Post-Game Summary: Grizzlies at Nuggets
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images
April 16, 2008
Final Score: Grizzlies 111, Nuggets 120
Kyle Lowry led the Grizzlies' starters with 22 points, and Hakim Warrick added 19. Reserve Andre Brown also scored 19.
As the game winded down, one fan tried to start a "Beat L.A.!'' chant, but he was met with indifference and finally gave up on his attempt to fire up the disinterested crowd.
The sparse attendance was reminiscent of the Nuggets' lottery years thanks to a spring snowstorm and Golden State's loss on Monday night that gave the Nuggets the final playoff spot in the West.
Postgame Links
Commentary and Discussion
Pre-Game Links
Postgame Quotes
|
Iavaroni
|
 |
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH MARC IAVARONI
On the game...
It started out as a good game. They quickly showed they are the better team. I think they got a little bored with us, but I can understand that. We are optimistic, we have salary cap room, a lottery pick, and two first-round draft picks. Rudy Gay showed tremendous improvement over the year. I saw value added with almost every player on our team.
|
|
Warrick
|
|
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES FORWARD HAKIM WARRICK
Feeling at season's end...
It’s up and down. We just needed this long season. You want to play, we are all players, but no playoffs is kind of relieving. You get a chance to look back at things and get better as a player in the off-season and hopefully go back next season. We definitely have a young core and we are going to get better. We have two first-round picks and we have a lot of money for free agencies. So, I think we have the core and we will get a couple more pieces and we will be right back in the playoff line.
|
|
Gay
|
|
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES FORWARD RUDY GAY
On the game...
We were just trying to play solid, go out there and play our game. We had a lot of things on our mind. Last game we don’t have anything to lose, we were just going out there to play. (What do you want to improve on for next season) Everything, there is a lot we can improve on. I think a lot of guys are working on that now. We are planning on what we are going to do this summer and how we are going to get there.
|
|
Karl
|
|
DENVER NUGGETS HEAD COACH GEORGE KARL
On the season...
It is pretty special to win 50 games. People should be proud. Western Conference has been a very special conference this year. This feeling won’t last long; we need to get ready for an L.A. team. This wasn’t a very polished game, not sure we could have played a polished game. We got a win and accomplished a couple of things, one being that we got Chucky Atkins a lot of minutes. When we play L.A. our defense is going to have to be at a high level. Paul Gasol has given them a low-post presence; where in the past Kobe Bryant has been that low-post presence. I think Kobe is the MVP of the league. Early in the season we were talking of the Lakers demise and now they are the top seat. They are going to be fired up and we are going to be fired up. We just have to be prepared for anything.
|
|
Iverson
|
|
DENVER NUGGETS GUARD ALLEN IVERSON
On the upcoming playoffs...
I don’t care who we play. I’m looking forward to playing in a playoff series. Every team in the West is tough. To win a championship it is going to be hard no matter what. I would be lying if I said it is the same thing, playing New Orleans or Los Angeles. I just relish the moment. This is why I play basketball. To be under the bright lights, those are the moments I cherish. (on Melo...) It was good for him to get back out there and do what he does. Nobody is perfect. We support him and we believe in him. I have been there plenty of times. A mistake is only a mistake if you make it twice. It’s not going to be a distraction for us. (On playing together for a whole season..) I feel good. We have been playing together longer. We have been through a training camp. We have been in some big battles. The sky is the limit.
|
|
Anthony
|
|
DENVER NUGGETS FORWARD CARMELO ANTHONY
On the playoffs...
Our focus level is going to have to be ten times better than what it was in the regular season. We pretty much know what they are about, but at the same time we have to go out there and stop it. We know that they are going to run their offense, we know what Kobe is capable of throwing out there, with Gasol on that team too, and just everybody on that team overall is playing very well right now. (Relish position of playing eight against one...) Yeah I take that as motivation. Nobody thinks we can win. (Fifty wins...) First of all, a great season for us; losing games that we weren’t supposed to lose. All the ups and downs we had this season as a team. To still come out with 50 wins in this league was a great season for us. (Challenge playing Lakers...) The 50 wins doesn’t mean nothing now. We have to go out there and play and everybody knows Lakers are a hot team right now and everybody knows what Kobe is capable of doing. We got to go out there and get focused ten times than what we were in the regular season.
|
