DETROIT PISTONS HEAD COACH STAN VAN GUNDY: (On the difference between Andre Drummond in game one and game two vs. Boston): “Well they didn’t take their body off of him at all on any of his rolls and stuff and we weren’t able to exploit it with other guys. It did get other guys shots, but we didn’t make them.”
(On shots not falling): “We didn’t shoot real well. I was aware of that our starters were 13-for-50. You have to go back and look at the film and see what I think when I watch it again on the quality of shots. It seemed to me that we had a lot of makeable shots that didn’t go in, but then again, maybe not as many as I thought. Maybe our baskets weren’t at the quality I thought during the game, especially in the first half. I wasn’t the least bit upset with the shots we were getting, we just didn’t make any of them.”
DETROIT PISTONS FORWARD TOBIAS HARRIS: (On where the teams confidence is after losing the last six games): “It’s been a tough stretch, but we’ve got to keep our heads high. We know it’s been a tough schedule for us. We’ve been in pretty much every single one of the games. It’s frustrating, but we’ve just got to keep our confidence high and get that one game and keep it rolling from there. The biggest thing is not to lose our heads and really not get frustrated. It’s been tough, but we just have to stay focused and stay confident.”
(On giving up big runs in the last six games): “I get that a little bit. I think that we’ve been in some of these games now because we’ve been on a losing streak that the frustration just seeps in a little bit quicker. For us, it’s going to be a matter of us keeping our composure and really just being locked in the next play. Having some better next-play speed and understanding what’s the important goal - to win a game.”
BOSTON CELTICS HEAD COACH BRAD STEVENS: (On adjustments at halftime): “I’ve always thought the whole halftime adjustments thing is a little overrated. It’s usually just one or two tweaks, something emphasis on what just happened. If it’s going really well you say, ‘keep on going’ and if it’s not you better make tweaks and changes. We usually make one to two small tweaks, but nothing major.”
(On defense): “I thought they missed some open shots that they made at our place, so maybe that feels better than it was. We’ll go back and see if it was effective or not. It felt like we did a much better job, at least protecting the paint tonight, than we did in game one.”
(On Reggie Jackson): “(Reggie Jackson’s) He’s a really good player, he’s hard to guard. Still a lot of times it comes down to whether the ball goes in the basket or not. He still gets to his spots. You try to make it as tough as possible, but it’s easier said than done.”
BOSTON CELTICS CENTER ARON BAYNES: (On defense in the third quarter): “We were locked in. Our offense wasn’t as crisp tonight as we wanted it to be, but defensively we had a game plan and we stuck with it. We were trying to pack the paint and make them make plays from outside. Last time they really had whatever they wanted inside the paint. So tonight, we wanted to go out there and try to control and work better. Five guys working on the strength for most of the night which is always fun to play defense like that.”
(On the keys to shutting down the Pistons tonight): “Like I said, packing the paint, everyone attacking and everyone pulling and made them play from the perimeter. So that was one of the things and everyone stuck to it really well.”
BOSTON CELTICS GUARD KYRIE IRVING: (On the Pistons): “There were some effort plays. They definitely made some effort plays that we wish we could’ve gotten. But, we stuck to our game plan the whole entire night and we didn’t allow Andre (Drummond) to make any tough (shots). Keeping them playing from within our length and getting as many deflections and being in the paint as much as possible and making them kick out to shooters. So, just remembering what they did to us at home also was kind of in the back of my mind.”
(On if tonight’s win was a good payback win): “I wouldn’t call it a payback win, you know, it’s just always good when you can respond the way you want to. Especially on their home floor, just like they did on our home floor. They came in and took care of business and we wanted to come in and take care of business. We understand that we responded not only to that loss at home, but also to the tough Spurs loss. We want to continue to build character and identity for our team and be responsive with a quick turnaround.”