Jerry: Obviously, I've hit a quite a few shots in this league.
Jerry: We're spoiled. We're at a point now where we expect to win them all. We're among the top teams in the Western Conference, if not the top team. We expect to win all the time.
Jerry: When you've got a system that works, it doesn't matter the pieces. But it's a lot better when you've got all the pieces working.
Jerry: I felt good. It was in good rhythm. I think I still had a nice breathing to it. I never felt winded, didn't feel fatigued.
Jerry: Once we started missing, we started pressing. Just a bad night. Won't be the last one, either.
Jerry: The only thing we need to be working on right now is getting stronger and improving our seeding for the playoffs.
Jerry: I like playing with Damp. People make a lot about him being out of the starting lineup and coming off the bench, but I think he feels comfortable playing with me because he gets a few more shots maybe than he gets in the starting lineup. So it's been working out well. Hopefully we can continue to get better.
Jerry: In the second half, we didn't play well offensively and couldn't get into a good posture defensively either. They got their confidence and we started pressing a bit. They escalated and we went on a downslide.
Jerry: There were some botched plays and missed dunks. ... You have to win like that sometimes.
Jerry: We don't have to depend on Dirk in every game. We have guys on this team who can do a lot of things.
Jerry: They're going to have to do something different in the future. I don't think they're going to be able to play Bruce Bowen on Dirk anymore and put Tim Duncan on Josh.
Jerry: We can't be satisfied with just tying up the series with this win. We're going to probably see this team somewhere down the road in the playoffs.
Jerry: You have to teach him the Bill Russell rule and tap it to yourself so we can get on the break.
Jerry: We didn't want to let down after last night. We got them on their heels early and kept it up.
Jerry: We got a lot of guys who can get it done. We're still a little shorthanded. But if we get those guys back against San Antonio, it'll be even better.
Jerry: Tonight was a big night for us. But so is (Saturday) night. If we stub our toe (against New Orleans), then this one means nothing.
Jerry: We would like to think that everything we're doing now is geared toward the playoffs. We know we're better than how we've been playing lately. It's been good to talk about the race with San Antonio, but we have to worry about getting back on track.
Jerry: We're much better than what we showed tonight, especially late in the game. We normally close games out a lot better than what we did.
Jerry: He's the best center in the NBA on one end now. The team has to focus on him more than any center in the NBA, even Shaq.
Jerry: We don't worry about what San Antonio is doing. We know we're a playoff team and we'll see how things fall.
Jerry: We need to free our minds, get in hotels and build that camaraderie. It's still there, but I think that it goes up on the road. I'm looking forward to a nice dinner with the guys (Wednesday).
Jerry: We've been here a long time. We seem to tighten things up on the road. We've been experiencing a little bit of a lull. But we played good basketball for a lot longer stretch than we've been playing not-so-good basketball.
Jerry: Everyone responded. We knew it was just a bad first half.
Jerry: That team plays hard. You're not going to find any team in the NBA that plays harder than them. It was a good test for us.
Jerry: We got a lot to be upset about. We weren't the team we were for the last 20-some games. We were stagnant, didn't move the ball, Dirk wasn't himself, letting Bruce Bowen get under his skin. He's better than that. We're better than that. So everybody is taking their fair share of responsibility for that game. We all did uncharacteristic things.
Jerry: We're playing the world champions and we're trying to get something they have. If anybody tries to downplay it, that's all you're doing – trying to downplay it – because this is a statement game.
Jerry: It's great to say we're the best team in the Western Conference at the All-Star break. What we'd really like to say is we're the best team in the Western Conference at the end of the season, and the best team in the league in June.
Jerry: I met some good people in Washington. Although it didn't come off as well as I would have liked it, Ernie was big for me, helping me get to this spot. We had conversations, and he knew what my aspirations were. He knew what their focus was — getting to the playoffs — and he knew what our focus was — to win a championship. He knew what I wanted, and he helped facilitate it, so that was good.
Jerry: We were really focused tonight. Even after the game, we were all businesslike. We did what we set out to do, and now we're just trying to move forward.
Jerry: Defense is great, but if you don't put some points on the board, you're not going to win games.
Jerry: It's all positive. It's getting there. I don't look at it as if I've arrived and it's all behind me. I'm still cognizant of it.
Jerry: I was able to make sure we got the last shot and I rose up and hit it. I had a couple before that I thought were going down, but I'm glad I got the one that counted.
Jerry: We were just not in the game. We were totally knocked on our heels in the first half.
Jerry: We were totally knocked on our heels.
Jerry: I'm just thankful the time has come for me to be out there.
Jerry: He's going to bruise some egos and brush some people the wrong way. He has everywhere he's been.
Jerry: You're going to find out right away that he's going to do it his way, and if not, then maybe another team is better suited for you.
Jerry: Any time they go inside that knee, that's what you're looking at – four months. But I don't think it's realistic that he'll be back to his true form until next season.
Jerry: Now we're the ones waiting.
Jerry: We have yet to play our best basketball. That's a good sign to be up 2-0 and not have hit on all cylinders yet.
Jerry: Our identity as an offensive team is set. As a defensive team, we're still a question mark to the masses. But we know we're capable of winning that way.
Jerry: We don't have to deal with staying on the West Coast for an extra day or traveling overnight to get home. That's big for us, I think.
Jerry: Have I come out of the game making a defensive mistake? Yeah. He doesn't really discriminate. Everybody is held accountable ... He seldom pulls a guy for an offensive mistake, taking a bad shot, anything like that. The leash is shorter on the defensive end.
Jerry: Anything can happen in this league. San Antonio could possibly lose three games.
Jerry: You will get a lot of each other. That will happen in the next three or four weeks. We want to put a little doubt in their minds.
Jerry: We're still a great team in a great position. We still have a lot that we want to prove once the playoffs get here, no matter what seed we are or who we're playing. But I'm kind of glad the Golden State Warriors aren't one of the eight (playoff teams). We've had a tough time against them this year.
Jerry: Since he signed a letter of intent, why not? He can't help that he's so good he just had to skip over and go to the NBA. He was on the right track.
Jerry posted a game-high 33 points and 4 assists, in his Pistons debut, against the Indiana Pacers on December 19, 1997.
Jerry ranked 15th in the NBA in free-throw percentage, 85.0% in 1999.
Jerry hit the game-winning three-pointer at the overtime buzzer, totaling a game-high 32 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, in a 104-101 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz on March 21, 1999.
Jerry scored 11 points in the 2000 NBA All-Star Game.
Jerry ranked 8th in the NBA in points per game, 23.6, and 14th in minutes per game, 38.4 in the 1999-2000 season.
Jerry scored a NBA season-high 57 points against the Chicago Bulls on April 3, 2001.
Jerry ranked 14th in NBA in scoring average, 21.4 points per game in the 2001-02 season.
Jerry often sings the National Anthem at Mavericks games.
Jerry currently plays as a guard-forward for the Dallas Mavericks.
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