Postgame Report: Spurs 99, Pacers 81 090120

Jan. 20, 2009 at San Antonio
Spurs 99, Pacers 81

PACERS COACH JIM O'BRIEN

“They’re (the Spurs) an awfully good team, they're a tough team to play. The story in the first half when they got the lead was that they beat us 15 to six in fast break points and we’re supposed to be the team that scores a lot, but they beat us at that. They also killed us on the glass. You can’t do that and think you’re going to win against a team like San Antonio.”

(on the Spurs defense tonight) “They’re a pretty good defensive team, there’s no doubt about it. Their only 20th in the league when it comes to field goal defense, but that’s not accurate when it comes to who they are; when they want to shut you down they shut you down. They held Charlotte to 36% last night and they held us down tonight as well. Our hats are off to the Spurs tonight.”

PACERS FORWARD DANNY GRANGER

(on the Pacers deficit in the fourth) "We have been down big before by 17, 18, 19 points in the fourth quarter and came back. Once the lead got close to 30, it was hard to make a comeback. "

(on the Spurs rebounding advantage) "They had a lot of back tap rebounds to other players tonight and were constantly all over the glass with a lot of hustle."

(on what is next as a team) "We have work to do to get better as a team. As a team we have to look to next game and just learn from tonight."

PACERS GUARD T.J. FORD

(on the fourth quarter) "We have to just keep trying and competing in the fourth quarter and finish the game. It was a great opportunity to play lots of minutes and we had a chance to cut into the Spurs lead. They are a great team and they showed how tough they are tonight. The Spurs are one of the best teams in the league and they took care of their home court."

(on the Pacers upcoming schedule) "We have a tough schedule coming up but we get to go back home. It’s an opportunity to play well and take care of our home floor."

SPURS COACH GREGG POPOVICH

“It was a fine effort for four or five games in seven nights. They showed great energy and did a great job defensively. I was pleased with the overall effort, especially on a team that scores the third most points in the league. I was concerned if we could stop that.”

(On a midseason assessment) “We’re improving. We’re on track to continue to improve and hopefully be our best come April.”

(On Manu Ginobili) “That’s Manu. He picks his spots. He’s starting to look like the Manu of old.”

(On Danny Granger) “A lot of guys guarded him, but I thought (Michael) Fin did the best on him most of the game. He did a wonderful job. Toward the end, Bruce did a good job on him, but Fin is the one that started out.”

SPURS GUARD ROGER MASON

(On the election) “It means a lot…growing up in D.C. and being in a political town. Obviously the fact that he is an African-American is huge, but it’s even bigger for the entire country because it shows how open-minded we are and how far we’ve come. I think the biggest message is just the fact that we all can try and do our part to do more. That’s really what I got from President Obama.”

(On the game) “I think defensively is where we won the game. That team is third in the league in scoring at 104 and we kept them under 90. That’s really our focus…we hit some shots…Manu was awesome…Timmy was great. The offense was good, but defense is what we hang our hat on and we did a good job tonight.”

(On the mid-point of the season) “I feel good. Obviously within a season you have ups and downs. I think the thing we can look at is that, so far, we haven’t played our best. We still have a pretty good record and know we can still get better. We’re going to continue to do so.”

SPURS FORWARD MICHAEL FINLEY

(On his defense on Granger) “It was definitely a team effort. We know that when he plays well, their team has a real good chance of winning. Our main defensive emphasis was to make his catches tough…make his shots tough…just not let him get into a comfort zone. I think, for the most part, we did that.”

(On the team’s defense) “When we play defense like that, we give ourselves a real good chance to win.”

(On a couple days off) “It’s good. We’ve been gone a little bit…getting ready to be gone a lot of bit, so to speak. It’s good to get home and get our legs back and get refreshed.”

(Did you ever cross paths with Obama in Chicago?) “I haven’t crossed paths with him yet. I’ll probably give him a call tonight! He’s had a busy day and I didn’t want to interrupt him. He hasn’t returned any of my texts messages yet today, but I’m still going to try!!”

(Did you watch all the election coverage today) “I watched it from ten o’clock on. It was great. It was a very historical day, not only for African-Americans, but for people as a whole. Me and my daughter sat down and watched it even though she didn’t really understand, but it was an exciting day for everyone.”