Jan 16, 2009 at Conseco Fieldhouse
Pacers 111, Raptors 104
PACERS COACH JIM O'BRIEN
“Good win but we didn’t make it easy on ourselves. I was very pleased with our ball movement in the first half. We’re third in the league in assists because our guys are pretty unselfish. We’re good passers and as we get guys back we’ll get better tempo and better ball movement because we’ll be able to keep guys fresh."
"I thought we got good looks (in the fourth quarter), they just didn’t fall. We will never back off on tempo or ball movement when a team is coming back. That’s the worst possible message to send to your players. We did a great job knocking down foul shots down the stretch."
"Troy’s game is a little understated and that’s not a bad thing. He’s a great guy to have on your side.”
PACERS CENTER JEFF FOSTER
“We did a great job for three quarters spacing the floor, ball movement and defense. But then in the fourth quarter we began to drift a little bit and go back to the bad ways. We were able to regroup and get things together and came out with a tough win to head out on a tough two road games."
"We are beginning to know each other a little better. And as we do that we’re going to learn and do nothing but get better.”
PACERS FORWARD TROY MURPHY
“Once again, we came out ready, out hustled, out played and kept the floor pretty well spaced for three quarters. Don’t know what happens in the fourth quarter, but somehow, some way we seem to change our flow."
(On his 15 points and 15 rebounds) " I continue to work hard and try to help space the floor, which leads to other people being open. I continue work on my shot and as I said before I have confidence every time I let it go."
"In short, I feel we are about to turn the corner on this road trip and really get ourselves going. I feel more comfortable about myself and the team every game we play.”
RAPTORS COACH JAY TRIANO
(On the first three quarters) "We didn’t have flow offensively. We didn’t play good defense. We couldn’t get in the flow offensively. We just didn’t play well the first three quarters."
(On the fourth quarter comeback) "Good things happened at the end of the game. But we still didn’t win the game."
(On Jermaine O’Neal) "His timing is off. He did well rebounding the ball in short minutes. He’s always going to go get the ball for you. It’s all about timing. And he’ll get his jump shot back.”
RAPTORS GUARD ANTHONY PARKER
(On the first three quarters) "I didn’t feel like we were playing Raptors basketball. We didn’t shoot well or execute. And they (the Pacers) are a team that likes to run and get it out and they did that against us."
(On the last quarter comeback) "I thought we started executing offensively. We had a sense of urgency. But for all we did offensively, you can’t do that if you’re not getting stops. And we were talking on defense and being more proactive. In that way we were able to get back into the game."
(On the Raptors’ perseverance) "I think this was the first time we’ve come back from that type of deficit. That’s encouraging. That’s the silver lining, but the end result is still a loss.”
RAPTORS CENTER JERMAINE O'NEAL
(On his emotions coming back to Indiana) "Might have been different any other time if I was able to play a little bit more and not be dealing with this injury. It’s always good to be back. I had an opportunity to see a lot of people that I haven’t seen in a while. It was good to be able to enjoy my house. But otherwise, it was just another game tonight."
(On the comeback) "The guys hunkered down. They kept fighting and fighting and were able to make it a game. I think it was because of our defense we were able to get stops, we were taking away their threes and their open jumpers making it difficult for them."
(On how he felt physically) "It’s hard to evaluate. I don’t even know how many minutes I played tonight. But I feel pretty good. We just need to keep building on tonight, see how I bounce back in practice. I told the guys when I came out at the end of the third quarter that I’d give myself a passing grade. But I just want tot work my way back and not push anything.