Collin Gillespie REACTS to Game-Winner on T-Wolves, WILD Comeback Win Without Devin Booker

Collin Gillespie REACTS to Game-Winner on T-Wolves, WILD Comeback Win Without Devin Booker

What would you say to the team postgame after this and also just calling after this one too? Uh postgame wasn’t PG so I’ll keep that one in there. Um yeah, there’s not much to say after that. What what can you say? We all I think we talk about it like the the highs and lows of of the NBA season. Um last time we were here, you know, obviously we were up big in the fourth and we couldn’t close it out. So, great, gritty, tough, um, incredible fight by the guys, everyone that played and then that that group there at the end just to It’s not always how you draw it up. It’s just finding ways to to be successful and win the game. So, um, Colin, yeah, there was I think the guys got him. I I saw it kind of on the TV as we were coming in just all the guys huddled around the guy at the end. um even during the interview at the end like um that doesn’t happen every place. Um what we got going on right now is is in a great place. It’s our job all of us to to keep this thing going. Coach, on that last play, was it get Colin the ball or was that the first read or was there another read off of that? Nope. Get calling the ball. Royce was going to set the screen, get the switch, he’s going to get to his right hand. Then just to follow that up, obviously Colin hitting the pit the shot, but good one leading up to that. How huge was he in that stretch? Uh yeah, incredible. I thought he was really good in the first half, too. We we felt good in the first half. We were, you know, we’re trying to hold him out there even in the third quarter as the run was going. We knew we wanted to get Goodie in, but you want to save some minutes as long as you can. Uh yeah, he’s phenomenal. Obviously, Colin has the steal. I think it was Colin. Then the kick out to Goodie, hits a big three. You know, Colin hits the shot at the end, but then the defense or the awareness to then know where the ball is going is inbounded to Ant. He basically double teams Ant. So Ant has to pass the ball. Just that awareness to go on to the next play is is is everything. You can’t It just doesn’t end with the shot. Um we knew that they didn’t have timeouts. Um yeah, just the the ability to move on to the next play, bad or in this case really good. It’s high level stuff. Um the kid’s a winner. Every place he’s been doesn’t surprise us. Um just glad that he’s on our team. Jordan, I I know a game winner would be great in any circumstance, but the fact that Devin fouls out with three and a half minutes left. Dylan Brooks fouls out. You know, Book didn’t have his greatest game even before he fouled out. You know, to to pull out a game against one of the better teams in the NBA, what’s it say about, you know, this group and what you got going? Yeah, just tough, gritty, competitive, together, selfless. Um that’s what we have seen from this group um since day one. And whatever it takes, whatever it takes, whenever it takes, whoever’s out there, just find a way to outscore the opponent. And um yeah, this is something that we’ll, you know, the these wins are big big for the group, big for our or what we’re doing, but it doesn’t stop. you know, tomorrow’s going to be a day. We’re going to review it um and continue to get better because we got we got a big weekend ahead. When you guys were trying to get clarification there on book six, was it that it was initially charged to Dylan? Is that what you guys were trying to figure out? I was just trying not to get him six. Not sure if there was, you know, there’s a little confusion there at the scores table. There’s a little confusion with the officials. It was confusing that he had got the foul call. Um, we knew Dylan had five as well, so we’re just trying to get some clarification. And did you ever think about challenging there or did you guys just know it wasn’t going to go? Don’t think so. You know, we we have a process for our challenges just like every other team in the NBA. If there’s obviously if there’s something we can see um being there on the sidelines or if the guys can feel um but there’s a process in place to try to take out the emotion of it. You know, if we use it there, we don’t have the timeout at the end of the game. So, um, yeah, the process was not the challenge. To go back to the play for Colin, he he’s a terrific player, but there’s like a pecking order that you guys have for like the last shot in a game, and he might not be first, second, or third, but what did you see the poise from him as soon as he saw the the call was for him? He was the first tonight. That’s what it’s about. Whoever’s out there, go make a play. Um, we had to advance it on that side of the floor, which thankfully he got to his right hand. um it was on that side of the floor, but yeah, there was no indecision who we were going to at the end of the game. Jordan, I think the the well doumented villain junior earning of that nickname in training camp feels like it culminated in today’s moment. Can you speak to that kind of stillness and confidence that that Colin has to where all this adversity happens, the game is all out of control, and then you call his number and he’s just doing exactly what he did a couple of months ago. Yeah, it’s again, it’s not the first time in his career. He’s this is what he does. Um he does the work behind the scenes when the lights aren’t on. He’s always ready. I think he’s played at multiple end of games now. We feel really comfortable putting him out there in the big moments and uh yeah, he’s always ready, you know, cuz he’s done the work. So tough dude, really smart. Um played at the high level everywhere he’s gone. Um tonight was his night. And then we talked about the lineups with him on the floor with Gwen and Dunn and a couple other guys, different iterations of it. That confidence for you to go to that lineup that’s a secondary unit and them continuing to just respond in ways that chip away to piece together the story of the game. Can you just speak to that group’s resilience? It’s actually interesting. It’s like again I think in the first half the ball was really moving with that second group. Um at times we play without Dylan and Book on the floor right now in our rotations. Um, so it’s not abnormal for those guys not to be on the floor at the same time. So maybe some of that helps us, you know, in these situations, in these really weird unique situations that they’re not on the floor, but uh, the ball really pops. And then defensively, they’re just really good defensively. They’re connected. We switch a lot more usually with that group. Um, tonight it was Mark. We were out there switching with Mark. Tried to throw Ryan in there for a minute even at the five, you know, to go five, five small. So, um, it’s the offensive rebounding piece. So Royce got a huge offensive rebound late off of Dylan shot. Um that group always offensive rebounds when anytime goodies out there on the floor seems like we get offensive rebounds. We win those possessions. Um yeah, there’s a lot that went on there at the end of the game. Uh glad we were able to pull it out. Jordan, it seems like this year we’ve learned so much about Colin from where he is to where he is now. Do you feel like you’re still learning about just what all he can do? I don’t think so. again. Like I don’t know what happened last year. You know, I’ve only seen him. He was in the gym all summer long. Um he plays with a confidence that’s very mature, well beyond his years. Um he’s growing. He’s going to continue to grow. He’s in situations like tonight that he’s probably never been in at the NBA level. Um but he’s going to continue to get better. We’re going to we’re super confident in what he can do and the next steps, next iterations of Colin Gillespie. Um he’s got a long pathway to grow and um we’re going to continue to pump him up, give him confidence, give him avenues, try to find solutions. Like I talked a little bit about him pregame just he’s finding solutions out there on the fly. Um but yeah, he’s going to continue to get better. Jordan, just looking at you at the end of the game being able to come up with steals and threes. How, you know, I know in the moment, you know, you’re just playing, but now that you look back on, are you like, man, I really I made a difference tonight? I think I was just being myself out there. Uh, you know, just flying around just trying to make plays. Uh, guys being out Booker and Booker going down, Dylan having five fouls, not being aggressive. So, I just try to go out there and just try to make a little bit more plays, extra effort, and the basketball guys in my favor tonight. So, last thing I had was when you’re drawing the play up for Colin and and you see him go out and hit a shot like that. How confident were you that you know what, the play is for him and he’s going to hit this shot. I was very confident. The whole actually the whole team was confident. So, when he broke the huddle, you heard everybody saying, “Come on, caller. Go ahead and bring us home.” Uh, but I mean, he deserves it. Uh, he goes in there, he works hard every day. been been with him for a long time in the in the summer. Actually been in that second unit in training camp all summer with each other. So I know exactly what Ker can do. So I wasn’t surprised. I’m just happy that he had this moment tonight. Hey Jordan, just what can you say about the defensive resilience of this team? I mean, you know, it it really seems as if you guys are not out of it despite the peaks and the valleys throughout the game. I think it’s our compete level. Um, actually I think we was down by like eight in that in that fourth and I’m looking around and guys still telling me to come on clapping their hands. I’m already I’m already ready to go. So it’s like everybody just keep on the vibe still here. We know how that’s just that’s just how we play. I’ve been going coach had to end practice and training camp early because we was going at each other too much. So that’s kind of just our identity. other just when when you see Devin getting blitzed the way he was in that first half I guess the whole game just just how much is that on on you guys like recognize that and and kind of I I guess be able to take over the offense whenever he has to get rid of the ball. Oh, I mean, he been seeing it all year and I think, uh, I think he’s not getting the, uh, the praise he should get on how he’s been passing the ball to us. But I think Jo has done a good job of building confidence in us in our offense, having space. So, we’re there’s no there’s no like like let downs when whoever you pass the ball to. Uh, J want us all to be aggressive, touching the paint, shooting three. So, when you put two on book, you got you got the other four guys over there ready to attack you. You’ve had a lot of huge moments this season. obviously coming in late in the fourth quarter, getting steals, hitting big time three-pointers. You see a lot of guys on this Suns team that have just been so effective, like you mentioned, hustling, being spark plugs. Yourself, you’re one of the major spark plugs on this team. What goes into that on a nightly basis and for a major game like tonight? Uh we just just trying to prove ourselves. Uh feel like the league kind of disrespects us a little bit. I don’t think we’re getting the the kind of respect we we wish we should get. So, we’re going out there trying to take it. And I think that’s our mindset. We know everybody’s looking past us. So, we just trying to prove oursel right now and just keep it going, keep stacking games. All right, Colin. Um, I think it’s well documented the things you did in training camp to earn the nickname that you got from from Dylan and then you see it all kind of culminate in this moment tonight. Can you just speak to the confidence that you have, how those qualities kind of permeate to your teammates and how they kind of just infuse you with that to finish the job tonight? Yeah, I mean, we got a lot of competitive guys. Um, aside from the the nickname thing, I think it was just competitive spirit between our group in the summertime competing against each other. Uh, wanting to win every game, pickup game that we had, and I think that’s we’re dealing kind of solid. Um, yeah, I think that’s a ton of our guys that are just super competitive winners, want to play winning basketball, will do anything to to win basketball games. Um, and I think you saw a little bit of it at the end of the game there, just no quit. um continue to fight until there’s no time left. And then obviously you scored the basket to win the game, but defensively it doesn’t look like y’all get back into that with being down six or seven in the last couple seconds of the game. Can you speak to that resilience that the team has? It’s honestly part of the identity it seems at this point. Yeah, just flying around. Um it’s a cup game, so um there’s money on the line, so that was really important. But uh yeah, I mean just fighting till the last second like I said, flying around trying to get some steals, anything to get us back in the game. I think we got a steal on an inbounds pass, then Goody hit a three and then kind of just running around causing chaos and creating havoc and then Goodie got another steal um and laid it up and then I think Royce got a steal. I don’t I don’t even know how it happened. It happened really quick, but um no quit, just continue to fight and it was a really good win for us. Colin, can you tell us your reaction during that timeout when Jordan drew up that play for you and just kind of take us through that last few those last few seconds that led to that shot? Um I wasn’t really shocked uh cuz Dylan was fouled out and Book had fouled out already. Um, and I think it was just going to be try to get me to my right hand. Um, make a play. I told Ryan before uh we came out of the huddle, I said, “Make sure you go to the offensive glass cuz I was going to try and get it on the rim if I missed it. Uh, have guys there to put it back in, tip it back in.” Cuz we were only down one. So, I didn’t want to try and settle. Uh, but Go Bear was down there. So, I had to take kind of like a little floater mid-range. Uh, but I was telling guys, make sure you go to the glass, try to get a tip in if this doesn’t go in. Colin, I know you’re a pretty stoic guy, but when everybody’s mobbing you after after the game and everything, I mean, is that kind of a pinch me moment as far as your NBA career? Yeah, for sure. Um, really exciting moment. Uh, but I think it just speaks to the group. Uh, we’ve had a couple moments like that this year already. Uh, Grayson hit 10 threes, guys kind of mobbed him franchise record. So, uh, we really care about each other. We’re excited for each other. Everybody wants to see each other win, have success. Um, and that goes from 1 to 17 or 1 to 18, how however many guys we have on the team. Um, everybody’s just really happy for each other, excited when we see each other succeed. Colin, at what point in the like you guys were down eight with under a minute left. At what point were you like, you know what, we got a chance. Was it was it up until the last shot that you got or was there even before that that you thought you guys had a chance to pull it out? I mean, there’s time left on the clock. There’s always a chance. Crazy crazier things have happened. Um, but I’ll keep saying that it’s just no quitting the team. Continue to fight until the last second. I think the competitive spirit that we have as a team that’s started in training camp or even before that in the summertime. Um, but yeah, I mean, we got a we got a really good group of guys that try to win basketball games, play extremely hard, and compete at a high level. And I don’t think anybody ever thinks we’re out of a game until the final horn sounds. Last thing I had was um just looking at your journey to get to this point, how rewarding is tonight knowing the way it started with the injuries, then to be in Denver, and then to get here and now to be in this position where you’re an impact player and to hit a shot like that. Yeah, I mean it’s really exciting for me. Uh worked extremely hard to get back from those injuries, but I had a lot of really good people around me that helped me get here. Um, I had some low points like being out for a whole year of basketball, missing an entire year, and then started the year last year and broke my ankle again. So, uh, those were tough times, but I had a lot of really good people to help me. People in Denver helped me rehab, get back from that, and then the people here helped me rehab for my ankle injury last year, and then family, teammates. So, there’s a lot of people that like stood by me, lifted me up when I was at a low point, but um this playing in games this year, it all makes it worth it and makes you appreciate the journey. Last one. Hey, Gen. Um so, earlier in the game, Booker had this long bounce pass to you and you hit a three pretty about a couple feet behind the three-point line. You guys seem pretty comfortable out there. how m that comfortability in this offense, how does it kind of open it up as a whole? I’m playing with Devin Booker. Uh he has a ton of gravity on the floor with guys that um all eyes are on him. They’re showing him a ton of bodies. Um and I just got to kind of try to create room to give him a passing lane. Uh and then shoot confidently. I work on it a lot. and uh he’s a really good player obviously and I don’t even know how many assists he had today but they were showing him a ton of bodies kind of blitzing him in ball screens um and that’s our guy so thanks song.

Full Press Conference: Phoenix Suns Collin Gillespie, without Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks, helped the Suns storm back to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in epic fashion. Hear from Head Coach Jordan Ott and Jordan Goodwin!