The following are quotes from the NBA on TNT analysts and interviews conducted by courtside reporters from last night's Magi/Pistons game, and Spurs/Hornets game

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

QUOTE of THE DAY:

“For (Rodney Stuckey) to start the last two playoff games and play well, (the Pistons) are 2-0 (when he starts).  They are going to start calling Chauncey Billups ‘Wally Pipp.’”

--  Charles Barkley on Pistons forward Rodney Stuckey

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Orlando Magic (86) @ Detroit Pistons (91) – The Pistons win the series 4-1.

Announcers Dick Stockton and Mike Fratello with Pam Oliver reporting

Fratello on matching up against Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard: “ Detroit would like to run and force Dwight Howard to match up against players (who Howard) would prefer not to match up against.  But in transition, many times, you have to take whose taking you and the Pistons would like him to get caught in those situations, to get fouls on him and get him on the bench.”

Stockton on the quiet Detroit crowd: “This is the 231st consecutive sellout at the Palace of Auburn Hills.  The fans are here…they have not brought their voices as of yet.”

Fratello: “They are saving themselves for a big finish.”

Fratello on Orlando ’s shooting woes in their series against Detroit: “(Game 5 is) very similar to what happened in (Game 4), ( Orlando ) missed open shots, they turned the ball over, they gave up offensive rebounds and they missed free throws.  That’s how you break a stride when you can’t make shots, you go to the (free throw) line and make (shots) and Orlando hasn’t done that.”

Fratello on Detroit Pistons guard Rip Hamilton: “You don’t realize that (Rip) Hamilton has a little more speed, a little more quickness, a little more size, a little more strength and a little more toughness than he gets credit for.”

****    ****

Halftime

Ernie Johnson, Barkley, Smith and Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson on Rip Hamilton stepping up in injured Pistons guard Chauncey Billups’ absence: “It got Rip Hamilton going.  He was going in (Game 4). He is getting his rhythm because he knows he’s getting more shots because Chauncey is out and he’s delivering too.  He delivered in the last game and he is delivering in (Game 5).”

Smith on the key to the Hornets/Spurs series: “(Hornets head coach Byron Scott) has to figure out how to get Chris Paul back into the paint.  It doesn’t matter how many points Chris Paul scores or how many Tony Parker gets.  Whoever gets into the paint on the offensive end, that’s the key (to the series).  (Paul and Parker) draw the defenses in and then they find their shooters.”

****    ****

TNT aired a ‘Mic’d Up’ segment featuring the halftime talk of Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy.

Van Gundy: “They’re not beating us…we’re beating us.  So we can turn this around.  You’ve got to take the challenge and be solid.  We’re way too good for this.  We’re right in this game…we can turn this around.”

Fratello on Magic forward Rashard Lewis: “(Rashard Lewis) has the ability to turn it around very quickly; he’s a streak shooter when he gets behind the three-point line.  Once he feels it and gets it going, he’s very dangerous.”

TNT’s Pam Oliver interviewed injured Pistons guard Chauncey Billups during the 3rd quarter.

Billups on his injured hamstring that kept him out of Games 4 and 5: “I’m feeling a lot better.  I’m making a very fast recovery.  I haven’t sprinted up and down the court yet.  I would like to be able to test that before I get out there and play.”

Fratello on the Pistons deciding to allow injured guard Chauncey Billups to sit out Games 4 and 5: “That’s a decision (to sit Chauncey Billups) that the (Pistons) front office and the coaching staff had to make.  They felt they had a little room to play.  Is it a gamble?  Yes it is, someone else could go down tonight, they give Orlando some hope if ( Orlando ) wins tonight.  However, it’s probably the right decision (to sit Billups).”

Fratello on what the Magic need to do to improve in the off-season: “(The Magic) have a lot of major decisions to make.  The nucleus of this team centers around Dwight Howard, (Hedo) Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis to go along with (Jameer) Nelson.  But they’ve got five players whose contracts run out, they’re free agents at the end of the year.  Two players with player options, in (Adonal) Foyle and (Keith) Bogans.  They have the number 22 pick in the draft coming up this year.  They have the mid-level exceptions that they can use.  A lot of major decisions for this organization as they want to move ahead in the playoffs.”

TNT’s Pam Oliver interviewed Pistons forward Antonio McDyess following the game.

McDyess on how the Pistons were able to overcome the Magic in Game 5: “We just tried to play together and talk on defense.  I think Rip got us going offensively and we just continued to play off of him.”

McDyess on the importance of wrapping up their series early and getting some extra rest before the Eastern Conference Finals: “It means a lot just to get some rest, especially for Chauncey (Billups) to have him back in the lineup when we play in the third round.  I think it will help us a lot if we just go out there and play like we did tonight.”

Select Read More to see comments from the Spus Hornets game

San Antonio Spurs (79) @ New Orleans Hornets (101) – The Hornets lead the series 3-2.

Announcers: Marv Albert and Reggie Miller with Craig Sager reporting

Miller on the mental preparation of New Orleans Hornets forward David West for Game 5: “Byron Scott said he could look at the mental focus of David West.  (West) wasn’t talking to a lot of people after games three and four; he understands the frustration of getting beat like that.  (West) was going to be mentally ready for this game.”

Miller on Hornets forward David West: “(David West) was somewhat of a ‘tweener’ when he came into the league, they really didn’t know what position he was going to play at.  He put on some weight and they didn’t know if he was going to be a small forward or a power forward.  He worked on his mid-range game and has become a solid power forward for the Hornets.”

TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Spurs guard Manu Ginobili after the 2nd quarter.

Ginobili on whether or not he is surprised by the physical play in Game 5: “It’s something typical, I guess.  We’re in a game five; there are a lot of things on the line here.  We’re trying to give whatever it takes to get this win.”

****    ****

Halftime

Ernie Johnson, Barkley, Smith and Magic Johnson

Barkley on Pistons forward Rodney Stuckey: “For (Rodney Stuckey) to start the last two playoff games and play well, (the Pistons) are 2-0 (when he starts).  They are going to start calling Chauncey Billups ‘Wally Pipp.’”

****    ****

TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Hornets head coach Byron Scott following the 3rd quarter.

Scott on the Hornets play in the 3rd quarter as they outscored the Spurs 28-11: “Our guys make great adjustments at halftime.  They understand how the game is going.  All I said (at halftime) was to quit making the mental mistakes in the defensive end and be a little bit more aggressive.”

Hornets head coach Byron Scott on David West’s mindset: “When (David West) is quiet, the (mental) motor is running.  He’s thinking about the next game.  He knows he didn’t play well (in Game 3 and 4 in San Antonio ).  He’s one of those guys we have to go to and get going early.  He has allowed Kurt (Thomas) and (Fabricio) Oberto to get to him a little bit.  He just has to play.  Again, this is a situation he hasn’t been in.  He’s learning from it, he’s going to grow from it and he’ll get better from it.”

Miller on the importance of the third quarter in each game in the Hornets/Spurs series: “(Each game) has been a route.  If there is one constant thing, it’s been the third quarter for every game.  Whoever has come out with the intensity in the third quarter has gone on to win the game.”

TNT’s Craig Sager interviewed Hornets forward David West following the game.

West on how important Game 5 was to the Hornets: “We had to treat this like a game seven because there was no way we wanted to go back to San Antonio .  With them being able to close us out there.  It was disappointing with the way I played in game four.  I just wanted to come back with a stronger presence.”

West on how the Hornets wanted to attack the Spurs in Game 5: “The biggest thing was to come out with an aggressive mentality.  I thought we attacked them defensively and really make them get out of their comfort zone.  We made (Tim) Duncan uncomfortable all night and it worked to our advantage.”

****    ****

Inside the NBA

Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson on superstars setting up in big games: “When you have a big game and the series is tied 2-2 the superstars have got to play like superstars; tonight (David) West played like a superstar and in the third quarter Chris Paul took over.”

Barkley on the Hornets having better role players than the Spurs:  “I said from the beginning New Orleans was going to win because (the Spurs) cannot match up with David West. Chris Paul is a stud and (the Hornets) have better role players. The Spurs are three studs and a puff of smoke.  Unless all three of those guys (Duncan, Parker and Ginobili) play great, the Spurs cannot win.”

TNT’s Pam Oliver interviewed Magic guard Jameer Nelson after the game.

Nelson on losing the series to the Pistons:  “We’re great competitors, we are upset that we lost the series.  We are going home and going fishing as Charles (Barkley) and those guys say.  It was a good series, you can say what you want, but we made a big step in our careers and as a team this year.”

Nelson on the experience the Magic gained this season: “You look at the season we had, we made a lot of strides in the regular season and even in the playoffs. We have a lot more experience now coming to the second round and getting a win and we dealt with a lot of adversity during the course of the year which helped us out in the long run and it’s going to help us out next year.”  

Magic Johnson on the Detroit Pistons’ chances against Cleveland or Boston :  “Right now, Detroit is playing at the top of their game. (Chauncey) Billups’ health is going to be crucial, to beat either ( Cleveland or Boston ) they have to have a healthy Billups.  If he’s healthy, watch out because Detroit is at the top of their game. The key for Detroit is that their bench is playing very well.”

Celtics coach Doc Rivers on what message he’s sending to his team:  “We play one game, Game 5.  You can’t look at six or seven, our focus shouldn’t be best of three, it should be best of one and win that game and then you can go to the next one.”

Magic Johnson on Utah’s bench outplaying Los Angeles’ bench: “Kobe (Bryant) can’t take 31 shots because everyone stops to watch Kobe play, the Lakers play well when everybody is touching the ball, bodies are moving, then you go to Kobe and hopefully he can get a good shot.  The Lakers need to shut those (Jazz) role players down, their bench had an outstanding game, their bench outplayed the Lakers. The Lakers will be fine as long as they play as a unit and not rely on Kobe to win the game.”

Smith on Lakers coach Phil Jackson calling out the team for not shooting enough:  “That message that Phil Jackson sent I think was a reverse psychology message. It’s easier to say, ‘You guys bailed out,’ than ‘ Kobe , you shot too much.’ It goes over better.”

Magic Johnson on the tough play of the Utah Jazz:  “Let’s give Utah some credit, they’ve been physical, they’ve been outhustling the Lakers.  Also, (Carlos) Boozer woke up and Deron Williams has just been fantastic with his leadership and they got into their fast break game. I said in the beginning this was going to be tough series and it is a tough series. You’ve got a team that plays just like their coach, Jerry Sloan, and they are tough, they are mean, and they are physical. I love Jerry Sloan, he’s one of my favorite people in the league because he won’t change for nobody.”

Barkley on the ‘Gone Fishin’ photo featuring Magic coach Stan Van Gundy:  “Who is that, Ron Jeremy?”

Smith:  “That’s Stan Van Gundy, you’ve been watching the wrong movies.”

• Report: Magowan to Step Down from Giants Friday - The Biz of Baseball
• Barry Bonds Hit with 15 Counts in Superseding Indictment - The Biz of Baseball
• The Clemens Defamation Lawsuit: Litigation Marches On - The Biz of Baseball
• White Sox Hire Carlton Fisk as "Ambassador" - The Biz of Baseball
• 12th Season of Interleague Begins This Weekend - The Biz of Baseball
• Could the Magowan Tenure with the Giants Be Ending? - The Biz of Baseball
• Tigers Offer Fantasy BP Package for Father's Day - The Biz of Baseball
• Zell Rejects IFSA Offer. Will Sell Wrigley With Team - The Biz of Baseball
• Orioles Extend Radio Affilates to 30. Adds Richmond, VA - The Biz of Baseball
• Pittsburgh Penguins Seek Innovations for New Arena - The Biz of Hockey
• The Stanley Cup Takes a Tour of Hollywood: E.R., HOUSE, Big Bang Theory, Charlie Sheen - The Biz of Hockey
• Larry Bird Files Lawsuit Against Owners of His Former Home - The Biz of Basketball
• Commissioner Stern Feels In-Arena Pyrotechnics are Unnecessary - The Biz of Basketball