Quote board: "We love fighting together"

Following the game, head coach Jason Kidd along with Maverick players Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Derrick Jones, Jr. took the time to speak to the media. Here's what they had to say:

Head Coach Jason Kidd

(On what this hard-fought series has meant to him and the team…)

"First, Oklahoma City is an incredible team from top to bottom. Great coach, great players. It was not an easy series. But for us, it was a really good series in the sense of staying together. I thought the trust was tested throughout this series - all six games. But I thought the maturity and trust for the group was high. Different guys stepped up at different points in the series. In tonight's game it wasn't Luka [Dončić] or Kai [Kyrie Irving] making the game winner, it was the trust that Luka had for P.J. [Washington]. P.J. made his free throws, and we found a way to win. But, for the coaching staff, they did an incredible job of getting these guys ready to play and the players trusted the game plan and executed the game plan. And we found a way to win the series."

(On what you said at halftime being down 16 points…)

"We talked about the turnovers. That was the first part. The second part was just the trust and that we had to play faster. We weren't playing fast enough. Even if they scored, we needed to take the ball out and not look around and walk the ball up. I thought in the start of the third D. Jones [Derrick Jones Jr.] got us off to a great start. Then we worked the game, understanding that we weren't going to get those 16 points back in two shots. I thought the group stayed together, trusted each other, and worked the game to get it down to seven points at the end of the third quarter. And then it was anybody's ball game. Again, our zone created some missed shots and some turnovers, and we capitalized on the other end. At halftime it was kind of a cool thing because we just talked. I thought the group responded. Again, being down 16, we knew what we had to do, and we did that to start the third and for pretty much the whole second half."

(On P.J. Washington Jr.'s performance in the fourth quarter…)

"Yes, P.J. [Washington] was well rested. We need to talk about the fouling and hacking out there. But he picked up two quick fouls out there and so he was rested. But the beauty of P.J. is that his character is like no other. You would have thought he had 30 points tonight. He just plays. He never complains. He is guarding the best player on the other side. There are very few plays ran for him. He just does his job at a high level. We are very fortunate to have him. But yes, he didn't have any points going into the fourth and then he knocked down some big shots and hit his free throws. The biggest play - that won't go down as the biggest play - was to miss the free throw in the proper way. Sometimes we say miss the free throw and it just hits the backboard and they get the set up. We didn't want them to be set up. They had no time outs. And so, we learned not to run away from the ball, but to press the ball, to make the ball go back, because we have lost the game that way before. A lot of the things we have learned along the way we were able to execute late in tonight's game."

Luka Doncic

(On what makes this Mavericks group so resilient…)

"I think we just stick together. We always talk on the bench, stay together [and have] positive energy. Today, it was a pure example of it."

(On Mavericks rookie center Dereck Lively II's performance thus far in the playoffs and if he's ever stopped impressing him…)

"No, it was amazing to see. [Him having] +26 in a playoff game is insane, and he's been doing this being a rookie. He has unbelievable potential. I'm just glad the Mavs drafted him."

(On Mavericks forward P.J. Washington Jr.'s big offensive rebound and the 27 second-chance points the Mavericks scored tonight…)

"27 [second-chance points] is amazing. It means our passion and our energy was at a high level. Everybody was concentrated. We said at halftime 'We're not going to OKC.' So that's what we did. We stayed together, as I always say, and played with energy. That rebound P.J. [Washington Jr.] got, I remember and then I drove, and he hit the three. It was a huge moment in the game. It was a momentum change. It was very, very huge at the end of the game."

(On what it means to win a series despite some struggles…)

"We won the series. That's what matters in the end. We didn't have home [court] advantage, which is great. [It's] great that we won. Struggles are going to come. You have to stay positive and keep hooping. You can impact the game in other ways, not just by shooting poorly."

(On what it means to him to see the organization continue to add players to support him…)

"Big time. This group has been together for like five months. We're capable of more and more. Big-time trades and big-time adjustments. Keep bringing them."

(On how it feels to prove the doubters wrong…)

"I don't think we care. We enjoy playing with each other. We enjoy playing with this team. We don't really care what other people have to say."

(On what Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving means to him…)

"Big-time, man. When he came, [he's been] nothing but supportive of everything I did, everything we did. He helped me mature a lot and realize to see the game in a different way. And, obviously, on the court it's amazing to play with a guy like him. Just go out there and enjoy. The leader he's been for us, not just for me, but for us, has been amazing. Always positive energy."

Kyrie Irving

(On how fun it was out there in tonight's 117-116 win to advance to the Western Conference Finals…)

"I think it was fun once the game ended. So many high emotions going out there. Being down 17 in a close-out game isn't a position you want to be in, but that's where we found ourselves. We had to respond the way we've been responding all season, just playing hard on the basketball on the defensive end, getting out in transition, and just trusting that our pace will get us back in the pace. [It] definitely feels good to get the series done. Now we can reflect on it and see how we improved as players, as a team, coaching staff, and organization, so we're appreciative of it."

(On his postgame interview with ESPN and that moment with his family and how special those moments are in his career…)

"Just that whole walk-off: hugging my family and then going to hug some more of my family in the locker room, everybody cheering for each other. I had to make an impromptu speech and I was doing my best not to let some tears come down from my eyes because it feels like it's been a long time coming. Just being back in this position, getting back to the [Western] Conference Finals. It was just a long way back. I'm grateful to have these guys beside me."

(On what Mavericks guard Luka Dončić means to him…)

"I think this guy has pushed me to continue to work on my game, continue to develop as a young leader. A big word we can both agree on is maturity. Coming into Dallas, I was dealing with a lot mentally, spiritually [and] emotionally. They embraced me with open arms. I don't have a perfect journey, so coming into this environment I wasn't sure how we were going to work out on the court. But, off the court, I knew eventually that I would get him to open up. This guy's a big teddy bear at times off the court at times. [He's] a big competitor. I'll say [he is] a teddy bear that likes to compete. At times, I just have to sit back and marvel at his talent and his ability to get outside his comfort zone. I enjoy watching him be a father. I enjoy watching him develop as a person first and then the basketball stuff will take care of it. We all know how skilled he is, we all know his numbers and stuff like that, but I want to be a teammate and brother next to him that helps him grow like a man and helps him achieve the things that he wants to achieve. I know he feels the same way. The mission is still the same for us, and when we step on that court, we enjoy competing with each other."

Derrick Jones, Jr.

(On his what it feels like getting to the Western Conference Finals…)

"It's good, it is my first time [going] to the Western Conference Finals. I have been to the Eastern Conference Finals. But in the West, it is stacked over there. You have to give it everything you got every night. It is a big accomplishment, but the job's not finished. We've got to keep on going. We need eight more wins until we get what we want."

(On how he's feeling about his 22-point performance in tonight's win….)

"I took 13 shots, and they are the same shots that I've taken all season. I work on my game, and I trust my game. My teammates trust me. They put me in situations where I can get a shot off or I can create for others."

(On if he thought the Western Conference Finals were an expectation for this team at the beginning of the season….)

"Yeah, the team that we had at the beginning of the year was still special. I felt that we could do a lot of things. But we made a pivot. We got P.J. [Washington Jr.] and Gaff (Daniel Gafford) and that helped our team tremendously on defense. I feel like that was one thing we were lapsing on was the defensive end. I love the team that we've got. We love fighting together."

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