Dec. 3, 2008 at TD Banknorth Garden
Celtics 114, Pacers 96
PACERS COACH JIM O'BRIEN
“They really had too many weapons for us tonight. Rondo had a great game. Just didn’t have enough to beat them.”
“They’re awful difficult to beat. They have a great basketball team. That’s why they’re the World Champs.”
“We went small to try to keep them off guard, they were resting (Kevin Garnett), we were able to hit a couple threes to get us back in it, but they brought (Kevin Garnett) back in and we didn’t have anybody in there at the time to guard him.”
PACERS GUARD T.J. FORD
(Re Rondo) “Once he gets inside that paint he’s very effective and very dangerous. He’s under control. He’s proved to everybody he can lead a team, so I think you’ve got to give him his credit, he’s a helluva player.”
(Re back-to back games) “No, we went into halftime down six points, they came out and had a great third quarter. But no excuses, that’s part of the NBA. We’re going to have those type of nights, and they were just able to increase their intensity and increase their play in the second half.”
(Re rebounding) “They established that early. I think Kendrick Perkins was a big factor in the first half. It was long and it wasn’t one of our best nights defensively.”
“It’s difficult when the whole starting lineup plays well. Paul Pierce: 16 points, Garnett: double-double, Kendrick Perkins: double-double, Ray Allen: 31, and Rondo with a triple-double. I mean, I think if you’re Doc Rivers you can’t ask for more than that.”
“Everyone understood it was going to be tough coming here to get a win. We fought but they were just too much for us tonight.”
PACERS GUARD MARQUIS DANIELS
(Re What went wrong) “Everything. Go down the list, what do you want to talk about? We didn’t do a lot of things right tonight guys. It was a totally different game from when we played them in Indiana. We let Rondo get out to a great start. He found guys early, he was getting himself involved, getting rebounds and points. I think he had a triple-double in the first half, or close to it. That’s just something we want to contain. We didn’t do a good job doing anything tonight. We made a valiant effort run at the end, but Boston’s a great team and you’ve got to give them credit tonight.”
“We just picked up our intensity, you know. We had another run in us. Boston’s a great team like I said. They had a lot of great players out there making big shots for them. It was just a matter of runs, and we couldn’t sustain them late in the game and they made shots.”
“That’s another thing that went wrong tonight, we didn’t box out as well as we did in Indiana. They got a lot of second-chance points of those offensive rebounds. That’s another thing we were scheduled to do in the game plan that we didn’t do in the game.”
(Re back-to-back games) “That’s not an excuse. It’s the game of basketball and we’ve still got to come out here and play. We have a great team, we just need to carry over the things we worked on in shootaround and at the gym.”
CELTICS COACH DOC RIVERS
“It was a good win. I mean, the third quarter was absolutely fantastic defense. And obviously you’re looking at the 31 points but it was the defense that got us going.”
(Re there’s been a lot of third quarter success recently; what is he saying at halftime) “We’re making small adjustments, but we don’t make adjustments – we really just try to get them to do what we want them to do. You know what I mean? So it’s not like we’re changing anything; we’re trying to get them to do the things we talked about before the game. And we didn’t do that in the first half, and I thought we did a great job of that in the second half, especially defensively. You know, closing out the shooters, trying to make them put it on the floor, contesting twos outside the paint is what we were trying to get to happen. In the first half we just didn’t do a good job of that.”
(Re could Rondo get a quadruple double) “Yeah, with turnovers maybe…No, I’m joking. Yeah, it’s possible. I mean, there’s very few guys that have that ability. (Hakeem) Olajuwon I think had one if I’m not mistaken, and maybe Alvin Robertson, that may be wrong. There’s only been about four or five of them. That Rivers kid was two away a couple of times, I’m not sure. I’m joking about that, trust me. That was turnovers. But he has the opportunity, some day. Hopefully soon. That would be terrific.”
(Re is Rondo following any other quick, small guards’ path) “Not really. Because he’s more of a playmaking quick guard. Most of the quick guards, when you think about it, have all been scorers: (Allen) Iverson, Tiny Archibald, Isiah (Thomas) – I don’t think he’d appreciate me calling him a little guy but – that group, they all’ve been more scorers, if you know what I’m saying. Even Earl Boykins and Spud (Webb), they all were scorers. Rondo’s a playmaking guard, and for our team it’s the perfect fit because we have so many scorers on our basketball team. So it is a great fit for us.”
(Re what about Rondo’s quickness) “Well it’s amazing, he has both. He has speed and quickness. There is a complete difference. There are a lot of guys who aren’t fast runners but have great first steps. Rondo’s one of the exceptions, that have both. His image was across the court; he’s one of those guys too, who has both.”
(Re as a team are they playing as well as ever) “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know. I don’t even look at that stuff. Honestly I don’t know. As a coach you’re always – my speech before the game is ‘guys, we’ve got to improve, we’ve got to get better.’ And so I guess. I don’t know the answer to that.”
(Re what has to get better) “We have a lot of places, as far as a coach is concerned. Cutting down on turnovers. We tend to not contest shots at some unbelievable times in games. We gamble a little too much. So, our goal is to be a better team than last year. And not record-wise. We could care less about that. Our goal is to be a better team by the playoffs than last year. And that’s a process – we’ve got to work on doing that.”
CELTICS FORWARD PAUL PIERCE
(Re Fourth Quarter) “We just made the adjustment. Called a timeout and picked up our defense. I thought we weren’t getting back in transition. Realizing they went small with Granger at the four and once we got out of the timeout we gathered ourselves and went out and made a run ourselves.”
(Re Rajon Rondo) “He’s making leaps and strides each and every year. You thought last year he was good, he’s just getting better. He’s learning the game. He’s learning his spots. He’s learning what kind of potential he has and it’s just fun to watch him grow.”
“He gets to the gym early. He gets his shots. He watches a lot of film. He’s his biggest critic. It’s something that he works on. There’s no replacement for hard work. It’s definitely paying off for him.”
(Re Indiana Playing Last Night) “I think we want to get the jump off every night. Especially at home we want to get off to great starts. They did beat us last time and are coming off beating the Lakers so they have a lot of confidence. I definitely feel like this is going to be a playoff team if they continue to play consistent. That’s the way we look at it. We definitely want to get off to the good start, not only tonight, but every game.
(Re His Play Against Indiana) “I thought I had a lot of great open looks, I just missed them. I shot an air ball wide open at the top, two air balls tonight, and those were wide open looks. I don’t think it was too much of anything they did, it was just a matter of me concentrating and knocking down the shots.”
CELTICS GUARD KEVIN GARNETT
(Re Rajon Rondo) “He’s making a constant night, stat-wise, in every category. He’s so active. He’s getting everybody easy shots. Making the game look simple and making it simple for everybody out there. He’s getting rebounds. He’s just active. When we’re good defensively it’s because Rondo sets the tone by picking the ball up very early. He was amazing. It seemed like there was three Rondos out there tonight. I looked up and he passed the ball to [Paul] and it came off the rim and he was rebounding it. Then all of a sudden I got back on defense and he had beat me back. Then Granger went to drive and he was there on the strip and we got loose and threw it up for a layup and he got the layup. I sort of had to turn around and was like how many…what is this boy…he was everywhere tonight.”
(Re Team) “Our defense is very solid. I think offensively I know we can be better but that’s just through practice and executing and slowing down. I think we all trust each other on the defensive end. When it comes defensively, when we really lock in and don’t miss our assignment it’s tough to beat us. Offense is always about a flow and some nights [Paul] might have it going, Ray might have it going, Rajon. Different guys can have it going.”
CELTICS GUARD RAY ALLEN
(Re: You’re in quite a shooting groove) “It seems that Rondo and I go hand in hand. When he’s as aggressive as he is, it seems that I get so many easier looks. The last two weeks he’s just been pushing the ball, just getting the ball up the floor. Just like TJ Ford, when he was penetrating us tonight, we were losing shooters, and we were doing somewhat of the same. We’ve been having the same effect offensively, getting stops and being able to run the floor. Myself, Paul, when Eddie’s in there, we spread the floor. I was the recipient of the shots tonight, but if we swing the ball and play the right way, those are the shots we’re gonna get for the rest of the season.”
(Re: Do you sense a greater energy between you and Rajon than last year?) “I’m not guessing what he’s doing. I know where he’s going with the ball on most of the plays, and I know where I need to be. Pretty much, I get a lot of open looks. Even when Paul’s in there, I tell him when you see Rondo drive to the whole, you go right to the baseline, get the outlet and get a shot."
(Re: Has there been one constant in this run for you guys) “I’d have to say Rondo, I told him that last game. The way he asserts himself at the beginning of the game, he has his defender back on his heels. When he does that, they have to guard him, and sometimes it takes two or three guys. And that’s when we inject ourselves in the game by finding open spots and getting easier shots.”
CELTICS GUARD RAJON RONDO
(Re: Have you had any triples doubles in college or high school?) “I had one in college, six or seven in high school. It’s not easy to do; I’ve been so close a lot of games, and to finally get one, I’m excited about it. And most important we got the win.”
(Re: What have you done in the last couple of weeks to elevate the game) "Attacking offensively. I’ve been getting into the paint a lot lately, opening up seems for my teammates and gaps for myself.”
(Re: Kevin said there were four or five Rondo’s out there tonight. Is that just energy?) “Mostly energy and effort. I try to go out there and stay aggressive. When I came out of the game early, I was so anxious to get back in. When Doc put me back in, I played the entire first half and I was just out there to do my best.”
(Re: Did you have a sense of what’s going on?) “Sam told me. He said something to me at halftime but not really. I try to go out there and play as hard as I can. Tonight, there were a lot of long rebounds. Coach told us before the game that guards need to get out and rebound, that a lot of balls come out at the elbow and three point line so that’s what I tried to do tonight.”