Postgame Quotes - March 18, 2011

Detroit: John Kuester | Austin Daye | Will Bynum
New York: Mike D'Antoni | Chauncey Billups

Pistons Head Coach John Kuester
(On fourth quarter) “I thought in that fourth period being down eight we made some adjustments. Will Bynum did a phenomenal job. In fact, our bench had 54 points. They did a great job of distributing the basketball and making big shots. Chris Wilcox had 12 rebounds and 15 points. He was phenomenal around the boards. I thought Will Bynum got us into something positive every time he touched the ball.”

(On holding Carmelo down) “Rodney Stuckey is phenomenal. Tayshaun Prince did a great job in the first half too so don’t kid yourself but Rodney when we had that small lineup and really challenged him every single second and he loves that challenge.”

(On the Pistons’ bench) “That’s so important because we’ve been communicating with our guys telling them all the time that you have to be ready. What happened was our guys responded and did a great job. Will hadn’t played like you said three quarters and he came in and we need him and he was phenomenal.”

(On Wilcox defending Stoudemire) “He did a great job. He was very impressive the way he was defending him especially on the drives and getting a second effort. That second and third effort we were getting at the end was phenomenal.”

Pistons Forward Austin Daye

(On the bench play) “They did a really good job, the guys that came in in the fourth-quarter. Will (Bynum) has been waiting a couple games to get in and make an impact. What he did was very important for us.”

(On Will Bynum) “It's tough, I've been in the same situation during the year playing limited minutes and when you get in, you're looking to make a spark for yourself and your team. He did a great job for us.”

(On being a starter) “I just try to do my job. I went out there and my main focus was to play good defense, keep Landry off the boards and knock down shots. I did a pretty good job of that but I haven't been knocking down as many three's lately.”

Pistons Guard Will Bynum

(On not playing three quarters and coming off the bench) “It's my job to be ready, not to complain and pout, I have to stay positive. I thought we needed energy. We needed play making, push the tempo and make stops. Most of all we needed to play defense and get stops. I just tried to provide that with my energy.”

(On chemistry with Chris Wilcox) “It's always like that when we play. Wilcox is a finisher and I don’t mind giving it to him every time, that's my job as a point guard. He (Wilcox) was big tonight. Chris rebounded the ball well, he defended Amar'e (Stoudemire) pretty well and offensively he was making plays.”

(On team defense) “We did a great job tonight. Our guys were focused on the match-ups and Stuckey did a great job on Carmelo (Anthony).”

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Knicks Head Coach Mike D'Antoni
(On the game) “It is disappointing anytime you lose. Tonight we had 18 turnovers that gave them 28 points and on the road you can’t turn the ball over like that. Villanueva did get out there and give him credit, he hit some shots we couldn’t get to, but other than that our defense was solid, we just turned the ball over in crucial moments.

(On Bynum being a difference) “He made some nice plays to Wilcox out there that hurt us a little bit, but again we scored only 17 points in the fourth quarter and that hurt us. There were two-or-three times that we turned the ball over as well and they got lay-ups on the other end. Overall, I thought it was okay defensively, but we just didn’t play well enough to win.”

(On Chauncey Billups’ turnovers) “He just isn’t quite back from his injury yet I think and that is throwing his rhythm off and maybe his unfamiliarity with the plays. I’m hoping it is short lived though and we fix it.”

Knicks Guard Chauncey Billups

(On fourth quarter) “They got on a run, just like we got on a run in that third quarter. They got some opportunities and just didn’t miss and then down the stretch we just turned the ball over too many times, didn’t get back and gave up too many meaningful, easy baskets.”

(On his eight turnovers) “That’s crazy and there is no excuse for that. You don’t like having those kinds of nights, but it happens. It wasn’t like a lot of them were forced, just some miscommunications and some mishandled balls. No excuses though, I’ve never really been a high turnover guy, so you can’t turn the ball over especially being the point guard.”

(On Carmelo Anthony) “He just really didn’t get a lot of opportunities at the basket. They denied him, they fronted him when he tried to take them down to his sweet spot, they were bringing a guy over playing behind him and he was just getting a lot of attention and he never really got a chance to play with just one person on him and getting to a spot where he could get comfortable. That is just great preparation on their part.”