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Pistons Outlast Bulls, Claim Playoff Spot
Detroit Pistons 116, Bulls 109
March 9, 2008 | Palace of Auburn Hills | Auburn Hills, MI
Recap |
Box Score |
Video Highlights: Play

Boylan |
Quoting Bulls Interim Head Coach Jim Boylan
“Until our defense picks up it is going to be a struggle for us. I thought that we had so many breakdowns that they were able to drive by us and it was kind of disappointing. I thought that our pick-and-roll defense was also not very good, our weak side defense was not reacting and they really hurt us on the boards. Just like in Boston it was a tough night for us rebounding. We need to get active on the defense boards if we expect to win, so with all that being said we still had our chances down the stretch to make some plays and almost steal the game, but we couldn’t get it done. We couldn’t get the key rebound or make the key shot though, so they came away with the win and overall they played better then we did, but we hung in there to steal it at the end and just didn’t have it at the end.”
On rebounding:
“We’ve got to do a better job rebounding the ball and that is not just the big guys, the guards have to get involved as well. There are a lot of long rebounds that we are just standing around flat-footed and not searching out. A lot of that is effort and we haven’t been coming up with those. If we want to make a move or do anything then we need to energize ourselves in the rebounding department.”

Hinrich |
Quoting Bulls Guard Kirk Hinrich
On foul trouble:
“I feel like I'm a rookie again. I guess that I just have to be more careful out there. I pick up a couple of fouls and then it is on my mind and I have to be conscious to not foul.”
On poor shooting:
“The stretch of games lately has just been tough to get in a rhythm. I just need to try and play hard and keep going with this.”

Saunders |
Quoting Pistons Head Coach Flip Saunders
“I thought we were aggressive tonight. Chauncey (Billups) was good. We rebounded well overall, played well. We had a stretch there, as far as third quarter, kind of let them back in there and just kind of played with that. I thought that we had good play overall from a lot of different people.”
On Tayshaun Prince:
“I was almost afraid to take him out, that his arm might tighten up a little bit, plus he is playing so well. He's played well this last week. He's had some big games for us and he's been aggressive to the rim. I like to see him when he's putting it on the floor and really putting a lot of pressure on it, because what happens is not only can he get to the bucket and score but he becomes a playmaker, as far as he had six assists tonight.”
More on the game:
“With ‘Sheed (Rasheed Wallace) out they (Chicago) knew that they maybe had to step it up a little bit. I thought that we had good play from a lot of people. Chauncey put up, (Rodney) Stuckey played well with his time, Juan (Dixon) a little bit of his time. I thought Amir (Johnson) did well. Maxi (Jason Maxiell) played well and I thought Theo (Ratliff) gave us a lot.”

Billups |
Quoting Pistons Guard Chauncey Billups
“This was a game that we looked to and said ‘you know this team they just dominate us and we need to find a way to get a win against this team.’ I felt that we did a good job coming out and taking care of business and not complaining to the refs when we thought there was some calls that we thought should have went the other way. Just not complaining, just saying ‘you know what the heck with it, let’s just keep grinding and don't let them knock us off our square.’”
On Theo Ratliff:
“He changed so many shots in there today. It's been along time since I've seen that, along time since I've seen other guys come in the paint and be looking for somebody. Some he blocks and others he doesn’t but he always is on the right coverage defensively. He's just a veteran, he's a professional. He's giving us extra opportunities with offensive rebounds.”

Prince |
Quoting Pistons Forward Tayshaun Prince
On the starting unit:
“We started off great. We moved the ball extremely well at the beginning of the game. I think we got everybody into a flow. Theo (Ratliff) really protected the paint for us and stepping up on the offensive end tonight and filling in for Rasheed Wallace, but more importantly we moved the ball extremely well. We didn’t shoot the ball extremely well in the first half but we did get to the free throw line and then we were able to get some shots to fall.”
On second chance opportunities:
“It was huge. Theo keeping balls alive, (Jason) Maxiell and Amir (Johnson) are getting after it every night. That energy that they bring to the table is huge for us. They keep balls alive so therefore it gives us opportunities, the guards especially to get long rebounds. We did a great job of capitalizing and making second and third opportunities.”
On being home:
“It’s definitely nice to be home, especially after that West Coast trip. We come home, play one game and go back out for two more games, so it’s definitely great to be home. We got a lot of games to take care of business but most importantly we are playing good basketball. As long as we keep playing solid basketball and moving the basketball things will be good for us.”
On his elbow injury:
“It is real sore. I was about to shoot my free throws one handed for a second. My whole arm, the side of it, was numb. So once a couple shots fell for me I said ‘hey it’s better to play hurt.’”