Pistons Head Coach Stan Van Gundy
(On defensive play): “Caron (Butler) had the play of the game to me. There were a lot of good plays and I thought our defense in the fourth quarter was really good. That was the play of the game; diving on the floor and it ended up in a dunk on the other end. I thought we did a pretty good job on their two main guys. We sent DeMarcus (Cousins) to the line a lot which is hard not to do, but those two guys go 10-for-33. I don’t know how much of that is us but it has to be a little bit. The fourth quarter we really buckled down.”
(On play of Brandon Jennings): “I love not only the way he’s playing, but his whole attitude. When he’s on the bench he’s encouraging guys. He’s into the game and he’s into the team. He’s trying a lot harder on the defensive end, it’s not just his offense now. In the last five games he has totally transformed. He hasn’t played with this kind of spirit and energy and I think our guys are not only looking to him to make plays, but someone who is really into the team.”
DETROIT PISTONS GUARD BRANDON JENNINGS: (On his comfort level in recent games): “Not just me, the whole team looks comfortable. We’re sharing the ball; everybody’s making plays out there. They made a run, they were down four, then we picked it up on the defensive end and took off with it.”
(On his performance in the third quarter of recent games): “In the past we’ve struggled in the third quarter, that was one of our biggest things. We’re always good in the first half and in the second half we would always struggle. With me, I just try to be so aggressive in the third quarter just to get us going. We haven’t had much success in the third quarter last year or previously this year.”
DETROIT PISTONS FORWARD ANTHONY TOLLIVER: (On his impressions of the Pistons when he played against them in Phoenix): “When they came to Phoenix, I think that was Jodie’s (Meeks) first game and I remember talking to a couple teammates and stating that I feel like this is a different team. With Jodie he makes a big difference, he’s the type of guy that can come in and impact the game. At that point I felt like guys were playing a little bit better and when I got traded here ever since then it’s been fun.”
(On his experience with the team since the trade): “It’s been fun. At the end of the day when you win no matter what is going on, if you have a bad game it kind of gets overshadowed. When you lose everything is magnified. When you’re winning a lot of things get forgotten about, if you have a bad game or whatever. If you win it’s all good and everybody in here has a great attitude about it. The other day Brandon (Jennings) didn’t have a great game but we won. He was in here just as hype, more hype than everyone else. That goes a long way for your team to stick together. Every night it’s probably going to be someone different. We just try to stick together and keep this thing rolling.”
SACRAMENTO KINGS HEAD COACH TYRONE CORBIN: (On Piston's performance tonight versus Kings): "Well, they're playing well. They're shooting the ball pretty well, especially when you allow them to get 90 points in three quarters and shoot 55 percent in that time span."
(On making half-time adjustments): "Just taking advantage of the opportunities we had. We had them in foul trouble - going inside and getting some baskets. We wanted to play inside-out. I thought we came out in that third quarter a little bit and settled for a few jump shots before we went inside. Still a close game up until about eight minutes in that fourth quarter and then they made a run on us."
(On Brandon Jennings): "When he's making shots like he was tonight, you have to make sure you pay attention to the pick and roll with him and Drummond. He made some 3-point shots early. He felt good about his shots. He had a good game for them."
SACRAMENTO KINGS CENTER DEMARCUS COUSINS: (On tonight's performance versus Pistons): "We're not the team we were. It's clear: we're not the same team. We can't continue to make excuses for the team. At the end of the day, we're the ones out there playing. Regardless who the man is on the bench, we're the ones out there playing. We have to win. We have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves. We're shaking our heads; myself included. We have to man up. It's on us, period."