NBA quotage

Better put it behind glass

Lakers guard Steve Nash, on what usually happens to a milestone basketball such as the one he used Tuesday to record his 10,000th assist in a game against the Houston Rockets: “Usually my 2-year-old ends up dribbling it around the house.”

Keep your thoughts to yourself

Memphis Coach Lionel Hollins, when asked whether he passed along comments to team management that he didn’t want to break up a team that was 23-10: “If they didn’t hear about it this morning, they’ll hear about it tomorrow when you write a big, glorious column and I’ll get the notes when I’m in Dallas [that] I should have kept my mouth shut.”

Speak at your own peril

Boston center Kevin Garnett, on the Celtics’ new policy of making players speak with the media before games, which runs contrary to the way Garnett had operated since his rookie season: “I played like crap [after talking to the media] and the next time Terry Porter told me never to do interviews again and I’ve never done interviews again. But here we’re trying something out and it’s for the betterment of the team, so I hope this will work.”

He’ll never be 6 feet 10

New York Knicks forward Steve Novak, on Chicago’s Nate Robinson, the 5-9 guard who imitated Novak’s so-called discount double-check sign after making two shots in the first half of a game Friday: “You know, one day when little Nathan grows up, I hope that his dreams come true and he can be just like me.”

—Ben Bolch