![Paul George led all scorers with 25, but he was just 6-of-19 from the field and 1-of-8 from range. [Photo: Frank McGrath/PS&E]](https://i0.wp.com/www.vigilantsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-04-21-PG-drives.jpg?resize=644%2C363)
Paul George led all scorers with 25, but he was just 6-of-19 from the field and 1-of-8 from range. [Photo: Frank McGrath/PS&E]
At the Buzzer: R1 G3 — Raptors 101, Pacers 85
Paul George on Game 3 loss: ‘We didn’t do our job‘
This is what was said afterwards:
Pacers coach Frank Vogel:
On why this game got away from them…
They just outplayed us in most areas. We turned the ball over too much. Their big guys are problems for us at the rim, and you just have to give them credit. They outplayed us in most areas.
On why he went with Myles Turner to begin the second half and if he’ll consider starting him in Game 4…
We’ll consider everything. I don’t know what our lineup will look like next game. We’ll watch tape and evaluate, but I think he had a good energy, a good confidence about him. We were down 17 so we tried something different.
On concerns for officiating impact the game…
We got caught up in it a little bit early, but I thought that we played through it.
On being outscored in the first quarter of each game and what can be done to not play from behind…
We have to take care of the ball better. I thought some of our turnovers tonight were a problem. We’ve been doing a good job on Lowry and DeRozan. Those guys got going early tonight so I think it’s been different each game.
Paul George:
On his feeling about the series having lost two in a row…
We didn’t do our job. This one, this sucks. We didn’t take care of business on our home court and we were in the driver’s seat. We got to stay positive. We still got a chance to even this one up 2-2, and make the best out of this series.
On whether emotions got the best of them some tonight…
It’s the playoffs. You kinda got to let some stuff slide. We’re playing for something that means something.
On what has caused the offense to become stagnant…
I try to tell my guys, ‘Whatever coach is drawing up, they know.’ They know what we’re running. They’re going to be in their spots. We got to do a better job of attacking from the weak side. The best offense is us playing random and us just being in attack mode. Too many times we’re playing passive and we’re not being aggressive and we’re not being assertive. That’s playing right into their hands.
On DeMarre Carroll playing him physical…
We were laughing about it during the game countless times, and telling the officials ‘He’s hitting my elbow every shot.’ He’s a good defender. That’s what DeMarre does and I knew at some point I would see the chippy DeMarre. On a lot of my shots, he was getting away with hitting my elbow and hitting my wrist, making it tough for me to follow through and see the ball go down. I don’t think I did a good enough job of posting up and forcing doubles out of that, and if they did double, take advantage of the one-on-one in the post.
On the frustration on now winning the 50-50 balls…
It’s real frustrating. This is playoff basketball and that’s what it’s all about. We’re not holding up on that end. We’re treating this like it’s a regular season game. We’re failing to be the physical team, and I think there’s one guy in particular that is doing an amazing — and that’s (Jonas) Valanciunas. We got to match his physicality and we’re not doing that.
On the turnovers…
We’re getting out of position and we’re getting uncomfortable because I feel the plays we’re running this team knows it. We’re not doing a good enough job of us playing free. That’s the best way for us to take care of the ball, understanding that they know what we’re in but still staying in attack-mode and still finding ways to score and still finding ways to get guys opportunities. And then a lot of it in the first half was just the adrenaline. I thought us getting out, being on the home floor, the crowd, the energy, we were playing uptempo a little bit. It took us some time to slow the game down and that put us in the hole.
George Hill:
On how disappointing tonight’s performance was…
It’s very disappointing. We didn’t take care of our responsibilities. We didn’t do a good job. We had unforced errors and we got to better. … It’s definitely disappointing. We let our fans down.
On what adjustments can be made…
We need to move the ball. I feel like we’re playing on one side of the court too much. They are a good one-side-of-the-floor defense. If we can get the ball moving side-to-side and make the extra pass, we can get rolling.
Solomon Hill:
On what can be done to get off to better starts instead of always playing from behind…
I don’t know. If we had that answer, I think we would have shown it for at least one of the three games. I think everybody has to understand what position we are in. If we go down 1-3, I think the numbers for (coming back to win the series) are crazy. It’s do or die next game. I’m thinking about wanting someone to pass out out there because the next off day is the longest off day and that’s the summer. And we don’t want those.
On getting caught up in the frustration early…
We’re playing some competitive basketball and we get two quick techs on our side, that’s definitely different. That’s definitely frustrating. A couple calls go certain ways and that takes guys (out) mentally as well. I think we got to let that go. It’s hard to see us put in that position but we just got to play basketball.
On the numbers of turnovers:
We had some momentum going, we were trying to make that home-run play instead of just sticking to it, making one more (pass) and getting guys open. We kept trying to go for that home-run play when we were down 15.
C.J. Miles:
On getting caught up in the officiating…
You can’t be worried about the five guys on the floor, two of them All-Stars, and the other three guys’ whistles. That’s too many people to be thinking about.
On his lack of quality looks…
They’re doing what we would do to a guy like me on their side, like what we’re trying to do to Terrence Ross when he comes off the bench. Make sure they are contested (shots). … It’s just about finding a way to get real clean looks at it.
On what was said during a players’ huddle before the second half…
Try not to get beat by 40 (smiling). Find a way to tighten up. That’s the biggest thing. We knew we had plenty of time. … The biggest thing for us is to find a way to control what we can control.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey:
On their defense in the first half…
I like the activity, our intensity, and our approach. I think it just set the tone for the entire game. … I liked our effort and attention to detail on the defensive end.
On DeMar DeRozan…
We changed the angle of our screen, the types of screens we were setting for him. Hopefully it will loosen him up a bit. But at the end of the day, he made shots and that’s kind of simplistic, but that’s kind of what he did, tried to open things up to him to different people.
On where his happiness meter is at…
Very, very low right now. Very low. I won’t be happy until we’re done. Again, there are so many things that we can do better, like fouling. There is something we’re not doing right when we’re getting that many free throws. So we have to make sure we’re smart with our intensity and effort on the defensive end.”
DeMarre Carroll:
On energy spent defending Paul George…
I spent a lot of good energy and my wife is here, so maybe I’ll get a good massage. I spent a lot of energy chasing him around and I had to hit a couple of threes. It’s been a long time since I played that long, but it felt great and I just have to build off that.
On Paul George…
Paul George is a great player. I think the most important thing was to keep him off the free throw line. He still shot 12 free throws tonight, but we tried not to let him get the feel for his shot. If he does get the feel for his shot, he’s a beast. I think we just need to keep being physical with him and it’s going to take a collective effort.
Luis Scola:
On stringing together wins…
Right now we’re in a really good position. We won two games, really solid wins, regained home curt, but this can turn into a grind in a snap. It’s going to be very difficult. They are a very capable team and they can beat us if they play better.