Nov. 21, 2008 at Conseco Fieldhouse
Magic 100, Pacers 98 (OT)
PACERS COACH JIM O'BRIEN
“I thought both teams played a very, very hard game of basketball. I think both teams had great looks. I thought our defensive effort was good enough to win the game. "
(On the plays at end of regulation and overtime) "We tried to space the court both times. I had T.J. (Ford) drive and drop the ball back to Rasho (Nesterovic)."
(On the overtime) "We were trying to tie the game up. T.J. had a good look, an open 15-foot jumper. They played very good defense down the stretch. They did a good job getting under our chins and not letting us make cuts.”
PACERS GUARD T.J. FORD
“We must give them credit. They stayed in the game, hung around, executed well down the stretch and got the W."
" We have to keep believing in what we’re doing, playing hard and executing better down the stretch. We had some tough shots down the stretch that didn’t fall. We play the game one game at a time. Now we’ve got to go to Miami and take care of business. This one is over.”
PACERS GUARD MARQUIS DANIELS
“We didn’t execute well down the stretch. It seems like we only played three and half quarters. We’ve got to play the full game."
"They played well, played hard and executed well when they had to. We didn’t execute in the fourth quarter the way we should. So we didn’t get the W.”
MAGIC COACH STAN VAN GUNDY
(On the Pacers and Head Coach Jim O’Brien) "It’s great to get a win. This is a good team and they’ve been tough to beat at home. Jim is one of those coaches that always gets his guys to play hard and play good defense. Any time you can beat one of Jim’s teams, it’s a good day. "
(On the Magic making big plays when they had to) "We did. We held them under 40 percent in the second half. We made the big plays when we had to. We got crushed on the glass. I didn’t think we played very well until we had to at the end of the game and overtime.”
MAGIC CENTER DWIGHT HOWARD
"Pacers are a great team and what we have to do is play hard. We haven’t played a team like that. They move the ball around a lot."
(On his block on Troy Murphy near the end of the game) "Our guys were getting beat some off the dribble tonight and sometimes I was late. This time, I got there before he got the shot up. I tried to get the block and it worked. One thing we have to do is keep guys in front of us. And when guys get beat, I have to be there."
(On Rashard Lewis’ performance after halftime) "He shot the ball well and he just kept playing and played with a lot of confidence. I think we did a good job on the offensive end tonight. But we have to play harder. Indiana played hard and played well and they’re a great team.”
MAGIC GUARD JAMEER NELSON
“Well, we didn’t play very well, honestly until the last five minutes of the game and into overtime. Then we buckled down and got some stops and made some shots when they counted."
(On winning in different ways) "We always find a way, it seems like. Especially in this stretch of games, the last five games, they haven’t been pretty but we’ve found a way to put them into the win column. "
(On feeling that they could come back tonight) "It felt good especially when we started inching our way back. We were lucky and fortunate enough to stay in the game and not go down by a lot of points, which helped."
(On late game intensity) "Well, the intensity changed, our defensive mind-set changed. We had to start guarding people and taking them out of their strength. We did a better job in the second half. Honestly, our first half was horrible.”