Sports Radio Interviews

Rick Carlisle Proud Of How His Mavericks Battled

Don’t count out the Dallas Mavericks just yet. Just a few short days after a controversial call put them in a 3-0 hole against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, the Mavericks battled back to win Game 4 behind a huge 44-point night from Dirk Nowitzki. Coach Rick Carlisle joined KTCK in Dallas on Tuesday to talk about the 119-117 win and to comment on how proud he was of how his team has battled adversity all season, and in Game 3 in particular.

On why his team didn’t quit after being down 3-0:

“I can’t think of a more defeatist way of thinking than why not just pack it in. And look, I know it’s never been done before in basketball coming back from 3-0, but at some point, somebody’s going to do it. And look, odds are we aren’t going to be the ones to do it, but you never know until you get on the board with a win and extend the series. So there’s a lot at stake when you’re down 3-0. You don’t want a series to end 4-0. That just leaves a horrible taste in everybody’s mouth. We have loyal fans, and we have one of the few full houses in the entire league now. And this is something that we talked about before the game – the day before Game 4 – just there’s an obligation for you to do everything possible to make our fans feel really good about this season. And to make them feel like they’re a part of something that’s been a very productive year on a lot of levels.”

What specifically did Carlisle say to his team down by 14 in the 2nd quarter during Game 4:

“We came in the huddles at that period of time and I’m saying to the team, look these guys are 7-9 from 3. They’re throwing in some just hellacious shots. We’ve had good shots that we’ve missed. Just hey you guys got to keep playing. The crowd is dying to be totally involved in this game. Just keep chipping away. And they did, so we just got the thing to a really manageable number with about 1:30 to go in the 1st half, then we pissed that away with some technicals and some fouls and a couple turnovers. So we just kept getting in our way a little but guys kept battling. And when it really counted, Dirk was just absolutely phenomenal and he helped us close the game. And we really just battled and got rebounds. So look, we’re hanging in and we’re going to keep battling.”

Listen here to Carlisle on KTCK in Dallas

Tags: Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, KTCK, NBA Playoffs, Rick Carlisle, Western Conference NBA Playoffs