Chauncey Billups Game Quotations

If we had won a game like that, shooting as poorly as we did, that would have been one of the more impressive wins of the season.

We take nothing from this. We're lucky that we've got a game tomorrow so we don't have to sit too long on it. It'll give us a chance to start a new streak at home.

He was everywhere. He had so much energy tonight. We came into this game focused, because we knew we didn't play our best yesterday. When we lose a game that was there to win, we don't like that.

He's better than anybody in this league off the bench. He's better than 80% of the starters in this league. He's something we've got to go to when he comes in the game because he's a mismatch almost every night.

Our last game was Tuesday, so I had a couple days to soak it in. That's when it kind of hit me that I made it. I'm an All-Star. It's still a little surreal right now. It's something that I always wanted.

Our whole focus is trying to get home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. We play every game focused on the big picture, not against our opponent that night.

Our game is what it is. It's the best two teams playing, and really, it's the two teams that I expect to be playing in June again.

Our focus today was to just come out and play our game and take what the defense gives us. I love when our bench gets the opportunity to play a lot of extended minutes. Whenever we get that opportunity, it's a big plus.

You know what I mean, just waiting to collide. There were some struggles in my first couple of months. There were definitely some struggles with Coach Brown. But we both sacrificed a lot. We came to a happy medium and it's been a perfect marriage ever since then. My game has definitely grown playing for Coach Brown. I think I look at the game in a different light. I understand that I can dominate a game now without having to score as much as I usually do on most nights.

With the tough game we had last night and traveling as well, this team was waiting on us.

We haven't done nothing. We worked hard to get home-court advantage and we took care to keep it. We just held serve. We took care of business at home. They say a series doesn't start until somebody wins a game on the road. Hopefully we can start this series on Saturday.

We're a family. You know we were going to come to his aid. But we weren't really surprised by that. Ever since that first little incident, every game we play they play a little extra hard and foul a little extra hard. Hey, it's part of the game.

We came into this game really focused on what we needed to do, making some adjustments. That team just fought. They just fought. You have to give them a lot of credit, but come fourth quarter . . . we just had to grind it out.

We came into this game very focused, trying to get back on the right track. We knew we let one get away last night and it wasn't our best (performance).

Watching him is unbelievable. His team's one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, he gets the MVP of this game with all these great players. It's unbelievable. The kid is a freak of nature.

The second game is usually the game you can steal most of the time. In any series, really. We know that. We're aware of that. We've lost that second game a few times. We have to come out knowing that and doing the right things.

Both teams wanted to win this game in the worst way. It was kind of an ugly game, but the intensity was there. This was a playoff game. It really was.

They say a series doesn't start until somebody wins a game on the road. Hopefully, we can start this series on Saturday.

This is a game we had chances to win. I thought our defense was really good tonight. When the defense is bad, I'm concerned. When our offense just isn't making shots - that happens.

I'm just happy to get a game like that, with a team that's smoking hot. That's a team that, like I said, we're going to see down the road, hopefully. So it's fun.

I just wish that we had something where like after the game I got to talk about what happened down the stretch, why I did this or that. I wish we had something where the refs had to do it and explain what happened and why they did this and that. It just ain't fair, man.

Tay is their biggest problem playing against us. They put a big guy on him and his perimeter game is so good. They go small and he posts up. And he's not just a scorer, he makes plays down there and gets rebounds (eight Thursday). He's a match-up nightmare.

The intensity of the game was unbelievable. Every possession was huge. It was a playoff game. I miss that. I can't wait to get back to that.

It helped us tremendously. That first game back from a West Coast trip is always difficult to get back into the swing of things and get adjusted to the time zone and all of that. Without that, you don't see us score 38 points in the fourth quarter.

It was just kind of downhill. They got a little confidence going and they got back into the game and they came out victorious.

It was just one of those nights. Sometimes the game is going a certain way, and I feel like I've got to try to step up and be aggressive shooting the ball. These have definitely been two tough games.

It was just another game for us to work toward our goal.

It was just another game for us. We're just trying to win every game we can to gain home court through the playoffs.

It was a big game and we looked forward to it. It's always big when you are playing the best. I think I did a pretty good job on Duncan.

It's just another game, really. I mean, it's Christmas and that's a little more fun, playing a big game on TV. Other than that, it's early. I just want to be playing that team in June.

To have those nerves to make those plays at the end of a game isn't something you really can be taught. It's instinct I think.

It was really an ugly game. We missed so many lay-ups. But when you're a good team, you win ugly games.

We just wanted to go out there and protect our home court. We knew they played a tough game last night, so we wanted to jump on them early and take care of business.

We talked about it in the locker room before the game, that this was the game we needed. We felt they hadn't been tested in this postseason, they hadn't played against a team like us that plays defense, believes in itself and tries to control the tempo of the game. Yesterday was a good game to show them that.

It's going to be a playoff game on (today), no question about it.

They haven't gotten off to the start they wanted, but this game doesn't mean the moves are not going to work. We'll see down the line. We can't answer that question now.