Postgame Quotes - January 2, 2016

Quoting Pistons Head Coach Stan Van Gundy  “(On Paul George’s last six minutes) He hit a lot of tough shots and then we left him open on a fast break.  And yeah, he got it rolling. I mean he did a great job.  (On fighting through screens to guard Paul George) We weren’t switching on those that he got.  (Was it poor shooting or poor shots?) I think a little bit of both.  I think some guys missed good shots.  I think some guys took poor shots.  The bench was great, it’s our starting lineup now.  Like I said, we’re struggling.  We can’t get both units to play well on the same nights.  So our starters tonight got destroyed and our bench did a pretty good job keeping us in the game. (Overall) We didn’t need to light a fire.  Our guys played hard.  I was actually a lot happier with them tonight than I have been anytime in the past five games, including the Minnesota game.  I thought we fought hard, played well defensively.  I mean we only turned it over 10 times.  Paul George got it going at the end.  We shot 35 percent.  We were 3-20 from the three and we missed a bunch of free throws.  It makes it really hard to win.  But I thought our guys played really well and came to play.”Quoting the Pistons’ Brandon Jennings“I think we came out ready to play, the big thing for us was to be physical and I thought we were.  Then Paul George got hot at the end.  But it was physical most of the game. Every time we’d go to the basket it seemed like nothing was called but it was the same way for them too.  It started to get a little chippy there at the end, but then Paul got it going at the end.  (On his comeback from injury) I just tell the guys when we come in as a second unit that we are going to push it.  We are so dangerous in the open floor when we push it down the court and get easy baskets.”                                 Quoting the Pistons’ Andre Drummond“(On their offensive struggles) Indiana is a great team that is known for their defense.  We shot only 35 percent and anytime you shoot with that percentage, you’ve not going to win many games.  (On Paul George’s 21 point fourth quarter) He’s the type of player that it only takes one shot for him to get off.  Even though I felt like we played good defense, he was still able to get his shots and get hot.  (On not being willing to give in) We kept fighting, even though the game was starting to get out of hand.  We didn’t lay down.  It was a tight game.  Anytime you have a tight game it’s going to get physical.  It is what it is.  There are no hard feelings.”Quoting Pacers Head Coach Frank Vogel“(On Paul George) I mentioned late in the third quarter or sometime in the second half, I felt like he was thinking pass.  Then he got going from the perimeter, we kept going to him and he kept delivering.  It was a great fourth quarter.  He’s been struggling.  We’re all pulling for him and trying to put him in the right situations.  He’s going to be okay.  I thought we improved on the defensive end.  We had a defensive shootaround and it was deemed by me to be a defensive pride game and to bring a little edge to that end of the floor.” Quoting the Pacers’ Paul George“(On the fourth quarter) We played with desperation and I stayed aggressive.  I got a transition layup and some free throws and that’s what kind of put me in a rhythm.  I felt confident it was just a matter of time to get enough space.  They did a good job to start out keeping a body on me.  I think they made a big effort to stay aggressive and play physical with me.  I went through a poor shooting month.  I continued to do the same stuff and I knew I was going to shoot myself out of it.  A lot of it is I wasn’t aggressive from the standpoint of looking to score.  It was good to see shots finally go down but whether I was making them or not, it’s my job to be aggressive and put pressure on the defense.  (On the scuffle at the end) It was just competing.  I know the Morris brothers, good dudes, heat of the moment, playing hard, you’re going to have moments like that.  The game got out of hand at the end and the tempers got up a little bit.” Quoting the Pacers’ Solomon Hill“(On Paul George) He’s the leader of the team.  As far as doing it and crunch time plays, that is our go-to guy.  He stepped up for us in a huge way.  (On the defense) We had to keep that going.  That is Indiana basketball.  We have to get back to how we used to play.  (On winning a big game before a long road trip) It is always important to grab one before you hit a long road trip like we have.  We have some great opponents ahead of us.  (On his play) I’m just trying to get back to being a defensive guy, keying in on some things, and energizing the team.” Quoting the Pacers’ George Hill“(On Paul George) He turned up the magic potion there, really carrying us all the way to the end of the game.  I think he was phenomenal down the stretch and made plays when we really needed them.  (On whether defense played a big part) Definitely so.  I think we forced them into some tough shots…For a long stretch I think we were doing well on the defensive end by getting some stops, getting out on the break and trying to get some early strikes.  (On his own play) I’m being a little more aggressive and finding my rhythm and shots.  The ball is going in and I give that to my teammates for finding me.”