DETROIT PISTONS HEAD COACH STAN VAN GUNDY: (On Andre Drummond’s free throw shooting): “I’d like to get him like six a game, he got 16. He was rolling hard, he was putting more pressure on the basket, which hasn’t really been his fault, we just haven’t really emphasized it enough, and watching the games out west particularly the last one that was an area we needed to improve in was to get him to the rim more and he got down in there. Then you have a choice, you’re either going to pull in and leave people open and Reggie (Jackson) and Ish (Smith) found people for open shots or Andre (Drummond) is going to be open down there. Their idea was we’ll let him catch the ball then we’ll hammer him. I don’t think that strategy is going to work this year. A night like tonight, that’s not a fluke. You’re a 35% shooter for your career and you go 8-for-16 maybe he just had a good night, but 14-for-16, and they all looked good. He wasn’t banking them in.”
(On defending Giannis Antetokounmpo): “I thought we defended him really well. I get the box score – 29 points, four blocked shots – the guy’s just a great player. I think we gave him two buckets that were too easy. Stanley (Johnson) got beat on a back-cut and we didn’t match up with him on transition once. Other than that, I thought we did a really good job on him and he still got 29. I don’t have any answers to that.”
(On Eric Moreland): “Fantastic. It’s the most he’s ever played in a game. He hadn’t even taken a shot this season and tonight he was looking to finish. He got on the boards, had one great block and just gave us really, really great energy.”
DETROIT PISTONS CENTER ANDRE DRUMMOND: (On what got him into a flow at the free throw line in the third quarter): “After I came out in the first quarter it was kind of a slow start for me. Obviously, that crazy call in the beginning of the game, never, never seen that in my life before. So you have to roll with the punches. That kind of took me out of my game early, but being mentally strong and being a professional and coming back out and playing as hard as I can…Get back out on the floor and try to get myself going in that second quarter leading up to half time. I found a flow,. I think that’s what it was.”
(On hitting his free throws during crunch time): “It’s a testament to the work I put in throughout the summer, over the years, not even just the summer, throughout the years. The hard work I put into finding something that really works for me, feeling mentally strong if I do miss a shot to come back and knock down the next after that. It’s just mental toughness. Being ready at all times to shoot the same shot.”
DETROIT PISTONS FORWARD ANTHONY TOLLIVER: (On Giannis Antetokounmpo): “He made tough jump shots. He had 29 points because he hit some really tough shots. He got to the rim a couple times. I think he averages 20 points a game in the paint, I don’t know what he finished with tonight in the paint. He’s a tough cover, he’s just tough to guard. I think we did as good of a job as you really can to keep him out and he hit a couple jumpers and that’s what we have to live with. We don’t want him dunking every time. If he’s going to hit jump shots he’s going to score 30, but as long as we win that’s all that matters.”
(On Andre Drummond’s confidence): “First of all, he’s my favorite player, let’s get that straight. Second, he changes the entire dynamic of our team. He has so much more confidence, just being aggressive. Teams can’t just foul him and put him on the line now which takes a whole different approach. They have to guard him. Accept that he’s going to be on the court and we have to keep him on the court. As long as he’s not in foul trouble he’s going to be a huge asset for us. The fact that he’s hitting free throws, he’s probably one of our best free throw shooters at this point. It just changes everything, it changes the entire makeup of our team. As long as he continues that we’re going to be tough to beat.”
MILWAUKEE BUCKS HEAD COACH JASON KIDD: (On what the bench has to improve on): “We’ve got to get better. The bench has to step up. Someone, not just one, but those guys sitting over there have to pitch in and try to help the starters. The starters can’t play 48 minutes. Again, it’s a 10-point game to start the fourth [quarter]. We had some great looks there—two threes and a layup that doesn’t go in for us that could cut the lead. But, we’re not far off. Again the threes hurt us again tonight. The big thing is that we competed, but we just couldn’t make shots in the fourth.”
(On how much tougher the Pistons are when C Andre Drummond hits free throws): “Well Drummond again has been doing it all season. He’s really improved. We talked about that at the beginning of the game, that he’s been working on his free throws, knocking them down, and that just helps them. It continues to keep a run going or stops a run when he can do that.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS GUARD JASON TERRY: (On the drop off after the starters rest): “Oh, for sure. We just need to get some more consistent play from our guys on the bench and we’ll see what happens. But, it starts on the defensive end, regardless if it’s the starters or the bench players, and then we work from there.”
(On the defense not being where it’s supposed to be): “It’s still early in the season. So, we just know that our game is based on our defense, and right now, we’re not there consistently. We’ll play two-three minutes of it and you can see it, but consistently it’s not there. And you can’t win basketball games without the consistent effort on the defensive end.”