DETROIT PISTONS HEAD COACH STAN VAN GUNDY: (On fourth quarter): “It was the full fourth quarter, they scored 37 points. We didn’t defend in the second and we didn’t defend in the fourth. We had them at 68 points, through three quarters then, I don’t even remember getting a stop in the fourth quarter. It was easy. We were slow in our rotation. We defended pretty well for three quarters and then just awful defense in the fourth.”
(On Darrun Hilliard and Reggie Bullock): “They played well, obviously a good start. I thought Darrun (Hilliard) played well coming off of the bench too.”
DETROIT PISTONS CENTER ANDRE DRUMMOND: (On game): “Obviously having those four days off really helped our bodies. We got ourselves together and got our legs refreshed for these games that are coming up. Tonight we had a great start, but we played three quarters. During that fourth quarter we allowed them to, and this is the second time they’ve done this, where they got up in us, made it real tough for us, a lot of turnovers were caused, and they came down and scored pretty much every possession or got fouled. It’s tough and obviously losing doesn’t feel good, but this one has got to stick to us because it is the second time it happened to us.”
(On closing out the season): “These last four (games), we have to win every one of them. We have to go 4-0 in this next week and a half. It’s definitely doable, but it is whether we all want to do it as a collective group. I believe in our team and I know we all have one common goal. We just got to keep the ball rolling.”
TORONTO RAPTORS HEAD COACH DWANE CASEY: (On win being too close): “Especially with a team that shoots 52 percent; that was discouraging. I just didn’t like the way we started the game. I liked the way we finished. We found a way. That’s what winning teams do. They find a way to win but that’s not how we’re going to be able to live. I think a lot of it, our rhythm was off a little bit, our defensive rhythm was off a little bit; back to back, whatever it is. We didn’t start the game out the right way. We came up, ended up playing well in the fourth quarter but we can’t live that way and expect to go anywhere.”
(On Kyle Lowry taking the charge in the stretch): “He did so many positive things throughout the game so it wasn’t necessarily one play. He makes so many winning plays, attacks before the defense is set, he reads situations, gets to the rim, gets calls, makes free throws, makes the right decision with the ball. You can’t really put a number on a play on his effect on the game.”
TORONTO RAPTORS GUARD KYLE LOWRY: (On what he was afraid of coming back tonight after his rest): “Nothing. I wouldn’t have played if I had any fear. That’s one thing about me. If I’m going to come back, I’m going to come back and play basketball. I’m not going to have any limitations, no restrictions, I’m going to out there and play basketball; I’m going to go hoop. The game of basketball is fun to me. It’s what I love to do and I just wanted to come out there and help my guys and help our team get a win.”
(On what the final quarter showed the Raptors): “Just resilience. We’re just tough. We’re an experienced team and all we can do is keep chipping away at it. They were shooting 57 percent at the half. We didn’t get it down under 50 but we cut it five percent by the fourth quarter. We shot the ball well in the fourth and we made plays, we made shots, and we finished the game on a good offensive note.”
TORONTO RAPTORS GUARD DeMAR DeROZAN: (On what Kyle Lowry means to the Raptors): “He’s the team. He runs us and he showed it tonight, he got us back in the game. He’s definitely one of a kind. There are no words I can put in context that will explain it. With these last two games to go, I’m happy we got him back and we have to try to get a rhythm.”
(On walking through his last play): “It was an iso for me to curl and get to my fade-away shot and all night I knew every time I went baseline they would send a guy baseline, one of the bigs, and it was either I was going to have my shot and I saw JV rolling down and I made the pass and he made a great cut, got the bucket”