Detroit: Lawrence Frank | Greg Monroe | Will Bynum
San Antonio: Gregg Popovich | Tony Parker
(On offensive output): "I thought to begin the game we had a great rhythm and flow, outside of maybe two of the first eight possessions, of just really working everything we did. Whether it was in transition working our offense, or really getting quality shots and great ball movement, and just not settling for first option opportunities. Then throughout the game, I thought that we really had good offensive rhythm. The only thing that hurt us, obviously, was some of those turnovers, especially in the fourth quarter that led to some of their transition baskets. But other than that, I thought our offensive rhythm was very good."
(On Andre Drummond's back injury): "Injuries are a part of the game. This is a contact sport. Obviously we feel very bad for Andre, but he's 19 and he'll recover... He'll be fine. No one wants to get injured. It's one of those things in the course of it that you take it and any sort of negative situation, and you turn it into a positive. So, there's different things that Andre is going to be able to work to get stronger, and take this time to gain some strength in some different areas and make sure his back gets healed correctly for the long term. Andre is a vital, vital part of both our present and future, but that's the name of the game. You move forward, we get him healthy, and you go with who you got."
(On stepping up without Andre Drummond): “Andre is out for a while now, so I expect I’ll play a lot more minutes, but tonight was a good team win. We had four or five guys in double-digits. We beat a very good team tonight and we need to keep it rolling.”
(On sharing the basketball): “I think we did a good job moving the ball; sharing the ball. I’m not sure how many (assists) we had tonight…but we’re doing a great job sharing the ball. We need to continue to do that and continue to get stops on defense.”
(On Charlie Villanueva): “Charlie hit some big shots for us, man, he caught fire tonight. Anytime he catches fire any team is in trouble and it definitely is good for us.”
(On difference in this game): “The ball movement. I thought we protected the ball as well and didn’t have a lot of turnovers. For the most part, we closed out the game on the right note.”
(On playing fast): “I think that’s one of our strengths. We have to attack and play at a faster pace, and I think we did a good job of that tonight.”
(On Andre Drummond’s injury): “Guys are definitely going to have to step up. Andre was playing so well, but now it’s an opportunity for someone else. They have to step up and be ready.”
(On Pistons): “It was Detroit playing much better than we did all around. I thought Coach (Lawrence) Frank’s squad was really well prepared. They had a lot of juice. They beat us to the boards and they beat us to loose balls. They were very unselfish at the offensive end and moved the ball to open three point shooters. We are supposed to be pretty good at guarding the three point line and they just sliced and diced us in that regard.”
(On lack of defense): “It is too late in the season sometimes you play like that.”
(On Brandon Knight and Greg Monroe): “What was impressive was he (Greg Monroe) was not in a hurry. He was patient. He would pump fake and make a lay up. He would step out and make an elbow jumper. He was not hurried at all. He was real solid and everything he did was fundamental. (Brandon) Knight showed a lot of confidence from what I could see. He curled great and popped for threes.
(On Pistons): “They shot the ball very well. You have to give them credit. We tried to make some stops, but every time we came close within eight or nine they came up with a big three and sometimes that is going to happen in the NBA.”
(On Spurs defense): “Great question. If I had the answer it could happen, but it was just one of those nights. They were just making shots. They are not known to be a three-point shooting team and they made a lot of threes tonight.”
(On playing short handed): “We are not going to try and find any excuses. They just played well and you have to give them credit. They made a lot of threes when they needed it and they made stops when they needed it.”