Hornets 114, Pacers 106
At Conseco Fieldhouse | March 25, 2008
PACERS COACH JIM O'BRIEN
“I thought we battled hard. We just couldn’t overcome two great players, (Chris) Paul and (David) West. It’s tough to come back on a very, very good basketball team like that."
(On the Nets) "Every game we play is key against teams that are bunched up."
(on Shawne Williams) "I thought he played well defensively. In the last week he is becoming the player we expect him to be. I’m very pleased with what Shawne is giving us right now. "
(on David West) "He’s just a great player and I don’t use that word lightly. And Paul is an MVP candidate.”
PACERS GUARD TRAVIS DIENER
“We built ourselves a little hole there, actually a big hole to dig out of. This was a good effort but not enough because we’re out there to win. We’ve got several games left. We’ll have to play well in all of them. I think we’re only a game and a half back so it’s very possible. We need to get back-to-back wins with New Jersey to get ourselves back into this mix. We’ve just got to play well the rest of the year.”
PACERS FORWARD SHAWNE WILLIAMS
“We missed a lot of shots, a lot of them that we should have made. New Orleans is a great team and West and Chris Paul were just outstanding tonight. We must put this game behind us, go on to the next page, play hard and continue to hustle on both ends of the floor.”
HORNETS COACH BYRON SCOTT
“They made some big time shots. For the most part we got the stops we needed, did a hell of a job on defense and offense."
(on Chris Andersen) "I like what he brings which is energy and aggressiveness. And now he is getting a little used to what his role is, which is to get out and play that way. But I like what he did tonight and hope he can continue to play that way."
(on Morris Peterson) "He couldn’t feel his left hand and couldn’t feel sensation so we have to see tomorrow night how he feels."
(on David West and Chris Paul) "Both guys were fantastic, but unfortunately we have to do it five more times on this trip.”
HORNETS FORWARD DAVID WEST
(on holding of the Pacers) "We do whatever we have to do to win the basketball game. The guys on the team come to me down the stretch. I feel it’s my responsibility to come through for them. The Pacers are a talented group of guys, especially when they go small. Danny Granger and Shawne Williams were causing problems for us. We knew coming into tonight that they would be a dangerous basketball team because of their ability to make shots. When they cut it to two in the fourth quarter we kept our composure. We’re a hungry basketball team. We’re trying to prove people wrong. We have a lot of guys on this team that have the proverbial chip on their shoulder. We know it’s a tough trip, six in a row out here in the East. The Lakers are right there with us. Every game we try to play the right way, we try to win.”
HORNETS GUARD CHRIS PAUL
(on being able to hang on and win) "We let them back in in the third quarter. But we were able to hold them off and come out of here with a win. It’s very important to win the first game of the road trip. Coach says without the first one you can’t win them all. This is a tough road trip and we’ve got to get ready for Cleveland. We already won at home against them so now we have an opportunity to go 2-0. "
(on the Pacers) "If they continue to push the ball like this I think they can be one of the better teams in the East. You saw tonight we were having trouble getting back on defense.”