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On the Mavs play…
“We tried to take Dirk and Jason Terry out a lot and gave Dampier and Antoine Wright shots and they knocked down shots and Bass made some shots when we were trapping, so those guys knocked down shots, but I was pleased with the effort our guys came in and fought and stayed within the game even though we were down big in the fourth, they still stuck with it and continued to fight and they did a lot of good things.”
Talk about Will Bynum and Aaron Afflalo…
“I thought Will, Aaron and Kwame were great. I thought all of our guys off the bench were really good. Stuckey wasn’t as good as far as percentage wise, but I thought him being aggressive tonight was good for him and helped him turn the corner. We got up 92 attempts and a lot of those we were able to push the tempo a little bit and get in attack those guys off the dribble. We competed against those guys defensively and like I said Will and Aaron and Kwame, I thought all of them did a good job and we had a lot of shots tonight that we normally knock down, so I figure with that same effort tomorrow night with Rip (Richard Hamilton) playing, we should come out with a victory.”
On Tayshaun Price carrying the scoring load…
“We went to him a lot in the post. We knew we would have an opportunity to go to him in the post and we forced them to go to a bigger guy. They had to go to Singleton. He was able to get some post ups on him. We wanted to go to him more today and make him more of a focus of the offense. We did a tremendous job of doing that. Like I said, over I was pleased with the way the guys played.”
On the status of Richard Hamilton…
“I was just hoping. I got to hope. I told those guys, let do this with Rip tomorrow and we will be good. You know, hopefully if he can go he definitely will go. Hopefully with treatment tonight and it is a late game tomorrow night, so treatment all day tomorrow, hopefully he will be able to go.”
On his teams play overall…
“I just think it is a matter of making sure we have that same focus. I thought some of our older guys were able to come in and give us a lift tonight and we needed that.”
Pistons Guard Arron Afflalo
(On trying to stop the Mavs) “Dirk just made some tough shots tonight. As for the team, we had a few lapses in our pick and roll defense where they got too many easy shots at the basket. We were fighting an uphill battle the whole game, but it was a good effort the second half.”
(On what they did to get back in the fourth) “I think we got that little mini run there in the fourth and then obviously that picks up the energy level. So you start playing better defense and getting key stops here and there.”
(On being down to .500) “We’ve got to do something because it was a good effort and everything but it’s not going to get us in the playoffs. We’ve got some things we need to correct, we’ve got to get healthy, get Rasheed back, get Rip back and really focus in.”
Pistons Guard Will Bynum
(On his recent success off the bench) “I think as the game goes on and on, I keep approaching the game with a different mentality. I think my confidence is getting better and better. It’s different when you know you’re going in the game instead of not knowing, if it’s up in the air. It’s a different mentality how I’m approaching the game.”
(On getting good effort to the end) “I think everybody approached the game as if it was their last game. They went out there and played like that. It’s a different intensity when you’re playing that way, you always give yourself a chance to win. I think we did that tonight.”
“Every game is tough. Detroit is a hard-nosed team despite their record and all of the things you hear about their problems. Mike Curry had those guys playing hard and they weren’t going to give up. We gave up too many second shots, that was the biggest problem we had and it’s become a recurring theme. It’s something we’re going to have to be better with. Especially against Atlanta.”
“It’s a good win. We’ll take it and now we have two tough games in the next three days.”
(on Dampier) “He played a great game. He has the ability to have a major impact on our team. Some of the time, I’ve got to be a little more patient about leaving him out there or getting him back in because when rebounding is one of your problems, a 7-2 guy is one way to help solve it. He was tremendous. He was very active in the zone during the period when it was effective. He has influence on a lot of plays even if he didn’t necessarily have the ball in his hands or get a rebound or get a block.”
(on how Dampier’s early performance affects the rest of his game) “I think it helps him a lot. If you got a couple of quick dunks, it would help.”
(on the bench) “We had some real consistency off the bench. Singleton gave us a solid game defensively and he hit timely shots. His first shot of the second half, I thought was a big shot. The play where he ducked and Kidd threw him the ball, we were struggling at that point and he gets it in. And he covered Prince, who is a tough cover. Along with playing some of the five position. We need him to continue to play well and I have no reason to believe he won’t.”
(on team’s recent low rebounding numbers) “We’re just going to have to do it collectively. It has to be a team effort. Five guys are going to have to get in there and dig it out. Sometimes, we play a little under-sized, and in those situations where we don’t have the length in there, we’re going to have to do it with grit. Simple as that. There is really no other way.”
(on shooting 57% FG but getting 33 rebounds) “It’s going to catch up with you. You’re not going to shoot 57 percent every game. That happens once every 15 games for us and we are a good shooting team. When you’re banking on shot-making to give energy and help you have the energy to rebound, you’re into a negative feedback process that is going to get you beat eventually. The rebounds are something we’re going to have to pay attention to, do better with.”
Mavericks Center Erick Dampier
On his play tonight…
“I just put a lot of those guys in a lot pick and rolls and I just took what was open. I was open to the basket and they made a lot of easy passes to me to catch and finish and Jason made a couple of lobs. When we are doing that we make the other guys collapse on the inside and it is going to open up the outside for us.”
On the finish to the game…
“We didn’t close the game out the way we wanted to. Anything could have happened there down the stretch. We are a better team than that and just have to close out the game the right way and not allow teams to get back in the game.”
On the home winning stretch…
“We won the first two games on the last road trip and we thought we had things going our way. But, in Golden State we didn’t play the way we wanted to and we had an opportunity to win at the Lakers. So, we came home and this was our first win at home before we go on the road again and it is a confidence builder for us. It shows the way we are capable of playing. Playing hard and having fun out there on the floor and giving us a chance to win.”
Mavericks Forward James Singleton
On the team’s play tonight…
“This is a game that we had to come in and win. We have a two game road trip coming up and just came off a four game road trip and we are just trying to close the season out on a positive note.”
On the Pistons offense…
“We were looking at the stat sheet and saw they took 92 shots and we took 67, so yeah, I thought that was a slow pace too.”
On the Maverick’s defense…
“Anytime a team goes zone. Our zone defense is good, but after the shot goes up we have to turn around and find a body. And we’ve been giving up a couple of second-shot opportunities and that has been killing us lately. That is something that we are going to have to keep working on into the playoffs. That is true, but sometime in a zone you turn around and it is more of a scramble. When you are out there in the free throw line above it is a little more difficult to find a body and you have to run and find somebody and it might be on the baseline. If I am in the game with Dirk and Bass I prefer to take the middle. That way I can be a shot blocker and interior defender. Then when Dampier is in there we have a really good body in there and I can be very versatile on the wings and that makes our rotation a little bit easier. ”
