Detroit: Lawrence Frank | Greg Monroe | Brandon Knight Cleveland: Byron Scott | Kyrie Irving | Alonzo GeePistons Head Coach Lawrence Frank
(On the fourth quarter): “We went up 17 in the third (quarter). In the fourth quarter, we gave up 35 points. Between (Kyrie) Irving and (Alonzo) Gee, they had 31 of the 35. (We didn’t have) proper body position, whether it be on close-outs or pick and roll situations…At the end of the day, throw in (Ben Gordon’s) three (pointer) at the end, we scored 100 points. That’s enough points on the road to win. We’re not going to win games giving up 35 points in the fourth quarter. Really, two guys dominated for them in the fourth (quarter).”
(On losing the game): “(Kyrie) Irving and (Alonzo) Gee, they kicked our tail. They willed it back for them. It’s two competitive teams. We’re not… 34-0. I mean the other team wants to win too. I thought they took it from us. You have to give them credit. I don’t think we gifted them the win. I don’t think we didn’t compete and didn’t play hard…I don’t think we gave them the game. I think you have to give credit to Irving and those guys.”
(On the game): “I think we just lost focus. We stopped paying attention to detail on defense and they got hot. When two teams are playing hard, emotions get hot. It was a tough game. Both teams were playing hard. Everybody is intense…We have to find ways to get stops coming down the stretch. We’ve been doing it for the past few games and tonight we kind of lost focus of that.”
(On playing against Kyrie Irving): “In the first half, I was just able to knock down shots due to my teammates getting me open looks. That was that. Most of the time, because I got into foul trouble in the beginning, we weren’t really in at the same time anyway. It was whatever it (took to try and) get the win. Of course, you guys like the matchups, but it really just comes down to team basketball and trying to win the game.”
(On when the Pistons were leading): “We were playing great basketball, getting stops and playing as a team. We were doing what we needed to be doing.”
(On the fourth quarter): “We just stopped getting stops. It’s never going to be one player. Anything that we do is going to be on us. We just started giving up easy baskets; I think it was 20 points in the first six minutes of the fourth (quarter).” It was really just us not buckling down.”
(On tonight’s game): “Good win. I have to give a lot of props to Antawn Jamison who I really thought, for the first three quarters, kept us in the game. I thought he was really the only one that showed up the first three quarters and played terrific basketball. Then, in the fourth quarter, Kyrie showed up and just took it upon himself to get to the basket and make shots. Zo was in there. Tristan I thought did a heck of a job defensively. Everybody seemed to kind of jump on board. I really thought AJ started it all off and kind of carried us for three quarters.”
(On if Irving struggled early in the game): “I don’t think he really struggled; he just wasn’t aggressive in the first three quarters. He had probably five or six shots, a couple of turnovers. I didn’t think for the first three quarters he was really trying to assert himself. I thought in the fourth quarter…he just got much more aggressive, looking to really be aggressive getting to the basket and creating shots for himself and his teammates. That just got us going.”
(On Alonzo Gee): “I thought one of the things that hurt us early was Alonzo going out, getting hurt and then having to go in the locker room for a little while. It kind of messed us up rotation-wise as well. Having him in the second half was big. A double-double for him tonight, 16 and 11. Really did a great job on the offensive boards. We think he’s one of the most improved players in the league. I thought in the fourth quarter, on both ends of the floor, he did a great job.”
(On what the spark was for the team): “I’m not sure. I remember talking about going into the fourth quarter being down 11 or 12 points, because I know they had the free throws with two seconds left…I said ‘we’re going to get a score and we’re going to be down nine points. It’s a three-possession game and it’s all about the defensive end.’ I remember hearing (Jamison) say the same thing…I don’t know if it was one particular play or one instance that really turned it around. I just think it was the team being a little bit more aware of what was going on and what they had to do.”
(On his performance tonight): “I just wanted to control the game the best I could. I tried to get open shots for my teammates. As many shots as I would’ve like to of gone in, it didn’t happen tonight, but going into the fourth, I took what the defense gave me and it worked out.”
(On the fourth quarter): “Everyone says that the fourth quarter is the pressure quarter. I feel like our team is really prepared for the fourth quarter. There’s no pressure on us. We were down, but I had confidence in our team to get stops down the stretch and we did tonight. We started hitting shots and the crowd started getting into it and it felt good. This was a big win for us.”
(On if the team made any major defensive adjustments in the fourth quarter): “We were just confident in one another. Our defensive principals, we were following them. Everything that we preached in the pregame, we weren’t doing in the first two and a half quarters. The last two (quarters), we were doing it. We started getting stops and made our little run.”
(On the fourth quarter): “Kyrie is unbelievable and I just fed off of his energy. He helped the team win and made good plays for us and set up easy shots for us.”
(On the importance of tomorrow night’s game): “It’s very important to go get another win. It will help us out and it’s always good to win at home. It’s pretty important for us.”
(On the team’s fourth quarter performances this season): “I think a big part of it is that we stay together as a team. The coaches do a good job of telling us to stay together and to get stops on the defensive end.”