Postgame Quotes - December 3, 2013

On the game:

“I thought that we got off to a good start. We got a lot of good performances from a lot of people. We just kind of held our composure. We knew that at some point they’d make a run. Brandon [Jennings] made that big three. We were able to hold on. We had to have someone make a play. I think [Rodney] Stuckey made a play at one time. When Brandon hit that big three, it kind of settled us down a little bit. Prior to that, LeBron [James] was coming in and he was making plays. [Michael] Beasley was making plays for them. Again, we held our composure. Once again, somebody had to make a play. They were keeping us so far away from the basket. That’s why the shot that Brandon hit was so big because we were so off-balance. It takes a lot of pressure off when you have guys that are making shots from the outside because you have to pay attention to them. It makes it easier for the inside guy. They can play one-on-one because [for example] Kyle [Singler] hit several threes and it opened up Greg [Monroe] inside for a couple of easy baskets. Jennings’ shot got us to settle down a little and then Josh [Smith] comes down and gets a steal. They had some three-point shots for them to miss that we were able to rebound the ball. They had a couple of offensive rebounds that kept them in the game. When the game is balanced like that and they have guys that are shooting threes, you have to just challenge the shot, hope they miss and rebound the ball.”

On the pick-and-roll offense:

“We got to get the ball in a little deeper. Typically, you’ll be able to run a pick-and-roll; but they [Miami HEAT] are so aggressive with their pick-and-roll defense that we were a little reluctant to run a big guy into the pick-and-roll. We’ll take a look at it and see what the difference was. We ended up holding the ball a little more than we wanted to.”

On the Miami HEAT’s season-low shooting percentage:

“It’s something that we’ve been talking about; trying to get our defense a little bit better. We want to close off the paint and challenge the threes. Tonight was a step in the right direction for us on the defensive end. It’s just a good win for us.”

On Andre Drummond’s foul trouble:

“He ended up with 18 rebounds in 22 minutes which is amazing. He’s aggressive. We want him to stay aggressive. The way that he’s playing, we need him on the floor but we were able to whether that storm tonight.”

On weathering the Miami HEAT’s first half run: “It was almost like the end of the game. This team has been through a lot. They understand about winning games. When they are down, they know that they can come back.”

On defeating the HEAT:

“It is a great feeling. We played all 48 (minutes) tonight. We played hard the whole game. We didn’t let up off the gas. We just took advantage of the lead that we had and just kept pushing forward.”

On withstanding the HEAT run:

“When Norris Cole had those back-to-back steals and lay-ups we called a timeout and said, look, they are about to make their run. We just got to withstand it, keep running our plays and go back to what works for us and get back to those easy buckets.”

On his impact on the game with foul issues:

“I kept my head in. Having Josh (Smith) and all of those other guys keeping me positive when things like that happen to me. It is part of the game, fouls. They bring you down, but having my teammates around really helps me keep my focus.”

On defeating the HEAT:

“It’s a team confidence boost. We knew they were a good team. We knew they were going to play us tough and to beat them just shows that we’re on a good path for sure.”

On the three-pointers:

“It does open it up for our inside game. That is our strength, so we’re not going to go away from it. To knock down some threes, it just opens up the whole game for different players. It is good to see guys shoot the ball well.”

On his confidence in shots:

“I don’t know when they are going to fall. I’m just out there playing and trying to win. When I am out there competing, things will take care of themselves.”

On if this win will have a carry-over effect:

“I really don’t know. I don’t have that experience yet. What was good about tonight is we didn’t play perfect down the stretch. There were some offensive possessions where we didn’t run the set the way we should have. What was good to see is that we didn’t fold. We got stops on defense and we were able to finish the game. In games previous, we would have lost those.”

On the game and the HEAT’s slow start:

“I never think you need something, but we didn’t really play well in a lot of facets of the game. They certainly got us way on our heels with the turnovers, their speed, and quickness. They jumped all over us in the first quarter. We just weren’t ready for that and the athleticism going the other way and all that aggressiveness in the paint.”

On the HEAT’s chemistry at the start of the game: “[It’s] what you always have to focus on in this league.”

“We have great character. We’ve been through a lot of battles together, but that doesn’t mean you can take it for granted. You have to work on it constantly.”

On LeBron James’ play and requesting to be taken out of the first quarter:

“It was fast and furious that whole first quarter. The steals. The deflections. The fast breaks going down the other end. The saving possessions. That took a lot out of that first unit.”

On Michael Beasley’s play on the defensive end:

“I’m comfortable with anybody on the roster, including Michael. He’s been putting in a lot of time behind the scenes, but I don’t think anybody played really great defensively tonight.”

On the lineup without Wade, James and Bosh:

“We’ve done it before. It’s been a good lineup for us before. It’s an energy lineup. We feel comfortable that there’s enough scoring, shooting and playmaking with that group. They’ve sparked us when that group has been together.”

On having to try to come back from multiple deficits:

“We don’t want to do that for sure. We missed a lot of shots to start the game and we dug ourselves into a hole in the first half and at the end of the third quarter.”

“We never want to play from behind, we have to do a better job of coming into the game and being a little more aggressive and not shoot as many jump shots.”

On the game:

“Records don’t matter when we play teams. Obviously teams play a totally different pace and totally different style when they get up to play us. There is no complacency with us; it is the name of the game. You can’t look at records and say they should win. We have to go out and play and if you don’t you get beat.”

“They’re a huge team, we know that. I think a lot of it was our mistakes as well. We had eight turnovers in the first quarter and we had 19 for the game. They came at some crucial points in time. We can’t do that, we cannot allow a team to get out in open court and get comfortable. We have to continue to execute our half-court defense. We were great when we were able to set our D (defense). You can’t give up (29) points on turnovers, that’s too much.”

On Michael Beasley:

“He had a great game and was very aggressive. That is what I continue to tell him, stop trying to fit in as much and just be himself. Early on in the game he wasn’t himself, I just told him to be aggressive and it helped out a lot.”

On having to try to come back from multiple deficits:

“We just play the game how they go. We don’t want to script it, of course we want to come out and play well. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t. For the most part, it is what it is. You just have to gut the game out sometimes. Today, offensively it was really tough to get a flow. We kept turning the ball over and we didn’t have the necessary energy we needed to have tonight and we got beat. It was a good run and maybe that is what this team needs right now going on this road trip.”

On the game:

“I think we got some good looks, some excellent looks. We are going to take those 10 times out of 10 and if we don’t make it we could have done a better job of getting back and making them play against our set defense. We gave them energy with those easy turnovers and everything.”

On missing Dwyane Wade:

“I don’t want to make any excuses with Dwyane being out. We practice relentlessly all the time and play relentlessly with different lineups. The defensive principles are always the same no matter who is in the game. We were just a step off tonight.”

On the game:

“It is a loss. No matter what anybody did individually, it goes in vain with a loss.”

“I am just doing what I told myself, my team, my coaches and the fans; I just play hard and play defense.”

“With this much talent on the team, you don’t want to mess the flow up.”

“They (Detroit Pistons) played well tonight. They knocked down big shots. They got big rebounds. They definitely had an inside presence with the two big fellas (Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe).”