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PISTONS HEAD COACH DWANE CASEY  ON THE FRUSTRATION WITH THE WARRIORS KNOCKING DOWN KEY SHOTS: “I think every team in the league goes through that. It tells you the type of defense you have to play on every possession because with this group the basket is always open. They’ve proven that; it’s nothing surprising, it shouldn’t be surprising, but again I thought our execution for three quarters was pretty good. The second quarter is what bit us in the behind, I thought our intensity level and our sense of urgency was there in the third and fourth quarter to get back into the game and that is something we have to build on. My thing is at this time of year, is we have to play desperate and we did the last quarter, I didn’t think we did in the second quarter and that is when they kind of got their rhythm and got their confidence going. And when you give a team like this a rhythm and flow type feeling you know it is hard to turn it off. I thought in the third and fourth quarter of tonight especially our second unit came in and competed. And again we have to be that way if we are serious about making the playoffs.”  ON THE TEAM’S THIRD AND FOURTH QUARTER IMPROVEMENT: “We got to. We got to carry it over to the next game. We gotta take that feeling, take that intensity and again put thought with it, put our basketball IQ with it and take that to Denver, not only for Denver but for the next eight or nine games, whatever it is and leave it on the table. Because what we don’t want to do is go back in and say what if, what if I had done this, what if I had done that, what if I hadn’t taken that possession off going into the summer. Again, what we are building is the beginning of building our program the way we want it to be, to be on this level to play with this type of team each and every night.”  ON THEIR THREE-POINT DEFENSE AS OF LATE: “It’s troubling, very troubling. That is one area against this team it is an outlier, I would say this is a different animal. But, again like we said before the game that is an area of concentration that we have to worry about. I think we have to take this team out but everybody else we have to make sure we attention to detail of how we want to cover the pick-and-roll and not give up the three-point shot or at least be there within six-feet of them to make sure we have a good challenge.”   PISTONS FORWARD BLAKE GRIFFIN  ON BALANCING CRASHING THE GLASS AND STAYING BACK: “I think it kind of depends on the team. With a guy like Andre (Drummond), I think you see a lot of teams dedicating a lot of attention to him on the defensive glass, but rebounding is always a thing for us. Teams that shoot a lot of threes, obviously coming back in and protecting that mid-range area, cleaning it up. You can’t give it up to teams, especially teams as good as them, second-chance opportunities, second-chance points off of missed shots.”

ON NOT SHOOTING WELL FROM THREE AS A TEAM LATELY: “That’s been a point of emphasis for us since the beginning of the season, three-point line, transition and defending the paint. I don’t know what it is. I think we’ve been a little bit too pulled in. Early on, our biggest emphasis is handle pick and roll two-on-two like everyone else, and I think we’ve gotten away from that, everybody. Also, a lack of practice, a lack of getting to work on some of these things I think has hurt a little bit. But down the stretch we look for us to be a lot better at that.”   PISTONS CENTER ZAZA PACHULIA  ON COMING BACK TO ORACLE ARENA AND GETTING HIS RING: “Very emotional. It kind of feels like it was a long day when it was not, it was an early game obviously. Loved everything besides like you said that we lost. I’m very thankful for everything that this team, this organization, this city has done for me and for my family. Truly blessed and very thankful for each individual that I had worked with and I had played with and that has coached me and the fans that supported me. Those guys are special for my career. I only spent two years here, but two special years. It’s something that’s going to carry over this year and the rest of my life, career and just life. My family was here, my kids experience that. I’m very thankful for the love and support those fans showed me.”  ON WHAT LESSONS THE TEAM CAN LEARN FROM THE PAST FEW GAMES: “You know two different kind of losses we had last night and tonight. Last night, the last two minutes of the game were brutal. I don’t think we executed as well as we were supposed to. To close out the game you have to have the appropriate mentality, no turnovers and pay attention to every single detail, especially when it’s a close game like that. Today, obviously, playing against this kind of team, understanding you can’t let them have a 20 point lead. It’s hard to come back, especially on the road. Even in the fourth quarter, we tried to, we made a run, but having those guys, that kind of talent over there, it doesn’t happen that often or that easily. Understanding it’s 48 minutes every game. We have to be ready to play against the top teams because in the playoffs there’s no easy game, there’s no easy round. We have to learn from it, take advantage of these type of games to prepare ourselves for the playoffs. It’s not given that we’re going to make it, so we have to value our next nine games, or whatever we have left.”  ON TRYING TO DEFEND THE WARRIORS’ OFFENSIVE WEAPONS: “Right, it can get frustrating. Especially today’s talent, looking all over the league, every teams has shot makers, players. You can play as good of defense as you want, but those guys are too talented and have been working on the game, especially shots. A lot of guys can shoot from beyond the three-point line, so it can get frustrating. You have to keep pounding, pounding and keep playing, executing defensively and offensively. Most likely you’re going to put yourself in a situation to win a game. Then it’s all about closing the game right away like we didn’t do late yesterday. But again, it’s a learning experience and hopefully we can learn from last night and get better. We have another tough game coming up in Denver, one of the best teams we have in the league. We have to come out there and hopefully finish this trip with a win.”   PISTONS GUARD ISH SMITH  ON WHETHER THE SECOND QUARTER WAS THE ACHILLES HEEL FOR THIS GAME: “Yeah. They went on a run and got separation. Then they went on another little run at the end of the third and kind of got some separation. We could have kept that at 13 or 12 or where it was at, then when we made a run in the fourth, then it would have been a tie ball game or within striking distance. The second and the third when you look back you can say it was the difference maker.”

ON HOW THEY NEED TO IMPROVE: “You just have to keep playing with pace. You just have to keep flowing, keep playing, and keep moving the ball to get the ball in the spots where you need to get the ball to. We are all right, we are playing good basketball. We just played the two best teams in the west. We can look back and kick ourselves because we could have won those games. We just kept fighting and battling. We knew they were going to come out hard because of last night’s loss. I thought we competed but you don’t get moral victories, you have to come out with wins.”  ON WHAT THEY CAN TAKE AWAY FROM THEIR LAST TWO GAMES: “To just keep pushing. You know me, I don’t get to high or too low. I just have to keep pushing, keep pressing. You have to remember that this was the same team that was 10 games under .500, so for us to be in this position, I’m sure a lot of people think that we shouldn’t be here. I don‘t get to high or too low, we just have to keep pushing and pressing and we will get to exactly where we need to.”  ON IF THE TEAM HAS TO BRACE FOR WHEN THE WARRIORS GO ON SCORING RUNS: “Yes. You are exactly right. You just have to keep playing and playing with pace. When they score you have and the crowd is going crazy that is actually the time when you go right back at them to get some easy ones. You just have to keep pushing, pressing, and not get to high or too low and when you do that you put yourself in a position to win at the end of the game.”

WARRIORS HEAD COACH STEVE KERR  ON THE DEFENSIVE ENERGY THEY HAD TO START THE GAME: “Nothing surprising. This group has showed a lot of resilience to do what they have done the last few years. Anytime that we’ve had a bad loss we generally bounce back pretty quickly. I was impressed with the effort defensively, with the energy and a lot of guys came off the bench and did a really nice job. It was a good win. A good, solid win.”  ON HOW STEPHEN CURRY LOOKED TO START THE GAME: “He looked fresh right from the outset. Obviously the rest is not just for one night, but for the long haul. I think it was the right the thing to do. He looked great out there tonight.”  ON KEVIN DURANT’S 11 ASSISTS TONIGHT: “Kevin is such a great, talented player that he can just do whatever he wants on the floor. He decided to be a distributor tonight with obviously 11 assists. I thought his defense was great. He’s just one of those guys who is so talented he can kind of – whatever he chooses do that night, that’s what he does.”  ON DRAYMOND GREEN’S DEFENSE TONIGHT AGAINST THE PISTONS FRONTCOURT: “I thought Draymond’s energy and defensive effort sparked us all night. He takes the challenge when he faces Blake (Griffin). They have been going head-to-head for many years and it’s a hell of a challenge, Blake is tough as anybody to guard and Draymond was fantastic.”  ON IF HE DISPUTES THE NOTION THAT THE TEAM IS ‘NOT CARING’ AS MUCH: “Here’s what I think: I drove home last night and as disappointed and surprised as I was I realized that over five years what’s more surprising than that game last night is not having any of those games for three years. The first three years of this run, I don’t think we had a single game like that. You think about what these guys are doing night after night after night, taking everybody’s best shot, playing deep into June – it’s actually surprising that we haven’t had more of those nights over those years. What you have seen the last couple of years, the last two seasons, is that we have had some letdowns and some nights like that. It’s hard for anybody to understand what these guys go through physically, emotionally and spiritually just trying to defend the crown, trying to win the title and stay on top of the mountain. It’s hard and last night they had nothing. They had nothing in the tank. The great thing about this team, as I mentioned, is they always bounce back because they have so much pride. What they have accomplished – this team has the best record over the last four seasons as any four-year run in the history of the NBA. What they have done is just remarkable. Last night was tough, but it’s really tough to do what they have done too. We are going to give them a pass and we are going to move on. We played a good game tonight and we roll on. I prefer to look back at how few games there have been like last night over the last five years rather than the opposite.”   WARRIORS GUARD STEPHEN CURRY

ON TAKING LAST NIGHT OFF: “Honestly, nobody really likes taking days off. You’re a competitor and there’s a game to be played, but you keep the big picture in mind; obviously, it was a decision that was kind of thrown at me from the powers at be. There’s a difference, just having a little bit fresher legs and trying to get energy back, and knowing we have ten games left until the playoffs, or nine now, it’s important. I doubt it will happen again but definitely got to take advantage of it.”  ON HOW HE IS FEELING PHYSICALLY THIS YEAR: “I feel great. To be honest, before they brought the idea about (sitting out) it wasn’t on my radar at all. I was feeling good. Obviously, I pride myself on being durable and being available, obviously with the injury early in the year, missing 11 games it was tough to sit out. I know I hadn’t been shooting the ball extremely well but to me it wasn’t really a fatigue thing it was just kind of how the game was going and again, it’s a lot about rhythm now at this point. Getting close to the playoffs and want us to be fresh and want us to have a great vibe and good chemistry, so you balance all of that.”  ON HIS EVOLUTION FROM WHEN HE STARTED WITH THE WARRIORS TO TODAY: “It’s kind of surreal to be honest. When you talk about the history of the organization, and how hard it is to win NBA games, win championships and string together year after year after year. It takes a collection of talented guys, commitment to trying to put together the best team possible every year, and that’s front office, coaching staff all the way down. I think I haven’t shown a true appreciation for what we’ve been able to do, but want to continue this for as long as we can.”  ON THE TEAM’S FOCUS GETTING THE FIRST SEED IN THE PLAYOFFS: “I think it goes hand in hand with how we want to finish the season. If we take care of our business then more times than not, this last stretch of games that should take care of itself. And then, in doing that you can judge how we’ve been playing defensively, find that offensive rhythm, and balance and all the talent we have out there on the floor, and building momentum. Unlike last year, where we were kind of depleted because of injuries, and Houston was kind of running away with that one seed, it was kind of a built-in goal to how we want to finish the year. Definitely important, because you want to finish on a high note.”   WARRIOR FORWARD KEVIN DURANT  ON HOW MUCH OF TONIGHT’S SUCCESS HAD TO DO WITH STEPHEN CURRY’S RETURN: “Pretty much everything has to do with Steph being on the floor. He brings so much for us, pick-and- roll, with his movement and three-point shooting, just his presence out there opens up a lot of us, so it was good to have him back.”  ON ONLY ATTEMPTING SIX SHOTS TONIGHT: “I mean, I’m a well-rounded player and I can still affect the game without taking a bunch of shots. I thought I passed the ball well, played a great floor game, and I know you’re used to putting me in a box as a player but I’ve grown.”  ON HOW HE DECIDES IF HE WILL BE MORE OF A FACILITAOR OR SCORER EACH NIGHT: “Look, we got a lot of scoring out there on the offensive side of the ball. How many assists did we have? 31. So, that’s the formula for us and when I get the ball in the post we usually have a lot of movement on the side or everybody setting the pick-and-roll, and then I see somebody open and I got to pass them the ball. I didn’t want to force shots tonight and some of the shots I would have took tonight would have been forced, and last game I forced a bunch, so trying to help us get back in the game. Just tried to play a different game tonight.”

ON WHY THE FOCUS WAS BETTER TONIGHT: “We got beat by 40, that was the reason why. It don’t matter what the game was, no matter what time of the year it was, you get beat by 40 you don’t want to get embarrassed like that again or just lose the next night, so I think we came out with a nice sense of urgency. We let go of that game but everybody in that locker room from the coaches on down are competitors, so in the back of their mind they just wanted to avenge that terrible loss. I like our energy from the start.”  ON IF YOU KNOW EARLY ON IF THE TEAM HAS IT OR NOT EACH NIGHT: “Look, you just got to tip your hat to the other teams. We aren’t just going to come out and kill them from the gate. Teams are prepared and get ready for us now. Just look at the progression of the game. We started off up one in the first, then we kind of controlled the game the next two quarters and I think that’s kind of been the trend for us. It looks different the last two years because we’ve been dominating out there most games, but it’s a different level of basketball, different brand. Teams are starting to understand what we do a little bit more, so it might be a little tougher in some games.”   WARRIORS FORWARD DRAYMOND GREEN  ON THE HUSTLE PLAYS TONIGHT: “It was great. We were all on a string together, diving for loose balls, getting 50-50 balls and we needed an effort like that after the letdown yesterday.”  ON HOW THE TEAM FUNCTIONS WITH DURANT IN THE ROLE OF FACILITATOR: “We function better when he’s just playing basketball and being aggressive. I think he was very good distributing the basketball, 11 assists and two turnovers. Can’t complain about that, but when it boils down to it we are going to need Kevin Durant taking more than six shots. Nobody is complaining about it that he only took six shots tonight, it’s not the end of the world, but when it’s money time we’re not going to have Kevin Durant taking six shots so it is what it is, but I thought he played a good game tonight.”  ON WHAT HE ENJOYS ABOUT GOING UP AGAINST BLAKE GRIFFIN: “I enjoy playing against great players and taking on a challenge. Blake is a great player, he’s gotten a lot better since the last time I faced him, so it’s always a challenge and I just try to be physical. Very strong, likes to go to bully ball from time to time, just staying my ground and trying to make him take tough shots.”

postgame-quotes-pistons-vs-warriors-march-24-2019

Postgame Quotes - Pistons vs. Warriors, March 24, 2019

“Well, we got tentative and one thing their defense picked up, and we weren’t as aggressive as we needed to be, either. In those situations, you got to be aggressive, decisive…I don’t think it was the fact that we didn’t know what we were doing…but when they try to take you out of those, you got to be aggressive, you got to make sure you attack their feet and then make a play, and we didn’t do that. But again, credit them, their defense picked up and ours didn’t. They shot 54%, and we gave them 14 offensive rebounds; that, to me, was the key to the game for them.”

On the rotation that the Pistons finished with:

“I thought we needed it against them because of their pressure, I thought we needed another ball handler, and Luke was giving us that. Defensively, that first stretch I felt like Wayne was a better defender, and then we went back to Luke when we needed a ball-handler just because of that pressure; they picked it up, they were switching a lot, that got us a little more tentative. In those situations, you still have to attack their feet and make sure you make them make a decision at the rim, as they were doing to us—Lillard was attacking our feet from out on the perimeter, and now we get in our rotations, and he was dumping it off and making plays at the rim…against pressure, you have to do that. They did a good job of taking away Ellington off the three-point line.”

“His offensive rebounding…getting in the paint, driving…we were off helping or blitzing, and he did a good job of, on the weak side, cutting and getting to the rim. And again, we were trying to do something to disrupt Lillard in those situations, but we have to do a better job, not only on him, but again the offensive rebounding is something that we can do a better job of. Fourteen points are way too many offensive boards.”

On how focusing defensive attention on Lillard opens up opportunities for others:

“You’re not going to stop everything…they’re one of the top offensive teams in our league, and we made a decision that we were going to try to keep the ball as much as possible out of Lillard’s hands, and again, you take away one thing, you’re going to open up something else.”

“It was a tough one. The [Blazers] came and took it. We played a great team. They found a way to come out with the victory. It was a tough one to lose tonight… They did a great job playing defense and taking away what we wanted to do. [In that last stretch], we played a lot of iso [isolation] ball and it was tough. We’ve got to find a way to spring each other loose.”

On the opportunities created by Damian Lillard

“He’s been doing a great job of [creating opportunities] all year. He’s been getting blitzed [defensively] and finding his team to take good shots as well as getting off the ball. The Blazers have done a great job against that.”

“I thought we got stagnant. We didn’t go back to our sets that were working for us earlier. We just kind of passed the ball around and looked at each other, myself included. Obviously, we can’t play like that down the stretch against a team like [the Blazers].”

“Guys like that, you’ve just got to play hard on them. He’s a professional scorer, that’s what he does. I thought we did a decent job on him at times.”

“Our biggest concern is us and how we’re playing. Obviously it’s hard not to look at the standings and things like that, but more importantly it’s about us and how we’re handling different things and making sure we play the right way.”

“A gutty, gritty win – basically, we held them scoreless the last four and a half minutes. We made a lot of good defensive plays, big shots. I thought Chief, at both ends, whether it was a rebound or a very heads-up play making the last shot, a nice drive earlier. I think overall, they shot the three really well for most of the night, they missed them toward the end other than Galloway’s. It was just about finding a way – Dame’s four-point play obviously was a big momentum play.”

What did you think of the contributions of the second unit?

“Really good. Seth was good all night. Seth, offensively, I think he’s been more aggressive with CJ out. He had a good rhythm to the game, playing off the dribble, jumpshots. Same thing in the second half, probably not as much but with CJ out, having a guy like Seth who can do what he does is something we need.”

Lillard was finding guys late – do you find you’re doing things in a different way with him finding guys?

“To be honest, and we’ve had this talk, I think he’s always been finding guys. It’s what the guys do afterwards. There is trust involved, but when he gets doubled, when he’s getting trapped, I think in the past the multiple passes by multiple players made a difference throughout the game. There were many of those plays, not just a singular play, but I think we’re getting better in recognizing those situations.”

On getting contributions from different guys each night:

“It’s kind of the way the game goes a lot of the time. Since the All Star break, I was asked pregame about different guys, and it has been different guys on different nights, whether it’s Rodney having a game in Charlotte or Seth filling in now, Moe’s really played exceptionally well after the All Star break, Damian has been solid but since CJ has been out, he’s really controlled the game particularly at the offensive end and made it easier for everybody else. Nurk has been very consistent since the All Star break. So I think you can go up and down the line – adding Enes to the roster. I thought Enes in the second half really provided – I was kind of matching Nurk’s minutes with Drummond but they left Drummond in, I thought Enes did a really nice job in his stretch and he played a little bit longer in the second half than he did in the first.”

“Zach is all about energy. When he makes his energy plays, his effort plays, it’s not whether he makes a three or misses a three, it’s about all the other things, and when he does that, he’s a big bonus for us.”

What changed defensively from the third to the fourth?

“I thought in the third, we didn’t do as good a job on the ball as we need to. I thought the penetration – they got into the paint, they got to the rim. I think at one point they were five for five at the rim. It put Nurk especially in a tough position because he’s got Drummond, he’s worried about Drummond getting tip dunks and lobs and stuff like that. I thought we did a better job on the ball in just not letting them get to the rim as easily.” 

“We made the plays we needed to make. I think defensively, we got behind each other a little more, we helped each other a little bit. We were more physical, I just thought our presence defensively down the stretch in the biggest moments of the game was when it was best. On the offensive end, we just had the ball moving. We were finding the right guys, having quality possessions on that end. Just that balance of doing it on both ends down the stretch when it mattered most, I think that was good – the best part about it.”

“I mean he was cutting, he was screening, he was ready to shoot the ball when he was open, he was scrambling defensively. I just think when your mind is in the right place and you’re doing all these things, just doing whatever you can for the team, good things happen. He was on the good side of things, just because he was in it, he was in it mentally and it worked out. He was huge for us. He pretty much made all the big plays for us.”

How about getting contributions from different guys every night?

“Guys have stepped up. When CJ went down, we already knew it would be best for our team if we just had guys just step it up and guys come in prepared to give a little bit more and everybody’s done that. I think if you look on the stat sheet, you’ll see what Chief did tonight, what Seth did, but Zach has come in ready. I think what Moe has been doing on the defensive end and creating second and third opportunities on the offensive end, random screens, drawing double teams in the post. You’ve got so many guys coming in and impacting the game to the point where it’s really a group effort and the game is easier for me that way, the game flows better that way so it feels good. It looked good too.”

Do you allow yourself a look at the standings and an opportunity to maybe move up with teams ahead losing?

“We know it’s possible but we’ve just got to worry about ourselves. It’s such a tight race that one or two losses here or there, you could drop a few spots, but the position we’re in now is a good spot. I think it’s just best for us to just focus on ourselves, obviously we’ll keep up with who won and who lost and all that stuff, but as far as us going on the court and what we do and our preparation and our locker room, we need to just worry about ourselves.”

postgame-quotes-march-24-2019

Postgame Quotes - March 24, 2019

(On their defensive breakdowns tonight): “Defensively, our physicality, them feeling us, was not (there). I don’t care who it is, allow them to shot 58.2 percent from the floor, you’re not going to beat anybody. Our defensive thought process, execution, whatever the word you want to use, defensively, was not there. Totally disappointed in myself, in our team and all of us, anybody in that locker room, just in our defensive approach because again, we knew how talented (Collin) Sexton was. We talked about how talented (Jordan) Clarkson was. We talked about how (Nik) Stauskas could shoot. Again, it was almost like there was a magnet on the three-point line to come across and get into them and make them feel us on those shots.”   (On the playoff race): “A journey to the playoffs isn’t easy. It’s not easy. There’s pressure. There’s physical pressure. There’s mental pressure and we got to fight through it all as a team. When you let up, no matter what the other organization’s goals are, how they’ve been playing, what their record is… Anybody getting paid twice a month can step up and beat you and I don’t think we came out with a healthy enough amount of respect for this team (the Cavaliers) that we needed.”   (On letting the Cavaliers stick around and come back in the fourth quarter): “It started way before that… To start the game, we didn’t play like a playoff team that was hungry, desperate to make the playoffs and again, we have some that try but it’s not enough. It’s another level we have to get to.”   

(On where the game was decided tonight): “On the defensive end, for us. We got to be better early on. They didn’t feel us physically. They played really free and that came back to bite us at the end of the game. They had a whole lot of confidence. Guys got it going and made some great shots. We give them credit. It comes from earlier on in the game. Just the flow that they played with that allowed them to have that confidence.”    (On being more aggressive without Blake Griffin tonight): “Not necessarily. I think I had got it going and that’s when I got a little bit more aggressive. Early on, I wanted to take good, in-rhythm shots and just go from there. Once I hit two in a row, I feel like I’m on fire and that’s how it kind of went tonight. (I) got hot so that’s when I got a little bit more aggressive.”   BRUCE BROWN    (On their defense tonight): “I didn’t think we did well. I think we gave up too many threes and they played with more energy than we did.”   (On what the Cavaliers did well tonight on the offensive end): “I just think they played with a lot of energy and got out in transition. They played free and knocked down open shots when they needed to, and contested shots. They just played well today."

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS HEAD COACH LARRY DREW  (On what it was like to watch Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman close out the game): “Very gratifying. Hoping that it would get to this point with both of those guys to where they are in a position to where they are closing out games. I’ve had them earlier in the season where they’re on the bench watching and learning. Now, really being a part of it as far as closing out and finishing it off at the end. It was very, very gratifying because both of those guys have come a long way and you can certainly see the growth in their games. As a coach, I see growth in certain situations and that’s very gratifying. It tells me that these guys are starting to understand, starting to figure it out. Understanding is not always going to be perfect, it’s not always going to be a positive result, but what I’m looking for is growth and I’m really seeing it from both guys.”  (On if he can call this year a success with the growth of Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman over the course of the season): “Yeah, success is not always measured on wins and losses. You have to look at your team, you have to look at situations, you have to look at circumstances, you have to look at the big picture. For the organization, the big picture is the growth that we see in our young guys. Understanding that, yeah this is going to be a tough season because we’ve had a big turnaround. Now that we have gone to the rebuild mode, we have to ask ourselves are those guys the same players they were at the start of the season, and by no stretch of the imagination are they. These guys have really shown growth. Collin, a lot of people are talking about his assists numbers, he is who he is. It’s not always going to be a situation of having a high assist total, but he made, I think, the play of the game, but will not get an assist for it. It was his pass that led to a three towards the end there where he drove the ball and their defense collapsed. He was up at the rim and he kicked it out to the corner to David (Nwaba) and David kicked it up top to Cedi. Collin will not get an assist for that, but that was the play to me that was the dagger. It was a big play on Collin’s part. Using that situation, he’s always trying to finish, but he had the presence of mind to make the kickout, which led to a second pass and I thought it was probably the biggest shot of the game.”  CEDI OSMAN  (On winning without four of their bigs tonight): “We’ve dealt with a lot of injuries since the beginning of the year, so we’re kind of used to it, (having) to fight like that. We did a great job against a really tough team – Detroit is playing great basketball. They’re playing tough defense. But we were tough, too, tonight and we were playing good defense. Offensively, Collin (Sexton) had a great night, David (Nwaba), Nik (Stauskas) – I mean, just as a team, we had a really good night. We made some tough shots and some clutch shots, and we were excited that we won a game. We’re happy.”  (On playing with a better sense of urgency in the second half): “I think we played with a better pace, and especially from the bench – Nik helped us a lot, he made some tough shots. David was great tonight, he played great. Z (Ante Zizic) played great – defensively on Andre Drummond, he was 9-for-20 and he did a great job on him. So it was totally a team effort. We were okay in the first half, but in the second half I think we played much better.”  (On if his 21 points can be attributed to the team’s ball movement tonight): “Yes, definitely. Definitely. We moved that ball, and I’m not sure how many assists we had, but we moved the ball. We found some open shots but we missed them, but at the end of the day, we played great, and as long as we share the ball like this, we will always be a tough team to beat.”  (On the changes he’s noticed in Collin Sexton since being drafted last summer): “I think he’s starting to understand the game. I think he’s starting to understand when to attack the basket and when not to. He is a rookie. It’s his first year – of course you’re going to go through a lot of stretches. These last two months, he’s been playing great, especially the last few games. He’s been

shooting the ball and he’s been making all of them. He was always aggressive, and he has to be aggressive. He has to continue to do that. And he’s really fast – like, really fast. Sometimes I’m going to be like, ‘Wow, he’s just fast,’ because they can’t guard him. It’s really tough to guard him. So he’s a really tough player, especially with those two threes tonight (late in the game). He did a great job.”  COLLIN SEXTON  (On if criticism of his shooting from beyond the arc has motivated him to improve his three-point shot): “Oh yeah, absolutely. Coming into the season, I knew that was the biggest thing (people said) – I couldn’t shoot. So I work each and every day to try and make sure that my three ball is good and make sure that my jump shot looks good. So that motivates me a whole lot – just to show and prove people wrong.”  (On relishing the spotlight and big moments): “Those are the moments that people remember – end of the game, you make a big shot, and they go, ‘Oh yeah, he made a big shot.’ So I just feel like those are the moments that I work for and make sure I’m always ready for.”  (On how he has sped up his shot): “Just keep working on it. My dad saw some stuff I need to improve on, so I just had to listen and take it…We sit down – my dad and my brother – we just sit down and watch film and they try to help me out, so I appreciate them for that.”  (On if he feels like teams are starting to game plan for him): “Oh yeah, during hand-offs, they try to blow them up and stuff like that. So now, I just have to read and react. If they do something, I have to make sure that I counter it with something else.”

postgame-quotes-march-18-2019

Postgame Quotes - March 18, 2019

“That’s our second game in a row where we didn’t come and play in a playoff mode. It’s our approach. It’s on me to get them to play at the level they should be playing at.”

 “At this time of the year when you’re fighting for a playoff spot and the other team is competing just as you hard, you have to go at it harder than the other team.”

 “They spanked us tonight. We have to understand the level we have to play if we want to compete in the playoffs.”

“We have to understand how to start the second half. We have to come out and approach things. It’s a level that is hard to get to, but you have to get to it to compete.”

“The Heat were a step quicker. They beat us in every pass, rebounding, passing the ball, screening, whatever it was. The officials are going to respect that. They’re going to give the team that is playing the hardest.”

“It’s a lesson that we have to learn. If we want to make the playoffs, we have to play playoff basketball. It’s new to a lot of people with different roles and it’s a wakeup call.”

“We lost by more than 30 back to back.”

On the starts of the first and third quarter:

“We have to start well and finish well. That’s the whole key to the game. We didn’t start off well and made it very difficult. We put ourselves behind the eight ball.” 

 “We’re playing too slow. As simple as that.” 

“Go home. We need to get on this plane first. It’s going to be a little disappointing. Go home and relax and clear your mind to get ready to play basketball. I think the biggest thing is that we haven’t been ourselves and just play basketball. .”

“It’s been an honor to play with D-Wade this past year and some change and get to know him as a person has been even better. Just to know the type of guy he is off the floor, he’s one of the most selfless superstars this game has seen. And obviously what he has done on the court doesn’t need to be spoken about. He’s phenomenal and I’m glad I had the chance to spend that time with him.”

 “I guess you can say they owed us one. I guess you can say that, but we have to come out with a better sense of urgency. There is a lot at stake right now. We have to understand that every game. Friday is a big one for us and it’s all about how we bounce back.

 On Wade’s best quality about him off the court:

 “He’s a great teammate. I’ve seen the way he wrapped a lot of the young guys in the locker room around his arms. Showed them the ways, mentored them. You can see those, since he has gotten back they’ve gotten a lot better. Confidence has risen and he’s a big part of that. He’s done a phenomenal job leading.”

“I watched him be the great player that he is. The person that he is is bigger than the game. Just the way he is selfless. His approach, his view, the way he took the game of basketball and made it more than just a basketball game. He did it with fashion. He did it with shoes, business wise. He’s one of those guys that you point to a young player and you say ‘you see what D-Wade did on and off the floor. That’s a leader you should follow’.”

 “Our mental fortitude [needs] to be better. [We] have to come out and have a better mindset at the start of games, myself included. If we have any fight or pride about us at all, we will come out and rectify that on Friday. After having a tough loss on Monday, I thought we would come out and have a better showing today, but we didn’t. That’s on us. We have to be more locked in and ready to go. We [have] to realize what’s at stake. These teams that we’re playing also have a lot at stake. We need to be more prepared.”

 On a coach’s perspective on tonight’s third quarter performance:

 “Our starting lineup has had some good starts and plays trending in the right direction, but that was as inspiring as they’ve been. The collective unit set the tone, they were flying around. You can feel the energy. Very inspiring basketball and it continued throughout the rest of the game.”

 “They are a good team. We were not expecting to have this kind of result. We expected to grind all the way through. They have been as well as anybody in the league. There were a couple of miscues and we didn’t finish the quarter the way we needed to in the last four minutes, but we had that great response after halftime and throughout the second half.”

 On Blake Griffin’s nine shot attempts:

 “He is an elite player. He puts tremendous amount of pressure on your defense. A big part of that is how many fouls he can draw. We have the depth, but we didn’t want to be in the penalty early every quarter. Our rotations were good and when Blake had the ball in his hands, our guys were ready.”

 On three straight games with 13 or fewer turnovers:

 “I almost don’t want to say anything about it. It’s pretty evident how important it is for us to win, just look at the records.”

“We came in here at halftime and obviously we were winning but we weren’t satisfied with the way we were playing. I think we just came out with a lot more sense of urgency than they did. This game felt like it meant a lot more to us than it did to them. That’s the mentality that we approached in shootaround and walkthrough. We just came out that third quarter with a lot of intensity. I think the biggest thing was we were playing together on both ends. Offensively, the ball was moving. Guys were making that extra pass. Guys were getting to the cup. Defensively, they had to earn everything in that third quarter, especially early. I think our connection on both ends of the floor is what allowed us to get that gap.”

“We don’t have time to waste and say a couple of weeks from now that we’re going to get things going. We want to get things going right now. That’s kind of the approach. I just remember all day J-Rich was in my ear about let’s get this one and start it off the right way. That really carried me into the game with the right mindset. That group has been pretty good for us. There’s been times in the season where we’ve had those three-minute glitches. For sure we want to make that group work. Today, I think was a prime example of what this starting group is capable of.”

On if this feels like the start of better times ahead:

“Everything’s not going to go our way. That’s why we have a full team. We have a crazy bench. We have D-Wade and Goran Dragić coming off the bench. You just don’t see that every day around the league. With Hassan and guys like Rodney and J.J’s not even playing right now. We have a complete team. We’re definitely capable of putting efforts like this back to back in consecutive games. It’s not going to get any easier. We have tough games coming down the stretch. Those are games that we play better in. This season we’ve played better when we’ve played better competition. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I think we like playing with each other. If guys make shots we encourage them. We’re looking for each other out there. It’s unselfish. Right now we’re just playing at a high level as far as within each other. It’s just making each other better. Just knowing where everyone’s at out there on the floor and getting each other to the spots where we belong. Just trying to make the right play for each one out there.”

“That’s what I like. That’s what I do. Everybody thinks they can ball sometimes. I’m able to go out there and make plays for myself and others. As you can see, I was able to get to the paint when I wanted to. Guys just making cuts, I’m able to make that pass. Of course I need the ball, that’s what I’m effective at too. When my shots falling too, it’s probably going to be a long night.”

“I believe we can play with anybody. If we come out every day with the sense of urgency that we did today, knowing that we need this and we want this and we have to take care of home court. As long as going down the stretch we figure out how to get those games that we lost earlier in the season.”

postgame-quotes-march-13-2019

Postgame Quotes - March 13, 2019

DETROIT PISTONS HEAD COACH DWANE CASEY: (On the turnaround in the second quarter): “I wish I could sit here and say I saw it coming, I was hoping it was coming. Again, it was kind of a similar start (to last game), we had five turnovers in the first quarter and then we were riding the ship and got it going. I didn’t have to give a nice speech or anything tonight, guys understood and they knew after yesterday’s film session that there are certain things we have to do and a mindset that we have to have. I was concerned about the early start, I think it was a great day for kids, but the noon start has the NBA body clocks all out of wack, but I thought our guys responded pretty well.” 

(On resting Blake Griffin for a large portion of the game): “No question, that was what we were hoping. Again, we are not in a situation right not where we can do the so-called load management and just have him have games off because every game is important for us. What we can do is manage his minutes and games like today help us do that, getting out into a big lead and take care of business.”

(On exploring the keys to the pick-and-roll): “Well, one is Ish’s (Smith) speed, I think his speed is one thing. Then Reggie’s (Jackson) has a gate about him when he comes off the pick-and-roll, off-rhythmed gate if you can think about that, he hesitates and goes. They throw so many stats at me I don’t even know, we’re at the top of the league in screen assists, so our bigs are doing a great job of screening. Andre is doing a great job of screening, Blake (Griffin) is doing a great job of screening and Thon (Maker) is also. So as long as we continue to do that, our pick-and-roll game will be effective.”

DETROIT PISTONS FORWARD BLAKE GRIFFIN: (On why the brand of basketball they are playing now is sustainable): “I think we’ve just been playing basketball the right way, I’ve said it over and over again over during this 14 game stretch. Making the extra passes, making the right passes, trusting each other defensively, being there on rotations where we need to be, all those things. Whether you’re hitting shots or not, those things will keep you in the game. You know, eventually you’ll get hot.”

(On the importance of screen assists) : “I think it was after we played Indiana at Indiana right before the New Year, our coaches showed a lot of clips before we had practice and showed us not getting hits on screens and challenged our bigs and the next night I think we had 16 screen assists against Orlando. Since, maybe the New Year, I can’t remember the stat they said but we’ve led the league in screen assists since around the time, that’s a credit to Dre (Andre Drummond), ZaZa (Zaza Pachulia), Thon (Thon Maker), Jon (Jon Leuer), they sit down and really set screens to get people open and in turn, it gets you open when you set a good screen. Our coaches pointed that out and we tried to correct it.” 

DETROIT PISTONS CENTER ANDRE DRUMMOND: (On if the ball movement got faster in the third quarter): “Yeah, we got into a good rhythm, guys were hitting shots. We were making them make mistakes, they were trying to blitz us, swing the ball around, and we took the best shot possible.”

(On tomorrow night’s game and if it means something more): “Yeah, knowing that those guys are a few games ahead of us, we’ve got to try to knock them out early, get a win and move forward from there.”

CHICAGO BULLS HEAD COACH JIM BOYLEN: (On today’s game): “I thought it (the game) kind of slipped away from us the last three minutes of the second (quarter). We were only down six at the half. They just made a couple threes, three threes (pointers) there that kind of hurt us a little bit. We started the second half with a couple opportunities in the paint. I think three of the four shots were in the paint but they didn’t go down and the game kind of flipped from there. But, I’m proud of our guys and that second unit. I thought they tried to play the right way, I thought they battled and we’ve got to learn from the Pistons. The bench guys come off with force, (Langston) Galloway and (Ish) Smith. They take pride in their minutes and they play them the best they can and they sit down and root for the other guys. (Blake) Griffin and (Andre) Drummond are powerful guys and they pounded on us a little bit. So, they’ve got a couple stars, they’ve got some good role players and they’ve got guys that can play their minutes. They have maturity. I think they were down 20 in Minnesota and won, they were down 20 to us and won. So, they’re a good example of maybe who we can be, how we have to go out there, and what we need to learn. So, that’s what I talked to the team about after the game.”

(On what Blake Griffin was doing specifically that hurt the team): “We had a hard time with that big-big pick-and-roll. We couldn’t get under it, we were under the switch, and we couldn’t get under it and we couldn’t keep them in front of us. I thought the threes they made, we were stretched out a little bit. I thought our shrink wasn’t good during that moment either. So, you’ve got no shrink, you’ve got Blake isolated after the switch and it hurt us.”

CHICAGO BULLS FORWARD OTTO PORTER JR.:(On today’s game and his impressions): “We played a good first half, second half not so good. I mean, that was the game, they were making shots, they’re at home, a playoff team.  You kind of expect that from them, to get it going offensively, and last game we just have to come off better in the second half.”

(On being able to learn a lot from the Detroit team): “I mean, that’s a playoff team. Playoff teams, they’re locked in, they’re together as one – the starters and the bench. Everybody comes in and plays their role and does their job for the sake of the team and for the sake of winning. We’ve definitely got to learn from that, you know, how they control the game, how their coaches put them in positions where they can be successful, and how they respond. They responded well to a couple of the runs that we had and they were able to get it going.”

postgame-quotes-march-10-2019

Postgame Quotes - March 10, 2019

“You don’t want to do that and you shouldn’t have to do that this time of year, but again I understand human nature. It’s very difficult for any athlete–the end is coming, but you can’t see it. We have to trick our mind because this is too special of a time for our franchise. We work for something special and we hadn’t been there in a while, so lay it on the line, we can rest this summer. Let’s get to the dance, keep fighting and build. I thought that fourth quarter showed what we were made of, but we can’t play with fire like that. We have to come out with focus, our “give-a-crap” level has to be high, and I just didn’t think it was there in the first half and I let them know that at halftime.”

“We were searching. We were searching for five fighters, scratchers, whatever we could do to get the defensive intensity up first. They’re a talented team, very talented as far as one-on-one play and they’ll expose you. They were exposing us in every facet of the defense game in the first half. My hat’s off to them, but hats off to our guys. I thought Andre Drummond’s defense in the second half … He played that entire second half because we were searching for that intensity. He got in there, he protected the rim, rebounded some tough rebounds and got some buckets for us down the stretch.”

On Blake Griffin returning to play after heading to the locker room with an injury:

“It’s a concern, you want to make sure he was not hurt. He said he was OK and came back and gave it to us, but again it’s not one guy. We have to have everybody, all hands on deck. The NBA doesn’t feel sorry for him. There’s no team in this league, no matter what they’re playing for or what their objectives are as an organization, they’re going to come out and play. Everybody’s playing for something, every guy in that locker room and in Chicago’s locker room is playing for something. You’ve got to come out and match that intensity as long as you can and see where it falls after that.”

 On the offense picking up in the second half:

“Well it did, it did. But again, I thought our defense picked up, which created our offense and we got a rhythm with our defense and helped our offense get a pace with it. We were just getting through mud. As much as we were screaming and yelling, we were just going through mud in the first half. We finally got some traction, we found some players that were going to compete and play together and play hard.”

 On his decision to keep Blake Griffin in the game:

“I asked him and he was ready to go. Right now, we’re playing for something special, and if Blake [Griffin] can go, unless he says he just can’t play, we’ve got to go with all hands on deck. I don’t know if you’ve looked at the standings lately but nobody’s got a cushion, so we’ve got to have everybody available. We’ll worry about the playoffs once we get there. As far as rest, we got to have the fighters.”

“I thought Luke [Kennard] did as good a job as you can do. He was competing. He and Langston [Galloway] stretched the floor. Again, I was looking for five fighters and guys that had it tonight. It’s not going to be there always. I thought ‘Jack’ [Reggie Jackson] was playing well up until the point that Ish [Smith] came in and changed the game. So we went with the guys that were scratching, fighting. Again, it will probably be different on Sunday. This time of year, it’s hard to find that energy. Something on your body hurts whether it’s your pinky or an elbow, something is bothering every single player in this league right now.”

On the injury that took him out of the game, and his return:

“It’s nothing to be concerned about. It was a little tweak, a little pinch, but it felt fine coming back out there. We tested it in the hallway and they gave me a green light. And it felt fine in the fourth quarter, so no issues really for me.”

“We’ve come a long way. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this season, but these past three, four weeks, whatever its been, the comradery amongst the team has been in the positive. The talk amongst the team has been unreal. One through 13, everybody has been supporting each other, so I just wanted to be out there with my guys.”

On the defense turning things around for the team in the third quarter:

“Yeah … that. Langston [Galloway] hit some big shots to start the fourth quarter. I didn’t see when I came out to be on the bench, so I didn’t know what happened, but you know Langston was great. Ish [Smith] was great, Dre [Andre Drummond] played the whole second half. That’s big time, doing whatever it takes to get a win like this.”

“You know he’s a dominant guy; he’s matured. I was in the West when he was coming through the West and growing and learning and he’s poised; so much more poised now and smarter and patient.  I thought his maturity to have kind of a poor game early and then work his way out of it and work his way through it is a good example for our guys.”

On staggering his rotation and trusting his bench:

“It’s fine line between trusting your bench and overplaying your guys. And, we’re trying to manage that the best we can. This is a quick turnaround to Sunday, so those things are on my heart, they’re on my mind, but the bench has played well for us in some games.”

“I’m trying to see if they can play. I’m trying to see what they can do. I’m trying see if they can pull it together. I thought in the Boston game they played great. They got us the lead and they kind of took control of the game. So, I want to trust them. I want to develop them, but they’re learning too and they’re growing and they’re trying and they’re willing.”

On the team’s plan to stop Blake Griffin:

“We just kept doing what we did the whole game, and it just didn’t work at the end. He got me a couple times. Then there was a couple miscommunication plays that we can work out, so we just kept with the same game plan.”

“It’s frustrating, but we’ve got to stick together and keep our head up and try to look at the positives. We did have a really good first half, and we can build on that. And, just take a look at the film and see what was successful for us in the first half, and work on it.”

On allowing Detroit to get back in the game:

“I don’t know what it is. We gotta bring the edge and I don’t think we had the energy to start the third (quarter). And, they definitely brought it in the third (quarter). Obviously, they didn’t play as great in the first (half). So, we just gotta come out harder and finish the job.”

postgame-quotes-march-8-2019

Postgame Quotes - March 8, 2019

(On the game today): “Again, we played the game the right way. This team (the Cavaliers) is rebuilding. Whatever they’re doing as far as their program is concerned so we have to play our game. We played as well as we expected. I wouldn’t put anything into the amount of points or the point differential. Just again, we’re still in a situation where we need to continue to get better and I promise you, it’s not going to be that type of game tomorrow afternoon.”

(On if it was important to manage his starter’s minutes): “It was. But again, I was looking more just if we had to play our starters, I don’t know how many minutes, just to make sure we played the game the right way, same approach, because again we’re building something that our culture and how we want to play, our identity. If we had come out half-stepping, it would’ve been a different story but our guys came out with a professional approach, the right approach, the right amount of respect for how this team (the Cavaliers) has been playing. Again, we accomplished what we wanted to do.”

(On Luke Kennard today): “I loved the way he was aggressive with his shot in the first half. We had to get on him a little bit. He eased into it in the second half a little bit but again, he’s growing. He’s a second-year kid. Really like the way he was aggressive offensively and took the right shots. He’s growing right in front of our eyes.”

(On the satisfaction of being able to watch the game with a big lead): “Yeah, it was fun watching Luke (Kennard) come home and play the way he did. He played great. Overall, I think it was a great team win. I think everybody on our team was positive in the plus-minus… When we play like that, we’re a very tough team to beat.”

(On playing again tomorrow): “(We) got to get some rest. It’s a quick turnaround. Playing today at five and tomorrow at six, going to go home and get as much rest of possible. Get ready for an early game tomorrow and come out and get a win.”

(On being able to get some of their starters rest): “Most definitely. We put together a full game and just to be able to do that, I mean, we played like we should be playing so we got out to a great lead, able to maintain it and we got some of those guys some rest. It was good.”

(On their offense today): “It feels good… We played good basketball tonight. I thought we got great shots. Made great plays and we moved the ball. We were connected on offense and got open shots. Guys just hit them.”

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS HEAD COACH LARRY DREW

(On if this loss can be chalked up to not having Kevin Love and Ante Zizic): “It hurt us. Minus four big men against a Detroit team is going to be a tough task. I was more disappointed with the way we played. I just don’t think we played with the urgency and togetherness that I’ve been seeing us play with the last three or four ball games prior to this one. I thought we took a step back in that area. The bad news is we did not play well tonight. The good news is that we have less than 24 hours to redeem ourselves, so we’re going to put this one behind us and start thinking about tomorrow.”

(On how the team puts tonight behind them with a quick turnaround tomorrow): “Very simple, this is the NBA, you play back-to-backs all the time. You know going into a back-to-back, regardless of whether you win or lose the first one, you have to bounce back the second night. That’s our mindset. I’m disappointed how we played, but as I told the guys we’re not going to play well all the time, we’re not going to be on top of our game all the time and we’re not going to make shots all the time. When we don’t, we just have to be ready for the next one and that’s exactly what we are going to do.”

(On what they were missing in tonight’s game): “Energy. Definitely the energy was the most important thing we missed tonight. We didn’t have big Z (Ante Zizic) and K-Love (Kevin Love), but that can’t be an excuse. We played bad. It was a bad night for everybody, but the good thing is that we have a new game tomorrow. We have to bounce back and play better.”

(On the lack of togetherness and toughness tonight): “I think everybody was a little bit tired. After the All-Star break, we really showed a huge effort during those four games. I think we were a little bit tired, but of course, that is not an excuse because the other teams are playing games too. We have to be better and we’re a team that normally plays with high energy. We didn’t have that tonight. Hopefully, we can be back tomorrow with higher energy and playing better.”

(On if the team had a lack of belief they could win without Kevin Love): “No, we played a lot of games without Kevin. I think, tonight, it was just a tough night…We didn’t contest their shots. It was all easy shots and it’s a playoff team. It’s a good team, a good defensive team. I think we did play better in the second half, but that first half was really tough for us. Hopefully we’ll be better tomorrow.”

(On what was missing tonight): “A hit-first mentality. They kind of came out and punched us right in the mouth early. Reggie Jackson, I think he started five-for-five or something like that. It was really hurting us, and it just continued with Luke Kennard and obviously those two bigs (Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond) are tough to handle. So I think it was just a lack of aggressiveness.”

(On the lack of energy): “Not pleased with it, from top to bottom. It’s easy to point fingers and blame one another, but that’s certainly what I thought we did tonight. There was a lot of finger pointing and I thought we took a step back. Even without Kevin (Love), it shouldn’t have been a 40-point game, and we’ve got to look in the mirror tonight and come back tomorrow with a better attitude.”

(On what the team needs to improve on ahead of tomorrow’s game): “Short answer, everything. Mainly defense – they got whatever they wanted. Whatever they wanted. And the rebounding – granted, this team is an awesome rebounding team – but we certainly could’ve done a better job with that. I thought we were pretty selfish. So I would say overall, unselfishness.”

(On how hard it is to bounce back after a big loss): “Not that hard. It’s a home-and-home. If I could play game right now, I would, just to get that sour taste out of my mouth. So I know we’re all chomping at the bit to get this one going tomorrow and I can guarantee you’ll see a better effort.”

postgame-quotes-march-2-2019

Postgame Quotes - March 2, 2019

“They got the job done. Langston has not played this well in a while. He stepped up tonight when we needed him. Luke Kennard had a great defensive game tonight and Ish Smith came in and did his part. The bench stepped up big-time tonight.”

On bench’s performance in the 2nd quarter:

“They came and gave us a spark. Luke did a heck of a job defensively, getting steals, getting in the passing lane, getting to the paint, kicking the ball out and making the defense crash. The second unit did a heck of a job.”

“We still have a long way and a lot of basketball to be played. We have to stay focused. We are doing pretty well right now. We have to maintain our focus. We have a tough team coming into our home on Monday and we have to be focused for that.”

“We sometimes forget that Luke has only been in the league for two years, and he didn’t play much of last year. His growth is in front of him.”

“He had 20 points tonight. He did what he was supposed to do. He’s done so much for us and it’s everyone else’s time to step up and step in. We have to carry Blake. He’s carried us all year.”

On where the team stands for the remainder of the season:

“We have nothing to be overly happy about. We are digging out of a hole right now. I like our guys approach at this position. However, we have to maintain it.”

“Last game the first unit carried us and we took that personally. We had to be better and we showed that tonight. If we can be consistent, then we’re going to be pretty good.”

On Langston Galloway making an impact coming off the bench:

“He can shoot it, he’s one of the best shooters on the team. My job was just to find him” 

“Tonight we made a statement and we let them know what we’re capable of. We controlled the game when we wanted to. We’re going to look forward and learn from the positives of this game.” 

“We struggled in the past. Tonight we wanted to bring a little more, and we did that. We trust our first unit to make the big plays and bring us through the game, but we need to make those plays as well. We need everybody, not just the first unit and not just the second. Everyone’s happy for each other tonight.”

“It’s been a tough stretch in the past weeks. Once both of our units got going, I got going and the shots were going in. The second unit stepped up in a way that was absent in recent games. Coach called my number and the team was behind me and helped me get the shots that I needed to make in order to help the team.”

On coming back to the AmericanAirlines Arena:

“I haven’t been on the other side in a while, it was a little awkward at first. Once the game got going and I started to get warm, then I started to settle in. I’m going to roll with the punches and put the work in and see where this team can go. I’ve gotten a lot of support in the transition and everyone is standing behind me.”

“We have a great group of guys who are supportive of each other, and we are very happy for each other’s success. These last two games gave us life and everyone’s stepping up. Both units stepped up tonight and that’s what is going to help us on this run.”

“It’s his mindset that makes him stand out. He has this willingness to listen, and I get on him for that. He’s a young guy, a big young guy, but he’s so talented. His ability to take criticism and turn it into something positive is such a special trait. Not all guys can do that.”

“No, we don’t know. We will evaluate him again tomorrow.”

On the HEAT’S performance against a team playing on the second night of a back-to-back :

“I don’t know if any of us can answer that right now. The last two-and-a-half weeks we have been playing our best basketball this season, regardless of what our record was. I don’t think any of us saw this. It’s tough to explain. It is one game and we are just going to keep on plugging away. As painful as it is , we’ll come in tomorrow and work and find some solutions.”

On what went sideways after being up eleven:

“You know I think we let up a little bit defensively. They started to find some rhythm and we started to rush our offense a little bit. I’m not talking about necessarily taking quick shots, they just weren’t as detailed and doing things with the same kind of purpose that we were in the first quarter. And those possessions led to some easy ones for them going the other way, and before you can blink they’re right back in the game and those are opportunities, swing moments in the game. It is a long game, but you get up double digits that maybe you can push that to 15. That changed a little bit and then we were just playing catch up the rest of the night. We had some good moments at the end of the third quarter and then we get into twelve points and then they just knock down two or three threes to create the separation again.”

On how he felt going into the 4th quarter:

“Yeah, I actually felt much better. I thought we were going to have a great fourth quarter, I really did. There was things in the last five minutes of the third quarter, even though it was a little bit frustrating. For the guys, I told them in one of the timeouts, ‘we are playing good basketball right now. This is a team that I recognize from the past couple of weeks. Just stay with it’. But then they knocked down a couple big threes and it took the wind out of our sails a little bit.”

On his approach with Goran and his performance:

“I don’t even care about his performance, it is just great to have him back here. When somebody goes in for surgery, for the time that he did, you think that that could be it for the season, but he is back. There’s nothing like real game action. He is in great shape but it is different than game action, and he needs these minutes right now."

“It feels great. After two months it feels good to be back on the floor. I of course wish the outcome was different, but for me it was just trying to get back. I made the first step. I’m back. Now I just need to get stronger and try to be me again.”

“There was a lot of room. Ish scored a layup, then after that Blake Griffin got the ball in the post. We were in blue, we didn’t make a rotation to Ish. He was wide open for three. Then Galloway made a three. It was just mistakes. That was probably it. They got momentum, they got confidence and they were making shots.”