Two of the NBA’s greatest coaches opposed each other last night, and their post-game remarks help explain what has made them so successful.

Phil Jackson’s team won, and he gave credit to the players. Larry Brown’s team lost, and he took responsibility for it.

It’s a good management strategy. Give credit to the workers when things go well, and be careful with the blame when they don’t.

With the victory, Jackson passed Pat Riley as the winningest coach in Los Angeles Lakers history.

“It’s been a really good run,” Jackson said. “Having this opportunity to coach this team is always special. The fact that we’ve had some great teams, great players, is always a credit to them. It’s not really an individual record in my mind.”

Larry Brown of the Charlotte Bobcats took responsibility for a sloppy inbounds play that helped hand the game to the Lakers.

“I had everybody confused,” Brown said. “That was my fault. We had another timeout where I don’t think anybody really understood what we were trying to do, so that was on me. I told them all afterwards that that was just an old coach doing a stupid thing.”

Perhaps the play was stupid, but deflecting the blame was not. No wonder Brown ranks in the top 10 in career victories by an NBA coach.