke uh Keegan sort

Of going again here as you’re hitting this stretch run I we have to say the course um I mean we talk about sprays was just getting in the pain pain or maybe right out a foot outside the paint being able to spray the ball to get open

Shots and um we have to be better at that I think um I mean this team the Spurs push out a lot more than most teams um but we just have to be able to get those guys in position sometimes just get a easy one get fouled you know

A back door get them a layup just to be able to see the ball go to the basket once you see that you know sometimes the floodgates just open so um we have to try to make it easier for them obviously um you know kev’s running all around the

Court trying to get a shot and that’s what Shooters do in this league and that’s his job but um at times we have to just be able to get him a standstill shot and that feels a lot differently than when you’re sprinting back and forth trying to trying to get an open

Shot for yourself Darren obviously you’re the reigning clutch player of the year um how much do you enjoy and embrace being that guy for your team especially with how the season has gone with a lot of late copses oh I mean those are things that you work on

That you work on having to take tough shots and obviously you know it’s such an analytic drib driving League that you want layups and free throws uh layups free throws and threes but at the end of the day um when the game’s on the line their teams aren’t giving that up you

Have to be able to make mid-range shots or floaters and um man those are just things that I work on and my teammates get me open so uh for me it’s just try to be able to execute at the end of the day but sometimes shots don’t go in at the

End of games and you have to be able to live with that and I think um that’s one reason that I’m able to take as many shots as I do in the fourth quarter when they’re a close game it’s not that I don’t care that I miss but you know that

You’re going to miss and you have to be able to live with that result and I’m trust me I’m fine with living with that result delos what was going through your head there um when you got the steal and the breakway to give your team the lead

There and 7 seconds left I just hurry up and dun it you know I was scared the guy was going to come from behind and try and contest how much relief is there to pull that one out knowing the scare that they kind of gave you

Uh yeah I mean it’s it’s great you know it’s not it’s not a position we want to be in you know but uh just to get this win um it’s great you know there it looked pretty ugly there with a minute left you know I was like ah not again

And Malik had talked about you know when he was lighting the beam there he said you know the booze kind of motivated you guys a little bit I know he’s critical of them but how much is that the case for you to to have a roller coaster game

Like that where you hear it from the crowd and then they’re as loud as can be at the end you know with the booze I just try to ignore it you know we’re at home you know um I don’t agree with that I understand that but you know we’re

Here fighting for our city so you know I just kind of let that slide you know um we obviously want to win you know and um we got this win don’t almost a 30-point night for you what is your balance between getting your teammates involved

And and trying to get Fox and Monk and everybody else there looks and when you think you should go on Attack Mode is there is it what the game gives you or is there’s a specific thing you look for when trying to score uh no it’s basically what what the game gives me

You know um I try to be aggressive you know usually they throw in a second or third guy on me and then I obviously have great Shooters around me you know and my goal is uh to get them good looks you know once once once once they score

You know we’re all just flowing you know and um that’s just been my game my whole life doas back to that that final play the steel and the dunk it was a little bit frantic there after you guys tied the game how were you able to sort of

Anticipate that play and and intercept the pass uh you know I thought they were going to play a picking roll so we were up you know to help the guard out you know to try and stop the ball you know and then once I saw that he was throwing

The ball to the big I don’t know for what you know I was like oh this is my chance what have you thought of Keon’s offensive movement decision- making and shooting for you guys uh he’s been amazing he’s poised you know um he comes out and just plays the right way doesn’t

Force anything you know it’s it’s great on the defensive side and then just makes the right plays you know and that’s that’s exactly what we need with with this group what was the conversation like you know coming into this game after you know beating the Lakers last night

Knowing y had to come in and take care of business yeah just don’t drop a neck you know I mean we’ve we’ve done it countless times this year you know we we beat a top team and then we come in and uh lose a g a game against a a lower

Seed you know and um you know it could have happened today you know thankfully we got the win but you know there’s still a lot to learn uh we we can’t win on our last second don’t M part of that 70 run was Malik’s triple

There and I know it was kind of a bang bang scenario did you did you think he was going to Hoist the three what what did you kind of think was going to happen in that I didn’t know what he was going to do you know um he went in you

Know he had turned the ball over quite a lot this game you know in a good way but so he stopped and he pulled it out and I was like oh he’s going to find someone you know and then he just pulled up so that’s that’s Malik that’s why we love

Him doas to your your previous Point um like I’m sure there’s no complacency like you guys are are you know the ups and downs you’ve had and and how some of these games have gotten away from you what what do you think it is that that

Has made that like part of this team’s DNA right now I just feel like we just got to learn how to how to control the game in situations you know um play at different Paces you know um just control it you know there’s a a lot of times

Where we just keep running and shooting quick shots or or whatever it may be you know what I mean and um yeah we just you know we just got to sit sit down and learn how to how to really take control you know and be the ones either shooting holding the ball

You know on defense uh turning it up and whatnot you know obviously we found a way to get a win get the win and and uh we will take the win but um you know you give give San Antonio Credit give pop credit give uh all those guys a lot of

Credit they came in here they played hard uh defensively they were very physical uh they played the right way offensively um they really shared the basketball moved that ball from side to side uh but at the end of the day we have to play better than that uh you

Know we can’t accept the way that we we played tonight now we take the win but we can’t accept the way that we played tonight and think that everything is going to be okay uh going forward um I mean that our our bench with Davon Trey

And Keon uh they were big for us last night uh they were big for us again tonight um so I I I I have to acknowledge them and then even down the stretch um HB had a big bucket uh dolas had a huge steal for us and Malik came

Up with the big 50/50 ball uh but at the end of the day the way we defended um the way we turn the ball over and responded to to those turnovers uh that that can’t fly and we have to continue to learn and grow uh so we don’t keep

Putting ourselves in position uh like we we were tonight and that’s no disrespect to the Spurs you got to give them credit for uh coming in here and doing what they did Mike you talked about how good uh some of you these bench guys have been uh Keon Davon um

Etc is it I don’t know is it enough to to make you kind of rethink things with the rotation or the lineup or or do you kind of like having them staggered the way they are that that you get that lift from them uh coming off Off the Bench

Later no I like I like the lift from them but uh I’m going to do at the end of the day I I’m going to do whatever I think is best for the team but you know the one thing I know I don’t do I try

Not to do is just have a knee-jerk reaction because you know this guy or that guy had one or two really good games and but this guy and that guy didn’t have a couple of good games so um I’m going to try to keep putting guys in

This team in position to win and if you earn a right to play uh I’m going throw you out there and you know everybody uh has has been good about embracing their roles we talked about that uh at the beginning of the season that’s why you

Have 15 active guys 18 guys on your team because at any given time anybody can help you and if you’re not playing you got to stay ready and if you’re playing and somebody else steps in and helps us win then you got to be as good a

Teammate as that person that as a person that was uh not playing was uh when you were playing so uh that’s a big big uh standard of ours is to embrace your role while up uplifting your teammates Mike on that note you do have a couple guys who are struggling how do

You get Kevin out of whatever the funk is he’s in and Keegan out of whatever it feels like he’s sort of slipping into as well keep trying to give them confidence and tell them there’s other ways that they can impact the game uh because they they both are more than capable uh

Obviously um Keegan has the ability to rebound on both ends of the floor Kean has the ability to defend at an extremely high level um you know there are other things that they can do and same with Kevin Kevin had a big offensive rebound uh in in the fourth

Quarter for us so they they both have to continue trying to find other ways to help us win the game while looking for some easy baskets and you get easy baskets by getting out and running and seeing if if a layup can go in now a layup or two goes in

And you know you feel like that Rim is a lot bigger than what it is and so they they have to continue trying to put themselves in position uh to to do that to make the game easier for them while trying to do things that that are going

To help us win what have you seen with some of these three guard lineups and do you hope that that’ll help your perimeter containment when they’re out there in our three guard lineups well you know both Keon and and Davon have done a great job especially on the ball

And um you know because a lot of teams are playing small gives us the ability to play with with three smaller guards and um you know the the the the ball pressure that that Keon and Davon bring to the table um the ability that that Keon has to get

Deflections um you know the uh davon’s ability to get over pick and rolls all those things bring a positive impact to our team because now we’re able to get out and run the other way and get some easies and transition and you know if you couple that with the way that they’re

Shooting and the quality of shots that they’re taking uh it’s it’s definitely an added bonus for our team Mike a criticism of sabonis game is is sometimes not looking to score not being the scorer that I guess someone would expect him to be it for a player of his

Ability can you speak a little bit about how he makes the right B basketball plays whether it’s looking to score or looking to get his teammates involved it seems like his first instinct is to get his teammates involved but 31 points tonight yeah and you

Know you want guys to play the right way you want guys that are going to share the basketball because as we all know the more guys that can touch it that’s the more Synergy that your team’s going to have and togetherness and so I I have

No complaints with domas at all I mean he had nine assists tonight you know um he trying to make the right play I’ve coached guys in the past that were that way LeBron was a prime example he always tried to make the right play his passing AB

Ability uh led to other guys being unselfish because if one of your best players if not the best player is trying to move the ball the way that he did the way that dolas does uh then it can be it become uh contagious and uh everybody

Will try to do it so um I’m 100% fine with the way that he’s playing coach speaking of the making the right plays um when when Malik pulled that ball out and shot that three what what went through your mind as he was taking that shot uh you had to take open shots

You you know we’ve been in a position before down the stretch where we felt we had some pretty good looks but um we we didn’t take uh the shot and we believe in all of our Shooters I mean we didn’t shoot well I thought was 29 28% from the

Three-point line or or 31% from the three-point line but he created enough space for him so he needed to to let it fly and uh so I was more than okay with him shooting that ball Mike uh obviously free throws have been kind of plaguing this team all year

But yesterday 10 for 12 today 17 for 18 obviously a bit of a positive trend there um how important is that execution for you guys and what have you been seeing from the line the last few games no it’s it’s very important you know because um you know when you have an

Opportunity to to score with no defense on you uh especially from a position that you’ve been working at your whole life you got to take advantage of it and it’s probably cost us a few games but uh the efficiency that we’re showing right now uh is what’s needed especially uh if

We’re going to figure it out come playoff time and we’ve worked extremely hard on it and we’re going to continue to work hard on it and hopefully it will continue TR trending in the right direction

De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis & Coach Brown speak to the media following a win over the San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 Center on March 7, 2024.

0:00 – 6:41 De’Aaron Fox
6:41 – 10:26 Domantas Sabonis
10:26 – 18:31 Coach Brown

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