Detroit: John Loyer | Will Bynum
Charlotte: Steve Clifford | Al Jefferson | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
(On the game): “We of course didn’t have the same start we had our last two games. Our energy level didn’t match theirs. You come out and give a team however many they made in a row to start the game, confidence, energy; puts you in a hole. Any good NBA team, I think they’re a good team, you can’t spot that many points because it’s almost like you have to play perfect and have the ball bounce your way down the stretch to win the game.”
(On the bench): “We rely on all of our guys. Our bench has been good for us this year. When we’ve had pretty high-level games, we’ve gotten good contributions by a lot of guys. It’s one of those games. Hopefully it’ll be a little better tomorrow.”
(On changes for tomorrow’s game): “We have to have energy; we have to play with passion. These are critical games for us, every game is a playoff game and we can’t give up games like this or we’ll find ourselves on the outside looking in if we continue to do this.”
(On Al Jefferson): “He’s an all-star player, a matchup nightmare; we know it takes a total team effort to stop a guy like that. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and make sure we’re giving the best effort that we can give individually.”
(On Game): "I liked our readiness to start the game which really ended up being the difference. We ended up I think plus-11 after the first quarter and that ended up being pretty much the margin. I thought our starters did a good job. When the guys off the bench came in the first half they did a good job also."
(On first game after All-Star Break): "Our guys talked about it before they left that everybody needed to do something and whatever they all did they were all ready to go. It was obviously a factor tonight."
(On playing the same team back to back): "There are two points: One, we have struggled the second nights in back-to-backs since early in the year. That is the first point. The second thing is this is similar really in many ways to a mini playoff series where it is going to be a small adjustment here or there and normally like I told them it is not a set play, it is not a wrinkle. It is a guy that played okay tonight getting himself ready, and playing better tomorrow night or a guy that played good tonight playing great tomorrow night and that is usually the most important adjustment in this series."
(On second half of season): "We know how important the second half of the season is for us. Now we have 28 games left and we're in the fight. If you would have told us that we'd be in this position at the beginning of the year we would have been very satisfied, even throughout all of the trials and tribulations, and mistakes that we've made. We still have a long way to go."
(On playoff implications): "That's what it's all about, is the playoffs. Especially with this team (Pistons) chasing us."
(On game): "It was very important to start off and set the tone with our defense. It was very important for us to have a great start."
(On game): "This was obviously a big win for us, with the playoff race so tight right now. We knew we had to come in and play well, and we did that. Guys stepped up and played great. That's what it's all about. We played great as team tonight. Everybody did their part and contributed."
(On answering Pistons' runs): "We just did what we do best. We played inside-out and got everyone involved."