Bernie Bickerstaff Played Quotations

My hat's off to Keith. He really played well for us tonight. My conversations to Keith have been to be patient and to be a good teammate.

I think we played well. Our small lineup really helped us.

I thought our guys played hard and played terrific. They did everything that they could to win the basketball game. The one concern I have is with Gerald and Raymond, is that I don't want them to get discouraged. I want them to keep taking that basketball to the hole, but they get discouraged when they don't get rewarded.

Our guys did everything they could to win the basketball game. Our guys played hard. They were terrific. ... I don't want them to get discouraged.

We played about a quarter and a half tonight. But we played the fourth quarter with some fight to get back into it. The shot Brand made late in the game was a big-time shot and he made it at a very critical time in the basketball game.

We've hit the wall as a team. Our guys have played a lot of minutes and were having mental lapses, and the common things we just didn't get done. It was an indication of a basketball team that has hit the wall. We were giving it up on the defensive end and we were really lacking.

When we looked down during the national anthem and saw nine guys, we anticipated trouble. That's what I was afraid of all day. They played like we've played when we've been down and just have eight or nine. They made some unbelievable shots with a hand in their face. There were a couple of possessions that we just couldn't come up with the ball.

Detroit played with a purpose. They've been struggling a little bit; if you can call 50 wins struggling. They just have too many pieces.

That started at the middle of the season last year. We got the best shot from people. The way we played last year, the advantage we had at the beginning of the season is no longer an advantage for us.

The line that Carmelo had is off the charts. I think he probably covered every digit on the sheet, points, rebounds, assists. He played like a superstar.