Postgame Quotes - December 14, 2012

Detroit: Lawrence Frank | Kyle Singer | <a href="#monroe"Greg Monroe

(On the game overall): “Our guys competed their tails off after being down going into the 3rd quarter, fighting back and holding Brooklyn to a 14-point quarter. I think at one point we had seven or eight consecutive stops to get back in the game. We were one rebound or finishing play away from winning the game. We just came up short, Brooklyn had the last word. What we wanted to do was fire, meaning double team from the nearest man from the crowd. It happened quick, dribble hand-off right to Joe Johnson and he hit a tough shot. We were just a little slow to react and come with the double team. The bottom line is this, we had numerous opportunities with this and we just fell one play short.”

(On the game): “We played tough and we fought back from a deficit. It was just one of those things where we did not have enough time to play it out.”

(On trying to win in overtime): “In overtime games, everything is magnified. We definitely had chances to win. We just did not get into plays to get the win and Brooklyn made plays to win. We just wish we had a couple more seconds left.”

(On the loss): “Joe (Johnson) made a big shot obviously, but there were a number of plays where we missed free throws and we missed some rebounds. Other than that, we still put ourselves in a position to win the game. You can point at a number of plays and say it was the reason we lost.”

(On Pistons gameplay): “I don’t think anyone was frustrated. We definitely wanted to win the game but we want to win every game. It was tough, but those small plays were big. It may not be on the stat sheet or something that you would want to replay, but those little plays are the ones that cost us the game tonight.”

(On winning this game): “It’s really fun to come out on the winning side of that type of game. I saw a group of guys who were fighters and didn’t make any excuses. We had a lot of adversity out there, a lot of situations; the ball wasn’t bouncing our way. This is the team I saw in Boston, both mentally and physically tough. I saw a bunch of physically tough guys out there tonight.”

(On Gerald Wallace): “That left handed tip was pretty impressive. I don’t even think we make it to overtime tonight without Gerald Wallace.”

(On Joe Johnson): “Joe has been in a really good rhythm. I thought he came on in the second half of the Toronto game. It was no secret that we were going to give him the ball and ride his back. Our other guys were ready to shoot if he got doubled team. That’s what we are looking for from him.”

(On winning the game): “I think everybody was excited. We fought all game, and Joe carried us through the fourth quarter and both overtimes, and I don’t think anyone wanted to play a third overtime, so I guess he knew we needed to get to Chicago. It would have been a sour taste in our mouth if we had to travel after going through two overtimes and not winning, so I’m definitely happy Joe hit the shot. He was huge for us and it was a great victory for us.”

(On Gerald Wallace): “He’s our energy, our life. We had a lot of mistakes out there and he kind of covered up for them on the defensive end, coming up with huge blocks and steals, just big plays. He does everything for us.”

(On Brook’s first game back): “It was great, Joe was killing it, G (Gerald Wallace) was doing his thing. When we had to, we made the big plays.”

(On how Brook felt out on the court): “It was great, I felt very good there with no problem. I was just happy to be out there playing with my guys.”

(On getting in the game during the overtimes): “I was hoping, but the group he had on the floor did a great job.”

(On playing more or was it too early to tell): “I felt like I could, but the decision wasn’t up to me so we’ll see. It honestly felt great!”

(On watching Joe’s shot fall at the buzzer): “He was hot, we all know that’s what he’s capable of. It was a big team effort. Reggie did his thing, D-Will did his thing and Gerald was huge for us. It was good to see.”