Feb. 25, 2009 at Conseco Fieldhouse
Pacers 104, Grizzlies 99
PACERS COACH JIM O'BRIEN
“We’ll take the win. It wasn’t a thing of beauty. We did some good things defensively down the stretch. But we had way too many turnovers."
(On Jarrett Jack) "He has been playing well. He did a nice job distributing the ball."
(On Memphis) "Gasol (Marc) is a monster inside. The combination of Conley (Mike), Mayo (O.J.) and Gay (Rudy) is pretty quick and talented. They’re going to be a good basketball team. "
"This is a great group of guys to coach. They’re a very resilient group and they always believe they can win. And there are very few games where we are out of games. I’m very proud of the way these guys compete.”
PACERS GUARD BRANDON RUSH
(On his improved play) "It’s about being comfortable. I’m just a lot more comfortable now than at the beginning of the year."
(On the win) "It’s just good to get a win at home. Now we have to try and carry that over on the road."
(Pacers play the Celtics on Friday) "They present a big challenge for us. We’re just going to try to play the same type of game as tonight and try to keep our tempo up."
(On the Pacers turnovers) "We didn’t take care of the ball too well in the third and fourth quarters. But we buckled down on defense at the end of the game and we made some free throws.”
PACERS GUARD JARRETT JACK
(On the win) "Tonight we didn’t do a good job of closing out the game. I thought we did a good job of picking up defensive pressure."
(On stepping up in the absence of Granger and Dunleavy) "I’m trying to do whatever is called for. I knew when we had Danny and Mike I could kind of take a reserve role because those guys can really score the basketball. I just decided to make plays and be a defensive guy. But now that they went down I’m just trying to step up and fill the void."
(On building his confidence) "In this league, once you get confidence that’s half the battle. That’s something I’m really playing with right now. Coach is always yelling at me to be aggressive, and he tells me I’m too reluctant to shoot the ball...I’m just trying to take good shots.”
GRIZZLIES COACH LIONEL HOLLINS
(On the end of the fourth quarter) "Our execution was good on the last three to four possessions. Rudy (Gay) got a good look at the end. We just couldn’t hit the shot."
(On the Pacers 20 second chance points) "We got beat on the glass early. I’m always disappointed when we don’t compete early in the game. "
(On Mike Conley) "He’s our starting point guard and I just look for him to be consistent, push the ball and not make turnovers. Asst. (Coach) Damon Stoudemire has been trying to mentor Mike. He’s trying to show him the angles of the game and he’s been working with Mike a lot after practice. I’m glad we have Damon on our staff.”
GRIZZLIES GUARD MIKE CONLEY
(On getting back in the game and falling short) "We got back in the game in the fourth quarter. I thought our reserves did great job of getting us back. We were one or two plays away from winning the game. They made some great plays down the stretch, Daniels hit a big shot for them then they were able to extend their lead a little and were able to pull it out. "
(On coming home) "It’s fun to come home. But there are a lot of distractions also. You want to see so many people and be able to spend some time with them but yet you have to remember that you’re here for business. I just wish we were able to get the win tonight. It would have made the trip home that much better.”
GRIZZLIES FORWARD RUDY GAY
(On missing the three-pointer late in the game) "It felt good when it left my hand. I thought it had a great chance to go in. It was probably an inch off. It’s frustrating to lose this way. It’s tough on me. Especially, when I get a good look like I got and was not able to knock it down. That was the play that we drew up in the timeout and it was wide open. Couldn’t ask for anything better.”