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SharePostgame Quotes - January 25
January 25, 2003
Sixers 97, Heat 91
Recap | Box Score
On the game
“We made so many big plays at the end. Eric (Snow) made a big jumper. Allen (Iverson) made a great pass. There were just a lot of key plays. (John) Salmons played the great rookie, Caron Butler, well.”
“It’s a great win for us. Pat (Riley) has them (Heat) playing so hard, and they execute so well. I thought the Heat played great. We just hung in.”
“I was hoping we’d meet the energy of the Heat and we did.”
On strategy
“We wanted to go zone on the out-of-bounds and extend the foul line to get more time. I hate it, but the assistant coaches love it. It worked tonight.”
“We didn’t shoot the ball. We need Aaron (McKie) to shoot. We can’t put it all on the little kid (Allen Iverson). Keith (Van Horn), and the others, making shots helps Allen. When Van Horn is open and Allen gives it to him, it makes it easier.
“We just did a good job stopping them on defense. We executed well on the offensive end. We just played an overall great game. On the defensive end we mixed it up with man-to-man and zone which helped keep them off balance. I think we all did a good job of talking to each other out there on the court. Our chemistry was great.”
“They [the HEAT] were playing well. They [the HEAT] were making shots; Eddie [Jones] and Caron [Butler] had the hot hand. Therefore, we needed to pick up our defensive intensity get some stops and try and get some easy baskets. We needed to get stops and get good looks. We had opportunities to get rebounds and get a second chance at the basket.”
“I missed some open jumpers in the fourth quarter. At the end, I just tried to be aggressive and find the open floor. We made foul shots tonight. To win these close games you need to make foul shots at the end of the game and we as a team we did a great job at the line. We just had a great intensity throughout the game, even when they made that little run. It paid off in the end, because when you are aggressive throughout the game it makes it more difficult for the other team to make shots at the end of the game.”
On the game
“We had all the opportunities at the end to win it. In this kind of game there is no room for error. We make one stop at 90-88; maybe the complexion of the game is a little bit different. They made some great plays.”
On Eddie Jones passing the ball to Caron Butler at 90-88
“Against that team you take what you can get. They’re an excellent defensive team. You get air space for a jumper you’ve got to take it. They’re going to load Eddie (Jones). Obviously, he’s the guy we are going to go to and he made the play he had to make.”
On The HEAT’s defense on Allen Iverson
“I think we did a good job containing him. He didn’t get 40 or 38. We did a good job as a team. He got to the rim a couple of times but our team played well today. Trying to keep them off the free throw line is very difficult. They are a driving team.”
On the game
“I was getting some plays called for me and I was executing them well. The effort was good and everyone played hard. You can live with games like this because everyone gave it their all.”
On the play at the end of the fourth quarter
“Eddie did a great job of drawing attention to himself and kicked the ball out and I was supposed to convert, but it went in and out.”
On the playing Allen Iverson
“I just tried to not go for some of his fakes. He’s one of the greatest players in the game now. I didn’t want to put him on the free throw line. He made a lot of tough shots over me. He didn’t shoot his average attempts, so that means I did a pretty good job on him. It doesn’t matter who I’m guarding. Travis Best told me to crowd him, knowing that I have help.”
On the play at the end of the game
“I just turned the ball over period. No excuses. I just didn’t make the play.”
On the game
“We weren’t making many shots in the fourth quarter. It kind of got away from us defensively. We didn’t want to over help and let other guys get baskets. We just need to go back to the drawing board and continue to work hard. We were up 90 to 88 and we didn’t do the things we needed to do to put the game away. Down the stretch we didn’t do the things we were supposed to do. We can’t continue to do that. I thought both teams played great defensively, we just had a couple of miscues that cost us the game.”
Sixers 97, Heat 91
Recap | Box Score
 |
“We made so many big plays at the end. Eric (Snow) made a big jumper. Allen (Iverson) made a great pass. There were just a lot of key plays. (John) Salmons played the great rookie, Caron Butler, well.”
“It’s a great win for us. Pat (Riley) has them (Heat) playing so hard, and they execute so well. I thought the Heat played great. We just hung in.”
“I was hoping we’d meet the energy of the Heat and we did.”
On strategy
“We wanted to go zone on the out-of-bounds and extend the foul line to get more time. I hate it, but the assistant coaches love it. It worked tonight.”
“We didn’t shoot the ball. We need Aaron (McKie) to shoot. We can’t put it all on the little kid (Allen Iverson). Keith (Van Horn), and the others, making shots helps Allen. When Van Horn is open and Allen gives it to him, it makes it easier.
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“We had all the opportunities at the end to win it. In this kind of game there is no room for error. We make one stop at 90-88; maybe the complexion of the game is a little bit different. They made some great plays.”
On Eddie Jones passing the ball to Caron Butler at 90-88
“Against that team you take what you can get. They’re an excellent defensive team. You get air space for a jumper you’ve got to take it. They’re going to load Eddie (Jones). Obviously, he’s the guy we are going to go to and he made the play he had to make.”
On The HEAT’s defense on Allen Iverson
“I think we did a good job containing him. He didn’t get 40 or 38. We did a good job as a team. He got to the rim a couple of times but our team played well today. Trying to keep them off the free throw line is very difficult. They are a driving team.”
 |
“I was getting some plays called for me and I was executing them well. The effort was good and everyone played hard. You can live with games like this because everyone gave it their all.”
On the play at the end of the fourth quarter
“Eddie did a great job of drawing attention to himself and kicked the ball out and I was supposed to convert, but it went in and out.”
 |
“I just tried to not go for some of his fakes. He’s one of the greatest players in the game now. I didn’t want to put him on the free throw line. He made a lot of tough shots over me. He didn’t shoot his average attempts, so that means I did a pretty good job on him. It doesn’t matter who I’m guarding. Travis Best told me to crowd him, knowing that I have help.”
On the play at the end of the game
“I just turned the ball over period. No excuses. I just didn’t make the play.”
 |
“We weren’t making many shots in the fourth quarter. It kind of got away from us defensively. We didn’t want to over help and let other guys get baskets. We just need to go back to the drawing board and continue to work hard. We were up 90 to 88 and we didn’t do the things we needed to do to put the game away. Down the stretch we didn’t do the things we were supposed to do. We can’t continue to do that. I thought both teams played great defensively, we just had a couple of miscues that cost us the game.”
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