April 11, 2009 at Conseco Fieldhouse
Pacers 106, Pistons 102
PACERS COACH JIM O'BRIEN
“That was a fun game to coach. It was a good win against a good team going to the playoffs. When they took the lead we hung tough and did what we had to. Jarrett (Jack) did a great job down the stretch. I felt comfortable with the ball in his hands and Danny’s (Granger) hands down the stretch."
"I thought Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert played very well tonight. It was a great experience for Brandon to play against Richard Hamilton."
"We were (essentially) eliminated from the playoffs a couple of weeks ago when we lost to Chicago. Playing for pride is an issue and we keep doing it.”
PACERS GUARD T.J. FORD
(On the final play) "I have to give the credit to all my teammates. It just fell into my hands and I tried to do the best I could. I think coming off the bench has meant to me to try and be a spark plug on both ends of the court. That means strong defense, strong ball movement and overall good play."
(On the playoffs) "Even though our record doesn’t indicate it, we have put good hard work in this season and we will build on this for the next two games and next year. We have begun to be a good team with everybody contributing and giving good effort.”
PACERS GUARD BRANDON RUSH
“We kept pushing the ball up the floor and getting open shots. Our defense on transition was pretty good but the defense on the half court still needs work. I think we did a decent job on Hamilton but could have done better on Wallace."
"We have to keep this type of play and carry it over to the end of the season and into the next season. I think we’re beginning to know each other a little bit better and are playing better. Carry over for the next year is what we need to do. I feel better and it doesn’t matter to me how long I play. I just want to be productive.”
PISTONS COACH MICHAEL CURRY
“Going back to the first half, we gave up 14 offensive rebounds. But we did a much better job on that in the second half. We missed Kwame (Brown) tonight. His hamstring is a little sore so we held him out. But in the first half, his big body could have been good for us."
(On loss affecting playoff spot) "I still want to concentrate more on playing good basketball. We did everything we wanted to do defensively in the first half, except come up with the rebounds.”
PISTONS GUARD RICHARD HAMILTON
“They just hit shots. They made shots and made the plays when they needed to. We had a chance at the end but the ref didn’t call a foul. We just have to live and learn."
(On whom they play in the playoffs) "It really doesn’t matter to us. We’re already near the bottom in the playoffs and we can’t worry about who we play. We just need to know we’ve made it to the playoffs and we need to make a run."
(On Indiana) "Indiana played well tonight. We had to keep them off the boards and we didn’t do that.”
PISTONS GUARD WILL BYNUM
(On the play of Jarrett Jack and T.J. Ford) "They’re good guards and it’s really tough to stop them when they are playing like that. They played well tonight. We definitely wanted to get this win. I thought we were one call away from being right there, but we couldn’t get it. Indiana played great and they deserved to win."
(On the game) "It’s hard playing a team with nothing to lose. You have to match their energy and try to grind it out.”