Postgame Quotes - January 12, 2012

Detroit: Lawrence Frank | Brandon Knight | Greg Monroe
Milwaukee: Scott Skiles | John Leuer | Brandon Jennings

Pistons Head Coach Lawrence Frank
(On the close game…) “We got it to the moment of truth, where it’s anyone’s game. It was 94-91, at that point it’s anyone’s game and it didn’t work out for us. We made several mistakes throughout the course of the game. Any time you give up 22 3’s, let alone letting them shoot 50 percent. They had second shots that led to lay ups and 3’s, that’s a problem. There are no consolation prizes. There was a different spirit out there, a different fight out there. Is it an every other game thing? No one’s happy with losing; we need to continue to have performances like this where at the moment of truth, the last six minutes of the game, it can be anyone’s game. You’ve got to get stops and quality shots.”

(On Greg Monroe…) “Greg was tremendous. You can’t say enough good things about his performance. You ride him, you ride him, and ride him. I thought he had a great pace, right from the beginning of the game. He was dictating to Bogut, Gooden, eventually Sanders, at times on a switch, Ilyasova. He had them in the rocking chair. He’s getting better. And now he has to build on it. It’s not going to be 32 (points) and 16 (rebounds) every night. Once you show you can do it, the gig is up. Now we expect it. The bar keeps on raising”

Pistons Guard Brandon Knight

(On tonight’s game…) “We started off attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. Basically just live in their paint. That’s why we had the better flow.”

(On being comfortable with the defensive contact …) “I’m getting more comfortable. As a rookie, it’s tough to get those calls. They come very seldom, so I have to have the right mindset to keep attacking the paint and keep your head straight.”

(On adjusting to the pace of NBA basketball, and what’s working …) “My team chemistry [is working]. Knowing what the defense gives you, know what’s a good shot and what’s a bad shot. Basically being able to run the team. Learning to attack the basket. Which lets me create for myself and create for others.”

Pistons Center Greg Monroe

(On being in such a comfort zone for tonight’s game…) “I was just working. I got some easy buckets early, and used the intensity to try to have a good game. I took what they gave me. I was able to knock down some jump shots, and get to the rim. I just tried to make plays and be patient. Tonight, I have to tip my hat to my teammates. Especially all the guards, coming off pick-androlls, they found me rolling and got a lot of easy buckets, driving and drop offs. I got a lot of easy looks tonight.”

(On chemistry of team passing…) “That’s something we’ve been working on as a team. We’ve been trying to get better at the little things. We need to pay attention to detail.”

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Bucks Head Coach Scott Skiles
(On the close game…) “It’s been kind of a reoccurring theme for us. It’s something we have to continue to talk about and try to work on. Sometimes it’s when we’ve gone to the bench, other times the starters have been out there. There hasn’t been any real kind of common denominator, it’s just something that’s happened.”

(On the teams’ energy…) “Most of these games around the league, it happened again tonight, there were moments in the game where you look out there and it looks like ten totally fatigued players on the floor. There were several moments like that tonight. A lot of these games are won by the team that has the most energy and we were able to at least build a lead and hold them off.”

(On Greg Monroe…) “The main thing in the game and on the stat sheet was we couldn’t handle (Greg) Monroe. He just took it to us whoever was guarding him. We had trouble there.

Bucks Forward John Leuer

(On starting the game…) “It’s really no different coming off the bench or starting. Whenever you’re in there you just have to bring what you have, and that’s what I tried to do.”

(On tonight’s game…) “It’s always nice to have a few good things early. We jumped out to a lead, and they kind of crawled back a little bit. You have to give them credit, they didn’t quit. In the end we just made a few more plays.

Bucks Guard Brandon Jennings

(On tonight’s game…) “We kind of just had it going again tonight. The fact that we got two home wins, especially getting a win against our division rivals, that’s really big for us. Now it’s time to go on the road and see if we can get two more.”

(On having Andrew Bogut for the road trip …) “Just the fact that we got our big man (Andrew Bogut) back and we got other guys back, gives us the confidence we need. Now that we know that guys are healthy, we know that we can win. On the west coast road trip we would compete, but we just tried to give our best. Now that we have our big man we’ll be all right.