 |
Saturday, May 22, 2004 at Conseco Fieldhouse
Detroit Pistons 74, Indiana Pacers 78
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| PHOTO GALLERY | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| POSTGAME QUOTES | |||||||||||||||||||||||
On Reggie Miller:“We’ve all seen it. He’s the best I’ve ever seen. No matter how times he shoots or his field goal percentage, he never stops working. I was surprised he missed the free throw. I think he was prolonging the agony. We didn’t give him many open looks. That said, he never stops. You let up on him one time and he kills you. That’s why he’s so special. Amid all the change (with the Pacers franchise) he’s been the one constant, always there helping younger players. On the court he stretches your defense." On Jeff Foster: "Foster made two great plays at the end. He does so many things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. Our MO in close games has been to try and win it with the 3-point shot. Meanwhile, Indiana killed us inside. That said, we got good looks (from 3) at the end. Give Indiana credit. They outscored us in the paint, on second chance points and forced 19 turnovers while also shooting just 33 percent. Those things are the result of effort. Both teams defended well. They just made plays at the end. That is why one team is happy right now and one team is sad. If you had told me Ron Artest would go 6 of 23, Jermaine 7 of 20 and Reggie 1 of 7, I would have gone out celebrating." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Pistons Forward/Center Ben Wallace
“Well one shot did not beat us tonight. We made a lot of silly plays down the stretch. We’ve got to get better shots down the stretch and we’ve got to give yourself a chance to rebound the basketball. This was the type of game that we expected. Pacers are a good defensive team like we are so we are looking for a defensive game, but I like I said early, we’ve got to me plays at the end of the game. We can’t settle for shooting three pointers. I think we did a little bit too much of that. They (Pacers) were getting the ball inside working inside out playing team basketball. We’ve got to do the same. You always expect Reggie Miller to get the ball at the end of the game. He’s going to try to put a dagger in you. He wants to take that shot and he knows that he can hit it. Rasheed is definitely affected by his injury. He’s too proud to admit it but just by him suiting up and going out there he gives us a presence down low that we need.” | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Pistons Forward/Center Rasheed Wallace
“They will NOT win game two. You can quote me on the front page, on the back page, anywhere you want. They will NOT win game two. (On key to the game) They will NOT win game two."What will you do differently to win game 2? "They will NOT win game two. That’s it.” | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Pistons Guard Chauncey Billups
On his performance and Billups’ performance:"I think early in the game we were trying to be aggressive, get to the basket and get some easy looks; and I think we did a good job of that. I think down the stretch both teams were trying to get to the basket and draw some fouls and we just couldn’t get anything to fall. That’s the type of series this is going to be and in this type of game we can’t let this get away." On Reggie Miller’s last second shot: "Late in the game I had a feeling that they were going to come to him. You watch so much vintage tape and you see Reggie hitting all these big shots, so you just knew it was a matter of time. He was able to come off the screen. He got me going one way while he went the other and the rest is history. Like I said, it’s tough to let one like this slip away. When I got hit on the screen, I knew he’d probably hit the shot. He’s Reggie Miller. He’s been doing that his whole career.” | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle
“It was the type of game everyone expected, hard-fought and intense. We are fortunate to come out with the win."On Reggie Miller’s late shot: "He was due to knock one down. As I saw the play develop, Tinsley saw him coming off the screen and Foster did a great job of setting a great screen. It seems the tighter it gets in the ballgame, the later it gets, the more he focuses in. No matter whether he’s making shots or missing them, his approach never changes. It was his time. All year Reggie has had a sense for when to step forward. We were fortunate on that play to get the ball back. Our guys just know when to look for Reggie. It was hard for him to get space. Detroit defended him well. They made it tough for him to get his shot." On Richard Hamilton: "Both play the game the same way, they know how each other thinks and moves. Rip is a unique player; he goes full speed and can stop on a dime, pull up and make shots. He can go on and on and never tires." On Rasheed Wallace: "Rasheed is one of the toughest match-ups in basketball. He can do so many things. He’ll bounce back on Monday.” | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Pacers Center Jermaine O'Neal
“We expected this to be a very physical basketball game and it was."On his shooting: "I had several open shots and just missed them. That’s when I decided that I had to start putting the ball on the floor and going for the basket. The open outside looks that I missed means more practice time tomorrow on these shots." On Reggie’s shot: "We know Reggie can be a big play guy. We have no hesitation in going to him in any pressure filed situation. Because we know his done it over and over again. He really thrives on this type of situation. As leading scorer on the team I felt I had to do something different to make things work.” | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Pacers Guard Reggie Miller
On starting off shooting 0-6:"You’ve seen it before. I got some early looks on the break and Jamaal hit me a couple of times but I felt my legs were not under me. I knew if I stay focused and if a special situation arose, I’d be ready." On the last play of the game: "Foster was big for us, hitting the lay-up and then getting the offensive rebound on the next play. He set a great pick and I knew I had the look." On Richard Hamilton: "It was mini-me. He has mind-eye and he’s jedi-tricky. I have to honor what he does and try and pick off of the screens and have to keep honest on him." On being Jermaine’s team, what is Reggie’s role: "I just have to stay focused on the game. If I get to the line, hit them and make shots when I can. If we stay close for 45-46 minutes and given the opportunities, I’ll get my chance. Throughout the game Ron, Al and Jermaine do their business throughout, I know in the end they will look my way. I have to seize the moment.” | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Pacers Guard Jamaal Tinsley
“Very tough ball game for us tonight. We have a winning mentality and we look for ways to win."On his three-point shot: "I got the good look. I felt it, let it go, and it went in. This was big win. We now must focus on game two and keep it together. They’re tough, they’re not going anywhere, and it will take our best effort, but we will be up to the task." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
