Mosley dissects the second-half collapse: defensive lapses, stagnant offense, and missed shots fueled Detroit's comeback. Now, it's all about Game 7 resilience.
On the second-half collapse against Detroit
"Detroit turned up the intensity and picked us up full-court, which turned us over a couple of times and led to easy baskets. At the end of the day, a lot of shots just didn’t fall for us. We had some good looks that didn't drop, and those long misses led to leakouts for them. Once they saw the ball go in the hole, they were flying around."
On the offense becoming stagnant:
"When they turned up the heat, they went to switching, which impacted our ability to get downhill. When we did get downhill, we didn't finish well at the rim. We have to finish through contact. Missing at the rim or missing a long three allows them to get out in transition and get easy baskets."
On the mindset heading into Game 7:
"You got to wash it and learn from it. We have to go get Game 7 the hard way. We’ve been in a Game 7 before and understand the magnitude of it on the road. We know what we're capable of doing because we got up big early. We just have to go figure out a way to do it in Detroit."
On the second-half shot selection:
"I thought we had some good looks, but also some rushed looks. When you don't see the ball drop and you don't get a call at the basket, you start trying to find it. They had some great blocks at the rim that led to their break. We have to maintain our patience to understand how to get clean ones, even though we did have some wide-open looks that just missed."
On the message to the team after the buzzer:
"We have to pick our heads up and understand we did some things right in that first half. We have to get our defense in the right space and, again, do it the hard way. We have to go to Detroit to win the series."
On the tactical and mental approach for the next 48 hours:
"It’s a combination of both. There are tactical things to clean up, but there's also the heart and energy you need for a Game 7. It stings and it hurts to let a 24-point lead go, but the reality is we have to be able to bounce back both tactically and mentally."
On the offensive struggle (19 points in the second half):
"We got some clean looks early that didn't fall—some in-and-outs. As that started to avalanche, they got out on the break. In those moments, you have to pace it down, slow it down, get into our sets, and continue to execute the process whether the shots fall or not."
On Jalen Suggs’ performance (1-for-10, 5 turnovers):
"They are guarding him differently. He's setting screens and spacing away, and they're closing out tight. We need to continue to allow him to get downhill and create. When the defense collapses, he has to find and spray, and we have to be able to knock those shots down in those moments."
On why he believes they can win Game 7:
"We’ve been in a Game 7 before. In Cleveland, we were up 18 and teams crawled back—it’s a game of runs. We had our run in the first half; they had theirs in the second. Now it's about the ability to put two halves together and sit down and get stops so those runs don't get away from you."
On handling Detroit’s defensive pressure:
"They picked up full, trapped the ball, and got turnovers. We need a pressure release and to not be rattled by what they’re doing. We have to use that aggression against them to get downhill while taking care of the basketball. Those will be key points in the film as we clean up for the next game."
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