HEAT Head Coach Pat Riley

On the game:
“It was a great finish for us. I thought throughout the course of the game, playing against a team that is obviously desperate and needed the win, we were very fortunate to win. It took a lot of big defensive plays at the end. It took some great offensive plays by Dwyane [Wade] and a big shot by Pose [James Posey], and we get the win. The fact that we played our guys a lot helps getting guys ready and trying to get the edge. I think that is what we accomplished.”

“Our perimeter players need to set the tone. Eddie [Jones] was great in the first quarter. Our defense was very active. In the third quarter, we got beat by 10 in the period. It was not until the last five minutes when we were five or six points down that we really turned up the intensity. We were fortunate that they missed a few free throws, but in the end we made the plays we had to make to win the game.”

On the play of Dwyane Wade:
“He went through the gamut of emotions out there [tonight]. He was very frustrated with his game and with missing shots. He keeps preaching to himself that he has to just keep playing. As much as he wants it to come quick, it is not going to come that quick. Making solid fundamental plays is probably where it is at right now. You can see at the end, he was very motivated to win the game. He made some great plays and great passes.”

On Dwyane Wade’s fourth quarter play:
“He has proven [to be a great player] in the last two years. He has a game that at that particular time is perfect. He can make jumpers, he has incredible quickness, great awareness, and he is not just a scorer. He is a playmaker, as you saw with Udonis [Haslem] making that play in the end. There is not many like that. There are some guys that are really scorers, and there are some guys that do everything. He can pretty much do everything.”

HEAT Guard/Forward James Posey

On the game:
“We just want to finish the season strong, get on the road and carry that into the playoffs. Right now we are trying to polish up and get ready for that stretch.”

“I’m just focusing on playing basketball. I’m just going out there and trying to play hard and win some basketball games.”

On the last three-pointer he made:
“I know I had a little bit of time and just wanted to make sure my feet were set.”

On the end of the fourth quarter feeling like a playoff game:
“It felt great, everybody was into it. I’m just happy they stuck it out with us.”

HEAT Forward Antoine Walker

On the game:

“We knew they were going to give us an “A” effort. They are fighting to get into the playoffs. We just showed our composure. It was good to finally have a full team out on the floor. These games are games where we have to get ready and work on our situations and obviously our execution.”

On Dwyane Wade:
“He has to get back to playing basketball the way he’s capable of playing. His best play is being aggressive. He’s starting to feel a lot better. Obviously he had a lot more legs and you can tell as the games pick up he’s starting to get back to his aggressive self, especially in the fourth quarter. He has a couple more games to get himself ready.”

HEAT Center Shaquille O'Neal

On the game:
“We fought off a tough one. They were struggling. We knew they were going to be doing everything right. I don’t think we should have been in that position.”

“Nobody wants to play good in spurts. We have be consistent like all the other good teams out there. We still have time.”

“Dwyane hit some big shots like he usually does. He’s getting better each game. He’s going to be rusty for a little while, but he’s going to pick it up.”

“We are programmed not to overreact. We’ve been on both sides of the fence; having big leads, being down by big leads. We know what it takes to get through games.”

On James Posey’s play:
“He shot the ball very well. Pose is going to do that. Pose is a very, very aggressive player, and a very unselfish player.”

HEAT Guard Dwyane Wade

On the game:
“I have to be aggressive.”

On the end of the fourth quarter feeling like a playoff game:
“We played against a team that was very desperate. They played very well and they always play us tough. Indiana was playing for their playoffs lives. We had to dig down deep inside. We executed in the fourth.”

On being back after his injury:
“I’m happy to be back, happy to be back making plays. It looked dark there for a while. I’m very thankful. I’m trying to show the fans how much it means to me to be back on the court playing with my teammates again.”

Indiana Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle

On the game:
“Our second group did a great job getting us a lead but we couldn’t finish it off. It’s very disappointing. They made some big time plays and we were unable to make enough plays in the last three minutes. It’s a very tough loss.”

On the performance of the Pacers’ bench:
“We were getting stops and doing good things on offense. (Ike) Diogu did some great things and I thought the turning point was when he fouled out, because he certainly would have stayed in the game. I feel bad for the guys. The way they battled, to have it happen like this, is very tough.”

On the performance of Dwyane Wade in the fourth quarter:
“Wade is a great player and he made some tremendous plays on both ends. We just weren’t able get it done when it counted. It’s disappointing but we have to get ready for the next one Sunday.”

Pacers Center Danny Granger

On the game:
“It was a tough loss. We fought our way back into the game. We were down 13 points and came back to lead to start the fourth quarter. Dwyane (Wade) hit some big shots. James (Posey) hit the three from the corner and that was huge for them. Dwyane is a great player and he really carried them in the fourth quarter. As a team we showed a lot of resolve to get back in the game. We were up by eight points and had the game in our hands and let it slip away.”

Pacers Guard Mike Dunleavy

On the game:
“We couldn’t finish down the stretch. We didn’t do enough things to win the game. We missed free throws, turned the ball over and it’s too bad we gave that one away. Dwyane is a great player and he makes plays. He stepped up. With that being said we have regrets about how we finished. Anything can happen. We have three games left, we might as well play them and keep score and see what happens. We are still alive, who knows what’s going to happen with the rest of these teams the rest of the way.”