HEAT Head Coach Stan Van Gundy

On the Game:
“This team was not really built to play without Shaq and without Dwyane [Wade]. Dwyane played 21 minutes and had a bad night on top of that. That was obviously a huge factor. I thought our guys battled [hard] for the last 20 minutes, but 20 minutes is not enough with Shaq out and with Dwyane having that kind of night. You are going to need a 48-minute absolute battle. If we would have played as hard as we did for the last 20 minutes for the entire game, it might have been a different story. We missed a lot of shots right at the rim in the first half, and we missed a ton of free throws in the second half. We defended well. We were just shooting ourselves in the foot at the free throw line. The thing we need to do, and we are just not ding it against good defensive teams, is move the basketball. When we made our run back it was all coming on second, third, and fourth passes. We refused to do that most of the game. I have to take responsibility for that. We need to get in the gym and get them to move the basketball beyond the first option on plays. You can get away with that against bad defensive teams, but not against a team like Detroit.”

On the play of Dwyane Wade:
“[Defensively] they [Detroit Pistons] were great. He has to learn, and I am sure he will because he is an intelligent guy. When Shaq is out of the game, the better defensive teams are not going to let him get into the paint and get to the rim. He has got to be a passer in games like that.”

On the play of Alonzo Mourning:
“Defensively , he was great. His effort was fantastic. Offensively, obviously he had a major struggle. His defense and rebounding is something that we can use. He has also has to be able to convert around the basket. We are not asking him to do too much offensively, but he has got to be able to get it in the paint and finish.”

HEAT Forward Udonis Haslem

On the game:
“We didn’t make shots or free throws and we got in foul trouble. I think this team showed tremendous heart. You hate to lose a game, but I’m proud of my teammates.”

“Anytime you lose the Big Fella, it’s a big adjustment with how we play basketball. We’re confident in playing without the Big Fella, but every now and then we run into a couple bumps in the road. It’s just something we need to continue to work on.”

“Bottom line is that we didn’t shoot the ball well. We didn’t play 48 minutes like Coach wanted us to. When you’re not shooting the ball well, you have to be playing hard, defending, and rebounding. We weren’t doing any of those things.”

On the play of Alonzo Mourning:
“He played great. He was blocking shots like he’s never taken any time off. It got to the point where he altered a lot of those guys’ shots.”

HEAT Guard Keyon Dooling

On the game:
“They came out and executed well on the defensive end and made their run in the first half. We just didn’t have enough in the tank to catch them in the end. Sometimes you’re going to struggle offensively. The things you can control are defense and effort. In the second half, we fought back and played hard but just came up a little short.”

On playing without Shaquille O’Neal:
“If you take away the best player on any team in the NBA, I think it’s going to be noticeable.”

HEAT Forward/Guard Eddie Jones

On the game:
“We normally move the ball around. We just didn’t move the ball like we wanted to move it. We know they are a great defensive team. We were forcing up shots that we do not normally make.”

“I thought we played with a lot more energy in the second half. In the first half, we just stayed on one side of the floor. We didn’t move our guys enough. In the second half, we moved a lot more and played better defensive.”

On the play of Alonzo Mourning:
“We know that we are going to get a defensive effort from Zo every night. Offensively he’s trying to get into a groove. It’s tough to come in and be great offensively. It takes time and I think tonight is a step forward for him.”

Detroit Pistons Head Coach Larry Brown

On the game:
“On the fourth quarter, they were very aggressive. They had a great run. Without Shaq they played excellent. That is why they have the most wins in the league. Keyon (Dooling) really got their energy up off the bench. I felt Wade was frustrated early because of foul trouble. I know from coaching him he wants to win real badly. It was just one of those nights. Alonzo played great he was a defensive presence; he had seven offensive rebounds. It is nice to see him back. It is a good win for us, we are one step closer to winning the number two spot. Hopefully we can do that. There is not really anything we can take out of this game. But, we won on the road. Anytime you win at one o’clock on a Sunday in Miami, it’s a tough game to win. They never gave up. I hope we are fortunate to play them in another series it would be a great match up.”

Pistons Guard/Forward Richard Hamilton

On the game:
“I think we played great. I think they should have gotten a couple more calls down the stretch, but that’s the nature of the game. We would rather play physical anyway.”

On defending Dwyane Wade:
“We played him as five (players). I think we went at him offensively and defensively we played him as five. We switched up and had everyone guard him.”

On the absence of Shaquille O’Neal:
“You have the most talented player in the game of basketball not out there so he definitely makes them a different team.”

On the prospect of playing the HEAT in the playoffs:
We match up great. We have a lot of big guys.”

Pistons Guard Chauncey Billups

On the game:
“It was a good game. They were shorthanded without Shaq so that changes how they play a little bit, but not how we play. It was a hard fought game. That was two teams who play very physical. You know there is going to be a lot of banging out there when those two teams get together.”

On defending Dwyane Wade:
“We played him with a lot of different people and on the other end we just went at him. We tried to make him play defense and wear him down a little bit so he wouldn’t be able to run free on the offensive end. He was never able to get a flow because of foul trouble.”

Pistons Forward/Center Rasheed Wallace

On the prospect of playing the HEAT in the playoffs:
“I’m not worried about that. We still have the regular season. I don’t care who it is. It doesn’t matter. We match up with anybody. It doesn’t matter if it is the HEAT, the Celtics or the Pistons. It doesn’t matter who we play, we’ll be ready.”