Paul Millsap:
"It's big for our team, big in our development and big in our growth. We just continue to push forward. I'm so proud of our young guys. They stepped up big for us. They came into a hostile environment and showed what we were capable of doing."
"You never know what Kobe is capable of, but our guys did a great job of defense on him,"
Ty Corbin:
"That's who we are. Right from the beginning of the year, we knew we had to play our young guys to get them some experience on the floor, to develop them with our veteran group of guys."
"This group of guys never ceases to amaze you with the effort and the focus they come out with. They just continue to impress with what they can do together if they stay focused and stay together as a group. This is a huge win for us."
"The experiences they had earlier in the year are paying off for us now. They're getting in the flow and it's different guys at different times, but they're all rallying around each other and supporting each other and they're making good plays for us."
CJ Miles:
"Our rookies won the game for us."
on guarding Bryant:
"I just tried to keep my focus on trying to make it tough on him, trying to stay in front of him. My job was to just frustrate him. You're not going to completely stop him. He's going to make a couple of tough shots. He's going to do what he does, but the biggest thing is to make him shoot jump shots and contest him."
"It might have been my best defensive game since I've been in the league."
Ennis Kanter:
"It was so much fun. I had so much fun with my teammates. I respect the Lakers. They were pretty good team, but we just went out there and just fight for 48 minutes. I'm happy we won the game."
Alec Burkes:
"I was just being aggressive, trying to make the hustle plays, bring energy. That's what I'm on the court to do."
"I don't think they thought we was that confident and that good of young players, and we proved that we are."
The 6-foot-6 Burks also proved that he can soar with the best of them. His tip in the final moments gave the Jazz a 97-90 lead and proved to be an important bucket, holding off the Lakers who once led by 10 points themselves.
"That was for Jeremy (Evans). … He didn't think I would be up there," Burks said of his slam dunk champion teammate. "I was showing him why I'm going to take his championship next year."
Kobe Bryant:
"You have nights like that every now and then. I couldn't make a shot. ... You try to just hang in there, get some stops down the stretch and try to muck up the game."
"I had some nice looks. But I couldn't make a shot."
"There's plenty of things to pay attention to about than my shot selection. I didnt force anything. It was all easy looks. I only took 20 shots."
Pau Gasol:
"We had way too many turnovers, and I don't know if it was overconfidence, or just sloppy. We gave them too many opportunities, and they took advantage."
Mike Brown on Kobe not shooting well:
"The bottom line is, he's our guy. The shots he took, I'd give it to him again. I don't know how many shots he missed near the rim -- I mean, point-blank shots."
Jamie Wior, Derek Fisher's business manager
"After much discussion and expressing their desire to welcome Derek to their team this season as well as the 2012-2013 season, the Houston Rockets and Derek have negotiated a buyout. Derek's desire to win a sixth championship is what drives him and will continue to drive him as he moves forward. We thank the Houston Rockets front office for their interest, time and their absolute professionalism. There will be no further comment at this time."
"It's big for our team, big in our development and big in our growth. We just continue to push forward. I'm so proud of our young guys. They stepped up big for us. They came into a hostile environment and showed what we were capable of doing."
"You never know what Kobe is capable of, but our guys did a great job of defense on him,"
Ty Corbin:
"That's who we are. Right from the beginning of the year, we knew we had to play our young guys to get them some experience on the floor, to develop them with our veteran group of guys."
"This group of guys never ceases to amaze you with the effort and the focus they come out with. They just continue to impress with what they can do together if they stay focused and stay together as a group. This is a huge win for us."
"The experiences they had earlier in the year are paying off for us now. They're getting in the flow and it's different guys at different times, but they're all rallying around each other and supporting each other and they're making good plays for us."
CJ Miles:
"Our rookies won the game for us."
on guarding Bryant:
"I just tried to keep my focus on trying to make it tough on him, trying to stay in front of him. My job was to just frustrate him. You're not going to completely stop him. He's going to make a couple of tough shots. He's going to do what he does, but the biggest thing is to make him shoot jump shots and contest him."
"It might have been my best defensive game since I've been in the league."
Ennis Kanter:
"It was so much fun. I had so much fun with my teammates. I respect the Lakers. They were pretty good team, but we just went out there and just fight for 48 minutes. I'm happy we won the game."
Alec Burkes:
"I was just being aggressive, trying to make the hustle plays, bring energy. That's what I'm on the court to do."
"I don't think they thought we was that confident and that good of young players, and we proved that we are."
The 6-foot-6 Burks also proved that he can soar with the best of them. His tip in the final moments gave the Jazz a 97-90 lead and proved to be an important bucket, holding off the Lakers who once led by 10 points themselves.
"That was for Jeremy (Evans). … He didn't think I would be up there," Burks said of his slam dunk champion teammate. "I was showing him why I'm going to take his championship next year."
Kobe Bryant:
"You have nights like that every now and then. I couldn't make a shot. ... You try to just hang in there, get some stops down the stretch and try to muck up the game."
"I had some nice looks. But I couldn't make a shot."
"There's plenty of things to pay attention to about than my shot selection. I didnt force anything. It was all easy looks. I only took 20 shots."
Pau Gasol:
"We had way too many turnovers, and I don't know if it was overconfidence, or just sloppy. We gave them too many opportunities, and they took advantage."
Mike Brown on Kobe not shooting well:
"The bottom line is, he's our guy. The shots he took, I'd give it to him again. I don't know how many shots he missed near the rim -- I mean, point-blank shots."
Jamie Wior, Derek Fisher's business manager
"After much discussion and expressing their desire to welcome Derek to their team this season as well as the 2012-2013 season, the Houston Rockets and Derek have negotiated a buyout. Derek's desire to win a sixth championship is what drives him and will continue to drive him as he moves forward. We thank the Houston Rockets front office for their interest, time and their absolute professionalism. There will be no further comment at this time."
