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Tuesday, May 11, 2004 at Continental Airlines Arena
Detroit Pistons 79, New Jersey Nets 94
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| PHOTO GALLERY | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| POSTGAME QUOTES | |||||||||||||||||||||||
On Rasheed Wallace and the game:"He got hurt. He played twenty-seven minutes when he shouldn't have played at all. He went in before the half was over. They just beat us. They were great. Those starters were phenomenal. They defended and rebounded and they beat us 60-42 on the boards and 16-2 on the break in the first half and we were only down seven. They came out in the third quarter and just executed great. Jason did what you expect a great point guard to do. But they really shared the ball and made the extra pass. They played like a great team. On team injuries: "I don't care if Chauncey and Rasheed were healthy, it wouldn't have mattered tonight. They were great. They did all the things that good teams are supposed to do. They took hard fouls when necessary. They got every loose ball. They just played great. We have to find a way to go back home, we have three days, and figure out how to match their energy and compete at a high level. But I don't look at it as over. We didn't compete at the level for these two games. That's the only thing that is discouraging for me. On team composure: "My biggest disappointment was that we started off 10-2, in the hole. Came back out for 12-12, came back on a missed shot and jacked up a three pointer without a pass. On the very next trip, we came down and just threw the ball away. We talked right from the outset that if the break wasn't there, we were going to get the ball from one side to another and get it in. I think that's the thing that aggravated me. We were in foul trouble, we did lose our poise, but we were only down seven at halftime. We weren't in foul trouble anymore, yeah, Chauncey and Rasheed were hurting, but we still had chances and they just took it right to us. I don't think that the difference was anything simpler than saying that one team played like a team and competed at a high level and the other team played like a bunch of individuals and did not match their energy. My job is to get us to come back and have some energy and play like a team and see what we have." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Pistons Guard Richard Hamilton
On the game:"They just outplayed us. We knew coming into this series that in order to beat them we have to contain their fast break, their transition baskets, and things like that and we didn't do that. What got us here was defense. It seems like tonight that they had no problem scoring or anything like that. So we have to go back to the drawing board. When we're winning, everybody is involved and everybody's getting easy baskets. Now, we're not getting those easy baskets. I think one of the things they've done is that they adjusted, They adjusted to us just like we adjusted to them, so we have to figure out a way." On Rasheed Wallace: "We need Rasheed. I'm not going to sit here and lie and say we don't need him. Hopefully, he can get his foot right so he can be able to play Friday. That thing has been lingering with him for the last month and a half of the season. So you just hope and pray that he's alright. He is a difference maker on our team and for us to get over the hump. If not, if he can't go, other guys have got to step up. It's the playoffs, we need everybody. Everybody has got to be willing to come in and do what they have to do to play." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Pistons Center Rasheed Wallace
On the game:"We lost the game, they played a good game and J-Kidd did what he does. I am not mad, they came out here and did what they were supposed to do. Now we have to take it back to Detroit." On Getting Offense From Players Besides Richard Hamilton: "Rip had the hot hand tonight, he was doing his thing. Why not keep on feeding him the rock, it would be stupid if we didn't." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Pistons Forward Tayshaun Prince
On the Game:"Obviously Jason broke out of his slump and hit some big shots, but I think we killed ourselves in the second quarter. They got a couple of steals in a row and got the momentum on their side and when you play a team like that you can't let them get on runs, especially how easy they were. At that point I just think we were a little frustrated." On the Nets: "If they get ahead they are the type of team that is hard to catch up to especially when Jason gets in the flow with the fast-break. When you play in this building you have to get off to a fast start and in both games we haven't done that." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Pistons Guard Lindsey Hunter
On the Game:"We just didn't play the way we are normally accustomed to playing and you don't give yourself a chance to win that way. We didn't leave ourselves much room for mistakes in the end. It is frustrating for us as players to come out and not put forth the effort. Defensively, we did not do the things we normally do and offensively we did not share the ball yet again." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Nets Head Coach Lawrence Frank
On the game:"Once again, it was a total team effort. We did what we were supposed to do. We defended our own court, just like Detroit defended their home court. Jason Kidd was obviously off the charts and Kenyon Martin as well. Lucious gave us a good lift on both ends with his activity in the first half and Kerry to start that third quarter really got us going. Brian took a big charge, Rodney gave us a big lift, Aaron Williams gave us great energy in the second half and Jason Collins was very good in the first half. Still a team effort, but it is just one win, tied 2-2, Game five. On Jason Kidd scoring: "We never base Jason's game on scoring. The guy is First Team All-NBA; he is a year in and year out MVP candidate. He is going to have nights where he doesn't make shots but he does so many other things. He is always rebounding, distributing the ball. He is always handling the ball against pressure. He leads and he always defends." On the team improving in the series: "I think we have obviously improved since games one and two. On keeping Detroit off the offensive boards, plus doing a good defensive job against a very talented team are some improvements. We continue to get better, but we are going to have to get it done on the road." On Kenyon's energy: "I love the passion. That is what we are all about. Kenyon feels it, and you need that. You have to enjoy and love playing this game. The passion, emotion and the fire is contagious." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Nets Forward Kenyon Martin
On his injuries:"I had a little back spasm in the second quarter. So they tried to work it out at halftime. It was just a little tight. My hand is fine and my emotions were going. I just didn't want to break anybody's computer and pay for it." On why K-Mart pounded the scorer's table: "I thought I could have had the ball. We had a fast break and made a good defensive play and thought I could get the ball back but I didn't get it. I was ticked at myself." On the home crowd: "Our home crowd is great. We just fed off of them for a little bit with a lot of energy. We're just trying to continue to play well at home. We did what we had to do and won two games." On difference between the first two games and the last two games: "Tonight J-Kidd made shots. That's the first thing. We were just playing a lot harder than we did up there in Detroit. I think our confidence is really high. Guys are getting involved. We're playing defense the way we are capable of playing. And we're getting out on fast breaks and hopefully this will continue for Game five." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Nets Guard Jason Kidd
On making shots tonight:"Kerry started hitting shots I wanted to join in. I was tired of sitting on the sideline wondering if I was going to make one or miss one. In the third quarter when I saw Kerry starting to knock them down I wanted to join the party again. My belief systems are different than everyone else's. My game has never been compared to scoring. My job is to get guys the ball and play defense and keep the tempo. He started off the game like that and that's how we finished." On what the game four win did for the Nets: "Both teams won at home. Both teams held serve and now it's the best two out of three and we knew Detroit is very talented. They're a good team and have a great coach and they will make some adjustments and they are very good at home." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Nets Guard Kerry Kittles
On the guard play:"I think we played well. Something clicked in Jason in the second half and he really got aggressive with the ball. He felt better about his shot and he made some plays. That's what you have to do whenever you're at home. The crowd gets you going a little bit and he had a good rhythm going." On dissecting the Pistons: "The coaches are doing a good job scouting and figuring out the things that they're doing well. From a team standpoint we're just going out there trying to do the best job we can of executing the game plan on that end of the floor. Obviously their offensive rebounding is huge for them and we have to do a much better job keeping them off the glass." On scoring a lot on such a defensive team: "I think our result was there. It all starts on the defensive end. If we can contain those guys and get the ball out and make some plays we're going to score points. That's what we did in the second half." On the game: "Detroit was trying to come here and get a split. We played well at home and did what we had to do and now we have to go on the road and do the same." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Nets Guard Lucious Harris
On the game:"That's the emotion we have to play with for the rest of the series, playoffs. That's the way we want to play. We have to come out and play like that in Detroit and in every game. I think if we come out and played like we did the last two games from the start and all the way through we'll be moving on." On taking the energy on the road in Detroit: "That's the key. Take that energy on the road that we have here at home. Hopefully we can use that as momentum." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Nets Forward Richard Jefferson
On the game:"We played well but we really want to put things in perspective. We really didn't accomplish too much. We protected our home court. Now we have to win one in Detroit. We played well tonight. We knew we were going to play well at home. We were confident coming back home even after going down 0-2. In the end we're going to have to win one in Detroit and that's the key thing." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
