Postgame quotables, Dirk Nowitzki version

... I think overall, the energy was great tonight in the building for us. The fans really got us hyped early. I think our defense got a lot better, scrambling more, going after loose balls, getting long rebounds. Once we got the rebounds, Kidd was off to the races. We got a lot of fast-break points, lot of looks in transition, and that's our game. We feel like we just didn't get the stops in the first two games, for our game to really develop and to play Mavericks basketball. I think today, definitely the defense helped and we were off to the races.

... The Warriors last year were just a tough matchup for us as a team. We weren't as sharp as we wanted to be. We really didn't have anything to play for the whole April and I don't think any of our players had a good rhythm going into the playoffs. This year was different, I think we had to close very strong to even get in. I felt like I had a very good rhythm over the last couple of weeks after I got hurt. When I got back, and just trying to do more of the same. Be really in attack mode. If the shot's there, shoot it. If not, move it. And just play my game that I've always played for 10 years now.

... [Terry] was great. His ability of making shots, stretching the defense, but he's a great player in transition also.  When Kidd has the ball, he's always running with him, spotting up on the three-point line, taking it to the basket. Jet, to us, is one of the best clutch shooters this league has. So, he definitely stepped up big. He played a lot of minutes. His defense was good. Paul, when he was on him, so he played a great all-around game for us.

... We're still down 2-1. But at least, we wanted to get on the board. Just didn't have a great rhythm there the first two games. So, we wanted to make sure we made it a series and win this first one. When we lost game two, I said we had to take it one game at a time. This first step we took ... it was a tough game, we had them down early, but they just keep coming. That's how good a team they are. They're a great team, they're going to keep coming. They're going to do the same in game 4. I think it's going to take the same effort, the same intensity, the same focus and ability of getting stops and playing Mavericks ball.

... You know, I think we've been a great home team all season long. But, i think that's what separates the good teams from the great teams, the ability to win on the road. We got to get back to that. Last year, we won almost 70 games, so we just knew we had that confidence down the stretch on the road too. We got to get back to that. Hopefully we can win with the same intensity on Sunday and hopefully go back to New Orleans with a tied series, and then that should be another fun game.