HEAT Head Coach Pat Riley

On the Game:
“It was a hard fought game and we have a lot to over come from the free-throw shooting tonight, but still the game was a tie game in the last minute after (Jason) Kapono hit the three, then a great defensive possession and a loose ball and Jamal (Crawford) was at the right place right time and that was pretty much it.”

On losing Dwayne Wade:
“We lost our number one attacker and unless Shaquille (O’Neal) is getting fouled we really don’t have that kind of player right now that’s attacking the basket; we are a jump shooting team and I’ve taken a look at the tape and I’m pretty sure there going to Eddy (Curry) all the time and Stephon (Marbury) is driving the ball, but we have to do a lot better of putting the ball on the floor.”



HEAT Guard Jason Kapono

On the game:
“At the end of the game we tried to go to Shaquille (O’Neal) and they did a good job of doubling teaming him, but it all comes down to defense. They scored 30 points in the fourth quarter, so it’s 70 to 70 going into the quarter (and) we give up 30. So it falls back on our defense.”

On not having Dwayne Wade tonight:
“It doesn’t matter. You know you have your top scorer out and your losing 30 points a game plus all the assists and plays he makes. So it’s a huge void but we don’t have any time to worry about that and we have to figure out something and everyone has to bring something more to the game.”



HEAT Center Shaquille O'Neal

On the game:
“It wasn’t about offense tonight, we just had to play better defense you know we were getting broken down too much and they kept getting into the paint or driving it and kicking it out. You know we just have to play better defense.

On his own play tonight:
“I think I played alright tonight, but tonight was all about defense. You know we just have to play better defense for the guards, forwards and centers we all have to pick it up and we are getting broken way too much.”

New York Knicks Head Coach Isiah Thomas

On Stephon Marbury:
“It was his feel and his read of the game. When he made a couple of shots, I told him that I felt he was hot and to keep shooting it. We had a technical foul and I wanted him to shoot the free-throw just because he was shooting the ball so well. I wanted him to stay in the rhythm. He just pushed the button like the great players can. I was really proud of the way he played.”

On tonight’s game:
“I was happy for the guys because last night was a tough loss. This was a tough basketball game we were playing against a very good team. We hung around and we were pretty gritty tonight. I like what I see and I like the way we are playing.”

On Malik Rose:
“Not only the job he did on Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal), but the professionalism and the pro he has been all year. I have probably been the toughest on him. Tougher than anybody in terms of not playing and everything else. I remember when we made the trade. We traded Nazr (Mohammed) for Malik and we got the two first (round picks) and it ended up being David (Lee) and Mardy (Collins). I said we needed a guy like Malik in our locker room to be around the team to teach us to be pros. When I called his number tonight, he was ready and in shape. Think about that. The guy hadn’t play almost the whole year and he comes out tonight and he plays 25 good minutes and he is not winded. He keeps himself in great condition and he is ready.”

Knicks Guard Jamal Crawford

On the game:
On his three-point shot late in the game: “It was a broken play but coach told me to stay aggressive. He thought I was too passive going into the fourth quarter. My teammates did a good job of getting me into position. Everybody thought it was going out of bounds but I stepped in like it was a pass and tried to get it in rhythm.”

On the importance of this win:
“This was a big win for a few reasons. One, we own the season series with them. They are one of the teams we are chasing. A couple of teams lost tonight so we gained some ground. Now we can’t have a let down against Boston.”

Knicks Malik Rose

On the importance of this win:
“This was important. If we can get two or three wins. We could get some momentum hopefully for the playoffs.”

On building momentum from this game:
“We don’t even want to think about losing two in a row (on the road). It is important not to but we just need to show up every game. Hopefully we can get two in Boston and three the next game and have a little bit of momentum going.”

On Stephon Marbury:
“I am just really happy for Steph. He has been much maligned this season in the beginning of the year. Sometimes it was correct, the jabbing at him or whatever, and sometimes it was unwarranted. He has taken a lot of the pressure, a lot of pressure from Zeke (Isiah Thomas), and he has rebounded well to play some good basketball for us.”

Knicks Eddy Curry

On tonight’s game:
“I think a lot of us were tired out there after playing big minutes last night. We just gave it all we had, left it all on the court and were able to come up with a win.”

On playing against Shaquille O’Neal::
“It was a lot of fun. I like challenges. Tonight was definitely a challenge for me. We got a win so you never complain about that.”

Knicks Stephon Marbury

On the importance of this game:
“This was a very important game for us. Our disposition and our mindset was totally different in the second half tonight opposed to yesterday. We were well aware of how we played in the New Jersey game. We didn’t want the same things to happen. Our focus was totally different tonight. They made a run but we withstood their run.”

On tonight’s game:
“Our game plan is to get the ball to Eddy (Curry) and basically play inside and out. At that point, Jamal (Crawford) wasn’t really shooting the ball and scoring like he normally does. I am basically keeping things together which is totally different than my previous years of playing. I like this role because it is harder. This is a lot harder and more challenging.”