We've been shooting the ball real well the last few games. We just continued it tonight.

We've been in some tough games and we haven't won all of them. When it comes to a game like this, you think maybe the investment of the hard schedule early pays off.

I think both teams settled into 'this isn't our night mode'. The home team has to win those games, and that's what we did.

Leaving the group, he reclined on a couch, drank morosely, and watched people. He noticed the games they played with one another. They put on masks of civility, all while spewing their venom.

The boards in the second half were the difference. They are stronger inside than we are. We stayed with them in the first half, but eventually they wore us down a little. I thought it was a good game, I'm very pleased with our players. I thought they stepped up to the challenge against the No. 1 team.

Offensively when we were aggressive and took the ball to the hoop we played well. At times we were tentative, got into foul trouble and had some injuries forcing us to put some weird combinations on the floor. Those kids really stepped up and gave us great minutes. In playoff basketball it is so important to win with a team effort.