(On fourth quarter fatigue):
"It seemed like it. It did. We didn’t have the same energy and umph that we’ve had. That showed in the fourth quarter. (What impressed you about Indiana?) We knew they would play hard and fight hard and they did. They’ve been better in the last period of time. George Hill coming back obviously really helped them. They competed hard, played a great fourth quarter. (On pressure with win streak) No, I didn’t feel that we were under any kind of particular pressure. The one thing that was not in our favor was the fact that we played Indiana after a back to back, and an away game when they’ve been sitting at home for the last few days getting ready. That requires an extra effort and an even more performance than a normal situation and that cost us.”
(On the fourth quarter):
"We let them get on a roll, they scored 36 points in the fourth quarter so. (On George Hill’s four point play late in the game) It was tough. He got to the free throw line quite a bit. In the fourth quarter it was tough for our offense to get going. We started off strong and I felt that we could sustain it throughout the game, but it just didn’t happen. (On scoring five points) Last game I got the ball in the post a lot and I was able to get myself going early. Tonight wasn’t asked to score the ball. But LeBron and Kyrie had it going.”
(On the fourth quarter):
"I thought we had a really good chance to win this game tonight. They played an excellent game. I watch a lot of their games and they don’t normally make shots like they did tonight. They’ve been in a lot of wars and a lot of those guys are battle tested. George Hill played a very good game tonight. Late in the game we didn’t execute like I believe we’re capable of doing. We gave up too many points, 36 of them in the fourth quarter, and a lot of them came on free throws. (On why he missed the last 12 seconds of the game) My ankle was bothering me a little bit, but I think I’ll be fine.”
“We need some quality wins if we’re going to get back in the playoff race. This was an opportunity to do that. We haven’t had one of these in a while, at home or on the road. (On Solomon Hill) He hasn’t really struggled terribly. But when you play 30 plus minutes a game, you’ll have ups and downs. He knows from being in the system that when you go against an elite scorer you have to be aggressive at the offensive end. He took advantage of that and made big plays for us. There was a point where we said it’s just about hanging in. They (the Cavaliers) played last night. We just wanted to keep wearing them down. People forget before Lance (Stephenson) and Paul (George) emerged George and David (West) were the two guys who carried us. I’m happy to have that again. (On C.J. Miles) He always tries the play the game the right way and tries to impact the games other than scoring. Tonight he had the rebound of the year in that mix.”
(On the win):
"We found the creases. For me the biggest thing was getting to the free throw line, even though I missed the first one and made the second one and saw it go in. Then I got two easy baskets. I got a dunk, I got a layup. I saw it and it was just staying confident. Then I got a couple looks and it was on from there. (On the Pacers’ resolve tonight) It shows what we’ve been talking about all year, that we have enough to compete and that we can win games. Now that we’re getting more healthy and George (Hill) is getting his legs under him even more, we have a good rotation going, I think. Everybody feels comfortable, I feel like. Hopefully we continue to build on it. Just having (Hill) out there is making a world of difference. (On the confidence level) It’s a confidence builder. They’re a great basketball team, they obviously have great talent. They play well and they execute well. But we were just able to make some plays and win the game.”
(On his four point play):
"I knew it was a three. I just wanted to make a play. Shots weren’t falling for me at the time. I was trying to figure out ways to get to the free throw line, and knew that he (Kyrie Irving) was pressing up over the screen, and tried to draw the foul. It worked out to our advantage. (On the Pacers improved execution down the stretch) We’re trusting one another…Just trying to make plays down the stretch for someone else, I think that’s been the difference so far in the last couple games. (On the team’s improved chemistry) Definitely so. It’s not perfect. We’re still trying to gel and get everyone back in there. It’s going to take time. Everyone’s been out with injuries and the lineup has been changing here and there, so it’s going to take time. I like the direction it’s going. (On the game) It’s a big win for us. It gives us confidence, showing that we can compete with great teams in the East. We have to continue to build off of that.”
“We definitely wanted it. We’ve been in this gym too many times where it came down to close games and we lost them. I think we had the framework of guys to be able to finish out games. We’re here now. I think we’re really putting it together and are really ready to compete. It definitely felt like a playoff game. Sold out crowd, anytime LeBron comes in this gym it’s definitely a crazy atmosphere. And the energy he brings with his team, I think we were able to match it and make the right plays at the end of the game to win it tonight. It feels great to have a two win winning streak of our own. We just have to stay with it. They’re definitely a great team and some of their guys are playing out of their minds. Kyrie Irving is playing some great basketball of late, but for us it just clicked on both ends. Feels great.”