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While Quinn was googling full moons, Green asked again, “How often does a full moon come around, anyway? From across the room at Valanciunas’ locker came the response: “Every 13 games.”

The deadpan delivery was perfect. The mood in the room instantly went from tense and quiet to relaxed as those still in the room gave Valanciunas his proper due for the witty response.

That accomplished, Green got serious.

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“Things didn’t go our way tonight,” he began stating the obvious. “The ball didn’t bounce for us. As you can see it’s a full moon (actually, it wasn’t). Kawhi usually doesn’t lose the ball like that out of bounds (on a potential game-winner, no less) or have the number of turnovers he had (six). He doesn’t get the ball taken from him like that. Where you get Reggie Bullock open for a layup floater, that doesn’t happen often.”

Green though did have a point. He was still getting there.

“But we didn’t lose that game at the end of the game,” he said. “It was well before that. You could just tell. I was watching it as I was getting treatment. You could tell body language and just the atmosphere or how the guys looked, it didn’t look good. It kind of looked how we were the other night against New Orleans only we had more energy, better kick to start the game. But once things don’t start going our way we still have to find ways or still conduct ourselves in the same way and not getting down and letting last plays affect our next plays.”

There is plenty of experience up and down this lineup, but early on this team has shown a tendency of rather long funks. Prior to Monday’s game, they have been able to pull themselves out of it. The loss to the Pistons though was almost an entire second half lull and that can’t happen.