HEAD COACH MIKE BROWN
(On the game as a whole):
“I thought the fans in the building were terrific. They’ve been terrific the whole season. I said this before the game, but I think we have the best fans in the NBA. I thought that there was a stretch where we were a little flat offensively. When the ball came to a standstill, we didn’t move bodies and we didn’t move the ball that well. We hung in there defensively, and then LeBron carried us for a stretch there, just making play after play after play offensively. I thought he did it the right way. He was very aggressive in that second half attacking the rim, especially when we kind of stalled out a little bit. Playing a team like the Celtics, in the past, they’ve done a terrific job of what we call the 50/50 ball. That’s when there’s a loose ball on the floor or a long rebound that bounces a few times. You can’t afford to waste a possession or give up a possession against a team like that. Tonight, we did a better job of trying to win that 50/50 ball battle.”

(On LeBron’s performance):
“I know offensively he did a whale of a job carrying us, especially when we were stagnant and stalled out. Defensively, Paul Pierce is a tough cover and the last few ballgames he had our number. I thought LeBron did a nice job of continuing to pursue Paul even when he got screen after screen after screen. I thought he just kept pursuing and trying to make him (Pierce) work for his shots, and LeBron got help from his teammates, too.”

(On Ben Wallace’s free throws):
“When those guys went to foul him, it was good to see him step up to the free throw line and knock them down. He practices them an awful lot in practice and for him to knock those down, it’s just great to see his practice pay off.”

LEBRON JAMES
(On key to winning the game):
“I think it was the energy and effort we showed defensively as a unit. That’s the thing I’m most proud of tonight. We continue to show poise, we continue to help each other defensively and we continue to use energy and effort. That’s one thing that you can control, is having energy and effort, and we had it throughout the game tonight.”

(On the stature of this one game):
“We have to continue to protect home court. We want to continue to get better and we got better tonight. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, you want to try and get better each night. You don’t want to take a step back because we have a big picture and a goal. You don’t want to waste a game and not get better. We got much better tonight.”

(On being an elite team):
“I think teams know that (the Cavs are an elite team). I don’t think we needed to win tonight to let teams know that…We were a confident bunch of guys coming into this game and after this game. We just want to continue to play well and protect our home court and we did that once again.”

(On defending Paul Pierce differently):
“You can’t continue to give him one look because of the player that he is. My teammates did a good job of letting me know where they were behind me and helping me out. I didn’t do it by myself; it was the team concept.”

(On the fans tonight):
“It’s (the fans energy tonight) up there. My first year in the playoffs, my third year in the league, it was unbelievable. The first Finals game here, Game 3 against San Antonio, was unbelievable. Tonight, when Ben was making free throws and we were making runs, it was great. Much respect to the Cavaliers fans. They were unbelievable.”

ANDERSON VAREJAO
(On the team’s effort and LeBron diving for loose balls):
“It’s great. It was a playoff game. We went into the game with our mindset and we knew what to do to win the game. It was great. It was a hustle play and it was good.”

(On his offensive effort):
“I am working hard. I am working hard every day on my jump shot and my offensive game. I feel pretty good out there. I am playing with a lot of confidence and they are passing the ball to me.”

(On Ben Wallace making free throws down the stretch):
“He works hard every day. He shoots a lot of free throws and practices a lot. I knew he was going to make his free throws.”

BEN WALLACE
(On executing the defensive game plan):
“I was pretty satisfied with our all-around defensive effort. Everybody came in the game and everybody stuck to the game plan. They made plays but we stayed with the game plan and we tried to make it work. It worked good for us for most of the game.”

(On winning a big game at home):
“It definitely was a big game for us. Not necessarily because it was Boston, but because regardless (of the opponent), we wanted to take care of home court. The good teams in the league are the ones that can take care of their home court and find ways to win on the road. We have been doing that all season. We want to make it tough for teams to come in here and play. As long as we come out as a team and play hard and give our fans something to cheer about, that’s what it’s all about.”

(On being intentionally fouled repeatedly late in the game):
“It fuels me. It gives me a sense that the (other) team can try and throw everything that they can throw at us, but they can’t stop us and can’t figure out what we are doing.”

HEAD COACH DOC RIVERS
(On their tough stretch):
“I told them that I saw good things tonight. I thought we pushed the panic button a little when we took some quick shots. I told the guys we put money in the bank with a 19-game winning streak and were making a withdrawal that we don’t want to make right now, but we are. At the end of the day, we are 29-9 and that is not all that bad except for the stretch we are on right now. We just got to get it right. We are going to right the ship. When? I don’t know, but the last three games I have seen better stuff.”

(On the game):
“I thought our defense after the first quarter was better. The first quarter it was as poor as it could be. I thought offensively it was better in stretches as well, just in stretches though. I thought we were more competitive. There were stretches where they hit us hard and we fought back and cut it to five. That is a good sign for your team.”

(On the difference in the game):
“The biggest stretch was when it was a five-point game and we had three fast breaks in a row and came up (with) zero (points) on three-on-one’s and four-on-two’s. You know in our league if you miss on a fast break, it is two points the other way. I think the first one we had a four-on-one and didn’t score, they got a three. Second one we had a three-on-one, didn’t score (and) they got a two. That was the difference in the game; I thought that stretch. It was over after that.”

PAUL PIERCE
(On the game):
“I just thought early and most of the game we went at them. It is one of those games where momentum is a factor; we were unable to take the crowd out of the game. We turned the ball over in crucial stages when we cut the lead. We just didn’t give ourselves a chance when we were getting back in the game.”

(On the mood of the team):
“We’re good man. I am telling you the truth. We talk after every game; we sit in the locker room after a loss and talk about what we need to do better. The mood is real positive; that is our strength and is going to continue to be our strength. That is what makes us strong. We are going to get through this tough stretch.”