 as promised. Here's coach post game with the media. Hey Steve, I asked you pregame about their three-point shooting and and the problems opposed. You held them at 35 percent. I'm just curious what you thought of your three-point defense tonight especially down the stretch. It was a lot lot better in the final three-quarters. We struggled defensively in the first quarter so we're a little indecisive. Make too many errors, mental errors, but you know the last three-quarters 25-25-21 points was was very good and we kept telling them during the game like why our defense is getting better stick with it keep getting better and they did they did a great job. They battled, they fought, our rebounding got better and we got the stops. Christian Onefield, New York Daily News. Coach it just seems to be a theme somewhat this season you know guys go down for whatever reason guys are in and out of the lineup for whatever reason but you guys find a way to stay consistent and wish you guys are trying to do. Can you just talk about how you guys have gotten to this point because it seemed like it wasn't like that earlier in the season and now you guys are kind of like on a string and playing for each other. I mean I think it's time, growth, you know, familiarity. You know we have a common experience and we have a bunch of guys that that are willing to come in and fight for the group and play together and play the right way and play selfless basketball. So proud of all the guys that have stepped in to bigger roles while guys are out. We've formed a great cohesion I think and tonight it really came down to just fighting and wanting it. They're a tough team to guard and we told them we just got to stick where they keep fighting and good things happen. Tom Dowd, berkelenetz.com. See this probably kind of falls in the same category you know in terms of winning these games being on demand a little bit but you've had a bunch of these games since the break. It really came down to it in the fourth quarter and just you know how significant have you seen this team develop in those situations over the last couple weeks. Yeah I think you know we're getting more familiar with situations at the end of games. Really most importantly we got the stops. Gave us separation. You know that group that was in there when James was out. It was great. You know took it up by camera board was 7-8 point lead and then James came in and we got the stops more so than the baskets in the way. We were able to get stops and rebounds when we counted and then we were able to take care of the situations down the stretch. So always difficult. You know when a team needs to get a stealer or try to deny the ball in bounds some of those scenarios can be tricky and we took care of it today. Brian Lewis, New York Post. Steve you talked about the defense improving as you went on. Obviously Cantor is a load in there and was tough at times for Nick but how much did Nick's mobility and ability to switch? How much did that help you going down the stretch in a second? Yeah Nick was huge. You know he's such a versatile player of defense with his links and athleticism his mobility. You know he can guard pretty much one through five. So yeah he's going to struggle at times on the glass but a lot of that was more so coming out of rotations and stuff. So you know he's a threat offensively around the basket and he's developing every day. So proud of him. His defensive effort is outstanding and very valuable to us. Steve Lichtenstein, WFAN. Hi Steve. Most fans know Blake Griffin as the all-star scorer. Can you describe the impact that he's having with hustle plays, setting screens, taking charges? Yeah I mean Blake's experience and intelligence are really important. You know he still you know has the ability to to play make and make three rebound post up smaller players. So it's not that he's just a hustle player now but he's willing to dive on the floor. He's already taken charges but that intelligence and experience is adding to our group and as he continues to get more familiarity with the group and the way we play he's gonna be more valuable as well. We'll go back to Alex Schiffer. Hey Steve I got two for you just as Steve just said you got good minutes from Blake tonight. Do you expect him to play tomorrow as you guys try to ramp him up or you might rest him just because he's still getting into shape? We'll see you know we'll see how he feels tomorrow you know it's a little tricky with that you know we don't want to put him in a dangerous position with his knee so we'll evaluate it tomorrow and see where he is and how far along he is in his adaptation process and make a decision tomorrow. God yeah am I second one you didn't need to sign Jesus tonight as you said pregame but you guys did sign Alize Johnson just what does he give you guys and do you have an idea when he'll be able to join you? I think tomorrow is what I hear so you know we we'll see see when he gets here and look forward to meeting you. Thanks coach for your time. Thanks Steve.