April 13, 2009 at Conseco Fieldhouse
Cavs 117, Pacers 109
PACERS COACH JIM O'BRIEN
“I thought our guys really battled. We had some opportunities to get it close. LeBron (James) is All-World and there’s not a lot we can do about it."
(On Brandon Rush) "He was terrific. They were having trouble guarding him. He was hot."
(On Anderson Varejao) "They had 16 offensive rebounds and he had seven of them. And they had 22 second chance points. That’s how tenacious he is."
"Troy’s (Murphy) had a great year for us. Anytime you put that many double doubles on the board, it’s a great year.”
PACERS FORWARD TROY MURPHY
(On breaking record for double doubles) "It’s always a great accomplishment to do better than the previous player. It is really an honor because this is a first class operation and basketball team. Cleveland is a great team and will go a long way in the playoffs."
(On the locker room this year) "This year, it’s a little different. We are enjoying each other, working together and looking forward to a high level of competition for next year. Once again,"
"I feel it is a great honor to break this record and my teammates really helped me do this. I felt I was a decent rebounder a couple of years ago. But I have worked on it and have been fairly injury free and accomplished this goal.”
PACERS GUARD BRANDON RUSH
(On the fourth quarter) "Danny and I played very well, but we didn’t get the win. That’s what we’re out there for. As we all know LeBron is very tough and is going to get his points, boards and is just a great player."
(On his game) "I feel I am improving and will continue to improve as time goes on. They guys were giving me the ball and helping set me up and I felt like I was in a zone but couldn’t be in that zone without my teammates help. The last month or so I feel I have been playing better, learning and continuing to improve.”
CAVS COACH MIKE BROWN
(On clinching the number one overall seed) "I’d like to applaud all the guys in that locker room, from my coaches to the players. For this to happen with one game left, it’s exciting and I’m proud of them.'
(On Anderson Varejao) "Anderson was big tonight. He gave us a ton of extra possessions, in a game that we didn’t expect to have extra possessions. Big, big night from Andy and we’re going to need that in the playoffs."
(On the Pacers Head Coach Jim O’Brien) "One of the many things Coach O’Brien does well is that he gets that team to play hard. And I don’t care how much they’re down, they never give up.”
CAVS FORWARD LEBRON JAMES
(On securing home court with the best record in the league) "It’s one step, however it’s a big step. When you consider all the great teams, all the great players, all the great coaches, and all the great systems that are in the NBA, for us to finish with the best record is a tremendous feat. And it is something that the franchise should be proud of."
(On if they are the team to beat) "Boston. They’re the team the beat. It’s like that every year. The champ is the team to beat and until someone knocks them off they are still the team. "
(On Cleveland’s goal down the stretch) "What we wanted to do is continue to get better. Like the last couple of weeks. I felt we’ve played at a high level all year. We know the playoffs are going to be a different game. There’s a lot of little things that go on but you have to be mentally stronger in the playoffs."
(On the history of Cleveland sports) "When you look at the history of Cleveland, you’ve got the final drive by John Elway, Michael Jordan’s shot over Craig Ehlo and the Jose Mesa debacle in the World Series. Cleveland fans are hungry. They should know that it drives us. We see how the fans are. We see the passion that they bring to Browns games, Indians games and Cavs games.”
CAVS CENTER ZYDRUNAS ILGAUSKAS
(On clinching the best record in the NBA) "From day one in training camp we worked together. Everybody trusted everybody else. It started on defense. Defense was priority number one. We had guys who could defend one on one but we also trusted each other with our team defense. Offensively, we worked on moving the ball and always finding the open guy. Our offense has been free flowing and we trust teammates to make a shot when they are open. We kept fighting the whole year. A lot of credit goes to the coaches as well as the players. "
(On the Cavs second performance vs. Pacers) "Our defense stepped up a bit and played well. LeBron did a good job on Danny, and we limited their second-chance opportunities. We just did it on defense.”