HEAT Head Coach Stan Van Gundy

On the game:
“I never went into this series even dreaming that it would be a sweep. I said going into this, and I meant it all the way, that with Jefferson back, and he proved that he was truly back after the first game, that it was more like a conference final then a first round. I wasn’t surprised at how hard or how well they played. I thought that Dwyane was fabulous, he kept us in the game. We held them under 40% for the third straight game. I thought we did a good job defensively. I would have liked to have rebounded better, we’re going to have to get that fixed.”

On the Nets:
“That team attacked and attacked, and we did a pretty good job. They obviously had a very tough time in the series after game one shooting the ball from the perimeter and that made the scores a little bit deceptive. They actually played a lot better than the scores indicated. They just really had trouble knocking down perimeter shots. At the end of the year, the last 18/19 games, since we played them, they actually shot the ball very well from the three-point lane. They just really struggled after game one in this series and I think that was key.”

On Dwyane Wade:
“He made better decisions. We got him a little more space. Our guys screamed well for him. He will tell you that yesterday he and I, after practice, watched some film in my room. You don’t need to tell Dwyane a lot, he’s very good at analyzing things for himself.”

HEAT Forward/Guard Eddie Jones

On the game:
“Man, we needed it. I think we always, as athletes, remember what the Red Sox did last year. We just wanted to go out and play our game. We played our game for 48 minutes. We made great plays, got everybody involved, played pretty good defense on Vince, and it just worked for us tonight.”

On importance of closing out series:
“I think that’s just it, getting the big guy some rest. If we can get him a lot of rest over the next week or so, get him feeling good and healthy and able to do his thing, it’s going to help us out big time.”

HEAT Center Shaquille O’Neal

On the game:
“It was good. It was kind of a tricky first half, but we pulled it out in the second half. I had to come in and readjust my pads. I had the thin football pads on, and I had to come in and put on the thick football pads. That’s because I saw they were going to allow them to play football. I had to readjust my pads. We were just on a mission, and we just got a good team. We were really focused, we wouldn’t let anything break us up, and we just kept playing.”

On needing rest:
“It’s very important, but we weren’t using the rest as a motivator. We had to come in here and take care of business, and we didn’t want to take these guys too lightly.”

On other Heat players:
“Dwyane Wade has been a superstar, even last year. It’s just now that you guys are recognizing it. I’ve got a good team. The guys are playing well. We always have a lot of conversations, and the guys do what I ask them to do. We’re playing well right now.”

HEAT Center Alonzo Mourning

On the game:
“First and foremost, I would like to congratulate the New Jersey Nets for a hard fought series. This wasn’t an easy series. They were extremely competitive and made us work for everything we got out there and my hats are off to the Nets and the organization. They put us through a tough fight.”

On two days of rest:
“Yes, it is going to help us out – especially the big fella. It is going to help him tremendously. And D-Wade, I know he is a young fella, but he is going to need the rest as well and hopefully this week will give us an opportunity to heal up and be even more productive next series.”

On the hostile fans:
“I have been playing this game for 20 plus years. Not every time I step on the court, will I have everyone on my side. I have had a lot of practice playing in those environments – probably the most hostile environment I have ever played in was The Garden, back in the days of Knicks-Heat. That does nothing but stimulate me, and make me play even harder. I just really needed that to get me going. The fans here are great fans; they are supposed to support their home town. I wasn’t expecting anything different of them.”

HEAT Guard Damon Jones

On the perception of being a “two man team”:
“We don’t think like that. I think that comes solely from the media and everybody else outside. They think we are a two man team, but all series everyone stepped up. Dwyane did his thing tonight. He was spectacular.”

On whether Alonzo Mourning was especially motivated to beat the Nets:
“I don’t think so. I think he is a competitor. No matter who we played first round, I think he would have had the same focus and do what he could do to help us reach the ultimate goal, which is a championship.”

New Jersey Nets Head Coach Lawrence Frank

On the game:
“You have to obviously give Miami a great deal of credit. They proved why they are the number one team in the Eastern Conference. Today, we just got off to a slow start, but our guys came back with a great deal of energy in the second quarter and played extremely hard. After going up three it just kind of went downhill for us, but Dwyane Wade we can never get a handle on. He was outstanding. He played in transition and pick-and-rolls that led to straight penetration. He showed why he is a very special player. It’s very hard to lose. Let alone get swept and lose in the first round. That’s something we haven’t been used to around here. But, we’re going to have to get a whole lot better and we will. I would like to publicly thank our guys, its hard saying this today because you still feel the loss, but our staff and our players continue to compete throughout. There were many opportunities for our guys to fold and they didn’t. There are no consolations in losing, but they showed great grit and heart to get here. Unfortunately, due to Miami’s play we couldn’t play our best basketball. You have to give Miami all the credit.”

On the series:
“We couldn’t guard them. In the Playoffs we averaged 97 points per game and that’s a little un-Net like. But, we couldn’t defend them. Wade is just outststanding. He’s that good on pick-and-rolls, splits, getting into the paint. Shaq is Shaq. He’s a one man force. We shot the ball at a poor percentage, probably 38% in the series. You know, we had some real good attacks; it just wouldn’t fall for us for whatever reason. But, like I said, they’ve beaten us seven straight times so they’re obviously the better team.”

On Vince Carter:
“Without Vince Carter we are a 22 win team, maybe. He’s that special. Vince, especially in the first half had some great looks. His intent was good and he got to the line 12 times, so his intent was good but some things just didn’t go his way in terms of shots. But, Vince has really re-energized this franchise. Jason is an unequivocal leader, but Vince is a very special player. He has a very bright future.”