DCSIMG
Print RSS Feeds RSS Sign up for E-news
Sunday, May 7, 2006 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, MI

Round Two, Game One: Detroit Pistons 113, Cleveland Cavaliers 86

Boxscore | Recap | More Photos | Video
Tayshaun Prince scored 16 of his 24 points in a blistering first half as the Detroit Pistons coasted to a 113-86 victory over the weary Cleveland Cavaliers in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Richard Hamilton added 20 points and Chauncey Billups 14 and 10 assists for the top-seeded Pistons, who put on an offensive clinic in looking very much like the NBA's best team. Game 2 is Tuesday, May 9 at The Palace of Auburn Hills (7:00 p.m., TNT)
Game One Leaders
Points:(DET) Tayshaun Prince, 24
(CLE) LeBron James, 22
Rebounds:(DET) Ben Wallace, 11
(CLE) Anderson Varejao, 8
Assists:(DET) Chauncey Billups, 10
(CLE) Two Players Tied, 4
Blocks:(DET) Ben Wallace, 4
(CLE) Donyell Marshall, 2
POSTGAME QUOTES
PISTONS.COM
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Tayshaun Prince
Points: 24
Assists: 2
3PM-A: 4-4
FGM-A: 8-14
Minutes: 32
Pistons Head Coach Flip Saunders

“One play can change a game and one game can change a series. You don’t know when that play’s going to happen, so you have to be prepared to play every play like it might be that one play.”

On Lindsey Hunter:
“As he said to me the other day, ‘Maybe sitting out 55 games or whatever is pretty good for an old guy,’ because what it does is it gives you the opportunity to keep your legs fresh … Lindsey has always been known for his ability to defend, but he, along with all of our bench players, has shot the ball extremely well these first six games of the Playoffs.”

“When this team has the opportunity to get a day or two rest, we can get our legs underneath us and we have the ability to play both ends of the floor. Sometimes in back-to-back situations, your legs go and the first thing that goes is your offense, but I thought we stayed crisp.”

Pistons Guard Richard Hamilton

On if they were affected by not having enough time between series:
“Not at all. It was good that we got out here and played so fast. Guys were really energetic. Everybody played well. We shared the ball and had a good time.”

On playing LeBron James:
“Tay (Prince) was great because it’s important to make LeBron work. They depend on him so much in the offensive end that it’s important to make him work on the defensive end, and Tay did a great doing that.”

On if the loss was demoralizing to the Cavs:
“No, it’s a series. We just felt that once we got them down, we’ve got to keep pounding. We can’t relax because we know it’s a series. I think the guys that came off the bench did an excellent job of competing and keeping them down.”

Pistons Guard Chauncey Billups

On the game:
“We wanted to come out and just be aggressive. Game 1 obviously was in our house and we wanted to be aggressive. We know they just got out of a very tough series and their emotions are high. We wanted to use it to our advantage.”

On playing against the Cavs:
“No doubt, we came out very focused today. We were trying to help Tayshaun (Prince) with LeBron (James) and they’ve got a lot of other good players that can hurt you too, so you can’t really just focus on LeBron. We came in with a good game plan and executed it really well. We just shot the ball great. When we can shoot it that good, no one can beat us, but when any team that shoots it that good, you’re in trouble.”

On the Pistons’ energy:
“It was definitely important for us to come out with a lot of energy. They just came off a real emotional high from winning that game in Washington the other day and we understood that. Coming in here, we knew that if we punched first, the first initial blow, that we would have the advantage.”

On Lindsey Hunter’s play:
“Linds was great. He was aggressive. He took what they gave him. They really didn’t think that he was going to shoot those shots and Linds has always been a great shooter. Ever since he came into the league, that’s what he was known for. Later on in his career he became known for his defense, but you can’t forget that he’s been a prolific scorer all his life. When he gets his opportunities he does well and he’s a great lift for us.

Pistons Forward Tayshaun Prince

“I think they were tired a little bit. It was up to us to try to jump on it early. The situation they had, after the first round, where they had to come over here right away and play, I think it was really important for us to get ahead early.”

On LeBron James:
“I know he’s going to be out there 40-45 minutes, if not playing the whole game. Just with his quickness and that type of thing, it’s tough to keep him in front of me all throughout the game.”

On today’s game:
“As far as myself, I just try to be aggressive and make plays. Once I hit a couple of outside shots, I just got a little rhythm going.”

Cavaliers Head Coach Mike Brown

On the game:
“We got our behinds kicked. I’ll tell you what, they shot the heck out of the ball. They jumped on us early. We talked about going into the ballgame and trying to close quarters the right way. Our last game here, at the end of the first quarter, the score was 19-16, they go on an 11-0 run and they blow the game open. This team (the Pistons) already has a lot of confidence and when they go on runs like that at the end of the quarters, they tend to pounce on you. Same thing happened to us today. We’re right there in the ballgame, kind of going back and forth, and as that first quarter goes on they kind of lull you to sleep and tighten it up on the defensive end. Next thing you know there’s a timeout with a few minutes left in the first quarter, they go on a 10-0 run, that gives them confidence and they jump on us. They played a hell of a ballgame.”

“If they’re going to be able to shoot the ball like that, which they’re capable of doing, we’re going to have to do a better job of digging down and contesting those shots. We’re going to have to somehow, some way make them miss and also try to stop them from getting to the rim. But when anybody shoots they way they shot tonight, it’s going to be tough.”

On emotions carrying over from the Washington series:
“It was an emotional series; it was a tough series for us. But for me, personally, I’m not a guy that believes in what just happened a day or two ago. The task at hand was play the Pistons today, and we got our behinds kicked. Washington, in my opinion, really didn’t have a lot to do with it.”

On the Pistons’ defense against LeBron James:
“It was good. They didn’t double him all the time at the ball, but they tilted and made the floor crowded wherever he had it. There weren’t many driving lanes, especially in the half-court (set). Again, we have to make sure we watch the tape and we have to see how we can counter that.”

Cavaliers Forward LeBron James

On the game:
“It wasn’t frustrating, it was a bit discouraging - you play defense for 22 or 23 seconds and a guy hits a three at the end of the shot clock. But give much credit to the Pistons. They came out, took care of business on their home court and that’s what it’s about.”

On the Pistons’ three-point shooting:
“They won’t lose the rest of the playoffs. If they shoot like that, 10-11 from the three-point line, they’ll sweep through the whole playoffs and win the NBA Championship. They shot the ball extremely well tonight.”

On if they defended the Pistons well:
“Yeah I think so, I mean besides them hitting all those threes. We shot 50 percent and had six turnovers in the first half and we’re down 22. You know, it’s hard to explain it, but you have to give much credit to them. They worked hard for it all season and they took care of home court.”

On why the Pistons are so hard to defend:
“Because you can’t just key in on one player. They have multiple options they can go to and they showed it. Lindsay Hunter came in off the bench and gave them a spark. Tayshaun (Prince) hit some threes, Chauncey (Billups) got involved early. Even when Rasheed (Wallace) got into foul trouble, (Antonio) McDyess came in and did a great job. They’re multi-dimensional.”

On how quickly they will forget this game:
“You have to quickly forget it; we play another game in the next couple of days. So you have to get over it and get ready for Game 2.”