Scott Skiles Game Quotations

We have played better at the end of the games. We have tended to make some pretty good plays on both ends of the floor when the game is on the line.

When the time came to make plays, they made a flurry. That coupled with some very poor decisions that we made (and) in a matter of minutes the game was gone.

My guys almost every night battle really hard. They've had a lot of things go against them in late game situations and we haven't been able to seize the moment. Lately, we've been able to do that and our guys appear to growing up as a team.

If we go down 3-1 and go to their building, then the odds become long again. We need to win the next game to really make it a series.

(Friday) We could tell right from the beginning, we weren't all there. Tonight, we could tell we were all there. We got really active. We put pressure on them. We were really in tune with our game plan.

This was a game we felt like we needed to win. It's getting to the point where we're making the same mistakes over and over again.

This was a game that had a little bit of everything. I thought we showed a lot of fight and we made plays when we had to. They also made plays. Fortunately we had the ball for the last shot.

I thought we were very active (defensively) and it won the game for us tonight.

I thought the way that game unfolded made that a very good win. We knew we'd have a battle in the second half. We battled and made a lot of big plays on both ends. When it got really tight, we raised our level of play.

I thought overall we played better tonight. We have a lot of energy. We did a better than average job of following the game plan. We could have had the game in regulation. We just weren't able to get it.

Our guys always come back. But it was the second game in a row we weren't ready to play when the ball went up. We're still learning on the fly. We don't have guys with 30, 40, 60 games of playoff experience.

Our focus early in this game was unacceptable for a game this big. Not all across the board, but a couple of our starters just weren't ready tonight.

Our defense was good again tonight and we needed it. We sort of went cold in the second half. We went 12-for-42 in the second half. To win a game when you only make 12 field goals in the second half, obviously our defense was good.

I thought it was a great effort. Tyson was a big lift. I thought maybe that he had his best game of the year.

I thought it was a great effort. Tyson (Chandler) was a big lift. I thought he had his best game of the year. Our game was proactive and most importantly, we got a lot of rebounds and second chance opportunities.

I would never commit ahead of time that he wasn't going to play. I would hate to tell somebody they're not going to play or their minutes would be limited, then all of a sudden 6 minutes into the game put him out there. That wouldn't be fair. I think it's better that he stayed ready, but unfortunately he didn't get in.

We haven't yet in either game played the kind of defense that we've played the whole year to get a gauge on how we can play against (Miami).

We got back in the game and then short-circuited a little bit with some offensive fouls. We battled them all the way to the end. We just couldn't make the plays.

We had good life from start to finish, and we played very good defense with the exception of a handful of possessions. That allowed us to get out and get our running game going, and get some good looks in transition; and we shot the ball well tonight.

We're waiting to award him the game ball when he does (take one).

We know the odds are still long. We know how difficult it is when you fall behind. We are already thinking about the next game. If we go down 3-1 and go into their building, the odds become long again. We need to win the next game to really make it a series.

The problem is our backs are against the wall every game right now. Somehow we have to convince the guys that.

We had a nice rhythm going. We just started fouling. We had about 10 more field goals at the half, yet it was still a game. Usually you are running away with a game like that. It is obviously a big problem.

We were all disappointed after the game the other night, and we did not play with the urgency we needed in such a big game.

We were able to pick up a full game on the team right in front of us. I think it is important that the guys go home with a good game under their belt. Maybe we will have a little momentum coming out of the break.

We should have won that second game of the season at New Jersey. We missed a free throw and gave up a three-point play basically at the buzzer. It's a game we felt like we should have won. I guess it is nice to pull out a win against a team that's dominated us.

We should have won that second game of the season at New Jersey (a 100-99 loss). It is nice to put one behind you against a team that has kind of dominated us.

We had a decent shot to win the game with 18 seconds to go.

We got it tight there a couple times, kind of left our feet, got a little out of control. But having said that, we got a decent look at a 3-point shot to tie the game with 18 seconds to go. We had our chances.

The question we had is what if this was regular season and a back-to-back? You would know before the next game so why does it take so long?

We kind of lost our poise out there and they ran away from us. In a matter of minutes, the game was gone.

We just have to watch him -- that's why he's taking days off of practice -- and make sure he's not overdoing it. But if he's able to play, we'll play him and worry about each game one by one. If he has to overplay tonight to win the game, that's what we'll have to do.

To win a game where we only make 12 field goals in the second half, obviously our defense is good. I thought we were very active and it won the game for us.

We had pretty significant breakdowns for a good portion of the game. So we were fortunate to be in the game and have a chance. We turned it up late and we got really active around the basket and got in there and defended some balls and just kind of changed the tempo that way.

Every game he plays in, he's ... one of the toughest guys on the floor. He's got size, strength, athleticism, and he can play. He gives them one of the best players in the game, and you can see that they've played with a little more pop since he's been with them. He seems to have an effect on their group, the way they get after it a little bit.

The stat sheet does not really show it, but they pretty much out-played us from beginning to end. We had a hard time in the early going even following our simple game plan. We tried different lineups to keep it close. In the third quarter, they took advantage of us and we could not do much to stop them.

Normally, you run away with a game like that. Obviously, it's a big problem.

That game had a little bit of everything. It was a hard-fought win.

You start getting past the mid-point or getting to the 30-game point and you have a chance to pick up a full game on a team, you'd like to take advantage of that.

This is a game where, if you're going to get serious about what you're going to do this season, you've got to lay it all on the line in the third quarter when we have a chance to win. We just looked out of it. We looked out of it most of the night.

They still haven't proved they can play well in a big game at home.

They made three's but the free throw disparity we could not overcome. We had a lot of head-hanging and guys feeling sorry for themselves. There are points in the game where there is a simple choice: you fight or you bleed. We did not fight our way out of it.

They had an overtime game last night and we sitting here waiting for them. We played pretty well, but we didn't get Philly's best shot. We will see that next week when we play them again.

They do a lot of the same things. They're both from the Ben Wallace mold where you can have an effect on a game without having to contribute a lot offensively.

There wasn't much of anything that was called for us out there tonight. They literally complain about every call the whole game long. That's their style. That's what they do. They've had a great year doing it. I don't know what that says.

It's as important as a regular-season game can get.

It makes you realize that we blew an opportunity to be closer. Going all the way back to the second game of the season, we've had some difficulty making clutch free throws. If your mind is on anything else but your technique, you're probably in trouble. If it's on the score and the clock -- 'I hope I make it,' and all those kinds of things -- you're probably in trouble.

It was one of our best all-around efforts this season from beginning to end. The guys were in tune with the game plan. We came out in the third quarter a little bit off, but we quickly re-grouped.

It was one of our best all-around efforts of the season. The guys were really in tune with the game plan. Ben made some big shots, but it was Andres who made the difference in the game.

They just dominated us all over the floor, and then probably the most disappointing thing -- I thought in the third quarter, we quit. That's something I have to address. ... We were in the game a little bit early on, but they had way more energy than us. They went by our guards at will.

I'm happy we played hard, but that should be a given. Our guys fought right until the end, but at this level, there are no moral victories. It's a game we should have won.

I'm happy that we played hard, but that should be a given. We need to learn from these experiences and make progress. We've had too many times this year when we've come out in the third quarter and haven't been as sharp. It happened again tonight. I can't fault anybody's effort. Our guys fought right to the end, but at this level, there are no moral victories. It's a game we should have won.

It has happened to us so many times this season. We didn't make our free throws, and there were an awful lot of odd plays that were right in our hands near the basket but couldn't come up with them. Those will cost you in a close game like this.

I didn't think either team was especially sharp tonight, to put it mildly. It was anybody's game for the taking. They turned it up a little bit and we weren't able to make any big plays to stay with them, we could have at any moment exerted ourselves we could have come back, we just couldn't do it.

I don't think we had any business being in OT, anyway. You don't have to score if you get two or three stops. As has been the case, we had trouble. Five point lead, buck-forty to go; that's a game we won last year.

He's in the best shape of his pro career. We're excited about it. Hopefully he can settle in now and work on his game and have a great year.

He plays 20 minutes a game and consistently blocks shots all over the place. He's a great defender and still changes ends very well. He's an intimidating-type player. To have a backup center like him is a luxury.

You could see it coming in our posture and the way we were handling ourselves out there. It was inevitable they were going to make some kind of run. There was no way we were going to run away from them. There are points in the game where you have a choice to make. Either fight or flee.

These guys can go home with a good game under their belts. I think that is important, that we gain a little momentum coming out of the break.

A lot can turn on this game tonight.