Postgame Quotes - February 16, 2011

Detroit: John Kuester | Tayshaun Prince | Ben Gordon
Indiana: Frank Vogel | Danny Granger

Pistons Head Coach John Kuester
(On the game) “The only problem was we gave up 55 points but again offensively we had 13 assist and four turnovers I believe and we shot the ball extremely well. I though in the second half getting us to that end and the reason I went with Ben Wallace at the end is he did a heck of a job on Hibbert. Hibbert has really improved and this Indiana team has really improved. He made some great play defensively in the end of the fourth period and also in the overtime. This was very good for us right now.”

(On team effort) “It would solve a lot of our problems. There’s no question. I thought our energy was great throughout the entire time and players took ownership. When they take ownership and play with that type of effort….man. I’m not saying we’ll win the championship but we’ll be very tough to beat.”

(Importance of win going into All Star Break) “I know they will all miss me. A couple of them want to have individual instructions but I think this break is good for everyone. Hopefully we’ll come back with that same type of energy we had tonight.”

Pistons Forward Tayshaun Prince

(On tonight's game) “We came out with a lot of energy and we made some shots in the beginning of the game. We had a good hot-streak in that first quarter. We knew there was going to be a time when they started making shots and keep Hibbert in and spread where they can make three-point shots, and that's what they did, but we stuck it together.”

(On the break) “My plans are just to relax and stay off my feet for a few days. I'm not going to say we're going to build off of this because we'll have four or five days where were not going to do anything, but hopefully we can just try to get back on track.”

Pistons Guard Ben Gordon

(On having multiple guys in double figures) “When you look at our team we have a lot of guys that can put numbers up especially on the offensive end. I think that’s something we need to do every night, get guys in multiple figures, get everybody going, find a way to do that. When were able to play like that it’s hard for teams to beat us.”

(On getting shots) “I was able to get going a little bit, found a little bit of a rhythm, and get a couple of baskets in overtime. The more I’m out there the more opportunities I get, the more comfortable I get, the more productive I’ll be.”

(On Indiana coming back and the result) “They just didn’t want to go away. I give them a lot of credit, a lot of teams right before the break they kind of relax. I’m looking forward to the break, but they gave it everything they had tonight. I’m happy with this, we showed a lot of poise and we didn’t falter and we got the W.”

(On win being a momentum shift) “I hope so. Hopefully we can come back with a clear mind, rested a little bit physically and really try and pick it up. If we want to get in the playoffs, after the break is a time where we have to catapult it into full gear and get a streak going.”

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Pacers Head Coach Frank Vogel
(On the game) “This loss is part of the process of changing your identity, changing the identity of a team mid-season. I knew the risk of restructuring our offense and neglecting the defensive work that we needed to be a good defensive team and I knew it was going to bite us sometime. And it reared its ugly head tonight. We played hard defensively, but not very smart. Our offense was clicking, Hibbert was dominant in the post, Granger was highly efficient, DC (Darren Collison) had nine assists and only three turnovers. I was happy with our effort, was happy with the offensive end, we just aren’t as tied together defensively as we need to be right now and that is on me and part of the process.”

(On being a step slow on defense) “Defense involves repetition and hard (work) and most of our practices have been restructuring our offense and working on reads and becoming a more efficient team. I understood there was going some slippage on the defensive end and they showed up tonight.”

Pacers Forward Danny Granger

(On the game) “We didn’t have it tonight. Sometimes teams have a tendency to be on vacation already when you still have one more game to play in. We didn’t want to go into the break losing like this. We didn’t come out strong, they got the lead and that is why you lose in this league.”

(On Pistons play) “I really just don’t think we played that well defensively tonight, we are better defensive team then letting them shoot 50 percent from the field to anybody. I think that our defense let us down tonight.”