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POSTGAME QUOTES
DECEMBER 16, 2002
ROCKETS COACH RUDY TOMJANOVICH
On the game:
"I knew it was going to be a tough game. The Heat play hard, they play so damn hard and for Yao [Ming] it was an experience because [Brian] Grant is a man and he is just going to battle. Yao showed himself tonight, he found a way to help his team. The Heat are a very physical team and they have a lot of veteran players who I have a lot of respect for, and I have a lot of respect for Pat’s [Riley] teams. They got a kid in [Caron] Butler who is Pat’s [Riley] kind of player. He is competitive and battles. This was a heck of a game for both the fans and the coaches. For the coaches, a game like this takes days and years off your life.”
On Eddie Griffin:
“Eddie Griffin made play after play tonight. He was aggressive and he wanted the shot. He made two big shots for us tonight. He has been struggling from the free throw line but tonight he made two big shots."
YAO MING
On the game:
"This was an important game coming off two losses. Getting this win is really big. They played me really tough tonight. I had to use my all my energy on defense."
On the last play of the game:
"We’ve used that play several times, maybe we should change it up and I should shoot the three."
STEVE FRANCIS
On the last shot:
"It was tough. Brian Grant was right there. I got the ball and going up he might have nipped my hand, but I got enough elevation. Once I went straight up and it left my hand, I knew it was good. We run that play a lot at the end of the game. We knew that Miami is known for being a tough defensive team. We run that triangle late in the game a lot, but we never thought they would foul."
On playing with Yao Ming:
"He’s a real good guy. The only difference that separates Yao from the other guys in the NBA is he is from China. Other than that, his basketball skills are great. I love the guy like he’s my big brother."
CUTTINO MOBLEY
On the fourth quarter:
"We knew they were going to make a run, but we crawled back and made some big plays. We had a talk after those two losses that we needed to step up and make plays. Yao (Ming), Kenny (Thomas), everybody all played tonight."
HEAT COACH PAT RILEY
On the game:
"He [Steve Francis] made a shot. It was a great shot he made. We fought like hell to get back into the game and made some great plays to go ahead and made some great shots to go ahead. It came down to that shot and it got them into overtime and we didn’t have enough. A three-point lead with five seconds to go, it comes down to make or miss."
On the play of Eddie Jones and Caron Butler:
"Eddie’s been great playing a lot of minutes. He was really great. I thought Caron [Butler] came on strong in the second half and made some great plays in the second half. We just couldn’t get that one last stop."
On Yao Ming:
"He’s going to be very good. I thought Brian [Grant] did the best job he could do on him. They play a two-three zone and with him in there it is really big. He’s going to be a great addition to them."
On Steve Francis’ three-point shot:
"We had the play. We diagramed it. They did the same play last week against Memphis [Grizzlies] to tie the game, the exact same play. So we had it, but we just didn’t go hard enough on it. We were supposed to switch the initial three-one screen, but we didn’t. We got caught behind it and even though Brian [Grant] was on him, he [Steve Francis] just made a great shot."
CARON BUTLER
On Yao Ming:
"He’s a tree. He’s a big dude. His wingspan is like eight feet. He played hard. I kept attacking him. He hit me pretty good a couple times."
On the game:
"Steve ‘Franchise’ (Francis) and Cuttino Mobley feed off each other well; they’re a great one-two punch and they have the big fellow in the middle who can do so many magnificent things down there."
On the overtime:
"We were still attacking and getting good looks at the end. We drew up a play at the end with Mike James in the corner. He got his feet set, but the ball just bounced out. No one gave up. We executed our offense well. We left it all out there on the court."
EDDIE JONES
On the game:
"You have got to win down the stretch. We came out in the fourth quarter and did the job. Down with five seconds we just needed to stay with our game. We could have played better, but it just didn’t go our way today."
On Steve Francis’s three-pointer at the end of regulation:
"We knew exactly what they were going to run. We saw it about four or five times on the edit tape. Brian was all over him and he hit a tough shot. You have to give him credit for hitting a tough shot."
On Yao Ming:
"He’s a talented player. He’s big, strong and athletic. He’s going to be a force."
