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The Detroit Pistons beat the Lakers in Los Angeles to take Game 1 of the best-of-seven NBA championship series. Here's what Lakers head coach Phil Jackson and players Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone and Derek Fisher said to the media after the game.

PHIL JACKSON

Q: Did the team come out too passive after the six-day layoff?

Jackson: I don't know if it's too passive. I think it was the pace that the Pistons generated during the course of the game. They were very deliberate. This was a team that, you know, brought the ball down with patience and executed what they wanted to do over a course of 24 seconds. They made each possession like a football possession.

I started harping on the players a little bit to start building a pace in the middle of the second quarter when I saw that things were getting lethargic. We tried to speed it up a little bit at the end of the second period and got things moving a little bit, but it all worked out I think in their favor. They got a couple of fast breaks at the end of the second period.

You could see the pace of that game or the development of the game in the third quarter, we came out flat in the third quarter and they established the lead with a 3-point shot and it was difficult for us to even find a way to get back to match in that quarter.

Q: You said before the series that people don't talk enough about the Pistons' offense. What are your thoughts about that, and your team's defense tonight?

Jackson: Well, they had us on our heels. I thought we did a good job on Hamilton, but Billups had us on our feels, got Payton in foul trouble early and late, and we had a difficult time handling him on the screen rolls. Their step-backs out of situations -- really, the game boiled down to shots that were made under duress at the end of the 24-second clock. We had four of them made in duress under the gun in the end of the 24-second clock, one of them was a three-pointer that, was the difference in the ballgame, literally. Defensively, it was a square-off. They played, I thought, Kobe, great. They had a tough time with Shaquille. They took everybody else out of the ballgame. Their bench beat our bench in this game and we'll have to find a way to help that.

Q: I know after a late-season game last year, Billups wanted to make you throw up and had good games against you this year, why do you think he's had good success against the Lakers?

Jackson: He has good strength, physical strength, strong shoulders and can clear himself out of pick-and-roll situations. He seemed to handle the pressure well, he identified what he wanted to get on actions that the team was running at that time. And then if things were not going right for the team, pick his own spots.

Q: Looked like with you really were able to push the advantage with Shaq in the first half and it seemed to disappear a little bit in the second half, is that what the Pistons did to adjust or did you guys just stop finding him?

Jackson: I thought he tired somewhat, and, you know, he's working hard in the first half. Our direction was good. I think our execution was good in what we tried to get with ball movement and player movement.

The second half, I don't think we worked as hard to execute at the far end of the court. That happens sometimes when they are away from the bench and down there on their own at the other end of the court. I thought just the angles they tried to get the ball into Shaquille were difficult and we didn't find him as often.

It was interesting, I think we end up shooting 40-some foul shots in that first half and I think only like six in the second half. It's a very unusual game. Usually it's inverted like that in a ballgame, but this game turned out to be a complete change of pace in change of pace in that way.

Q: How much of Kobe's shooting problems do you think came from chasing Hamilton as hard as he did, and were you trying to give him a break by running Kareem at him or was there a different sort of matchup you were looking at?

Jackson: We thought that we would get -- we had to get a different matchup. We were not having success with Devean or Rick at the small forward and Kobe could move over to small forward and Kareem could give us something a little bit different out there. He did, but he wasn't successful at the offensive end. His defense is pretty good.

Kobe had a hard time shooting over Prince. I thought individually, that was probably one of the best defensive match-ups they had all night.

Q: You guys were having some problems guarding some of the matchups, was zone ever an idea or concept?

Jackson: We rarely play a zone. This is too good of a 3-point shooting team to really think about a zone, especially when they have got a guy like Rasheed Wallace that can step out and hit three-point shots. So, you know, we know that zone is going to be very few, very inconsistent for us to play, and we won't be using them too often.

Q: We view all of your games overseas and we see that Karl Malone is an integral part of your team and he was completely negated today.

Jackson: You know, we had a series in which we had a couple of injuries at the end of the Minnesota series. You know, Karl had his knee aspirated, Fish was not capable of playing, you could see both of them, the lack of practice and lack of activity in this ballgame. There was a little rust on them out there. They will get better as the series goes on.

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL

Q: Phil said that he you may have tired in the second half, did you get a little tired in the second half after the big first half?

O'Neal: Tired of waiting. We, you know, as a team, we really didn't come out with much energy. You know, we had a couple of lapses, especially there in the third quarter. I don't think a person going 13 for 16 is a sign of being tired by any means.

Q: Tell us, you guys have been in this position a few years ago against Philly, put any pressure on you for the next game?

O'Neal: It puts a lot of pressure on us for the next game. This is the type of team that comes out, they play aggressive defense, they play well. They just wanted it a little bit more than we wanted it tonight. Tonight we just came out a little bit too loose, too lackadaisical and nobody was trying to feel them out in the first half and got ourselves into a big hole with our lackadaisical play in the third quarter.

Q: You have 13 out of 16 field goals, maybe you should have gotten the ball more, maybe this was a game you were supposed to be in the high 40s?

O'Neal: We've just got to play better as a team. Overall as a team, we didn't shoot the ball real well tonight and we just kind of keep getting everybody involved and act like we want it and we'll be okay in Game 2.

Q: How did it feel not getting double-teamed for a change in your life?

O'Neal: It felt pretty good. I felt I was able to, you know, do what I wanted to do. But I would have rather have the win.

Q: In a way did it take out the other guys because when they double-team you in the other series, the other guys, you fed those guys very well and this way, they kind of got shut out of the ballgame.

O'Neal: Maybe they maybe did, but, you know we've still got to do a good job on defense. We have to allow defense to create easy buckets for us. Tonight, we could not get any stops, especially in the third quarter.

KOBE BRYANT

Q: When you were looking at tapes of Hamilton, what tendencies did he have that you thought you could exploit against him when you were guarding him?

Bryant: I didn't really think too much about his tendencies. Just tried to shadow him, that's all, just stay in his face all night long and get to be pretty annoying. Just chase him all over the place.

Q: Where was the hunger tonight, the passion in the squad in the first game of the NBA Finals? It seemed Detroit controlled the tempo and the aggression.

Bryant: It was us getting a feel for what they try to do defensively, sizing them up and getting their rhythm. They did an incredible job executing. Larry Brown prepared them extremely well and they came out and carried out their game plan to perfection. It was a good game played by them for 48 minutes.

Q: You talk about playing the length of Tayshaun Prince, when they put Lindsey Hunter on you, you went right at him, fadeaway jumper, good. It seemed to be difficult playing against someone like Tayshaun?

Bryant: I think this is my second time I've played against him. First few times it was really early in the season and I didn't have my legs. So, you know, tonight is really the first time I really have the opportunity to kind of size him up, size up his length and it's an interesting challenge. He's very long. He knows how to use his length and, you know, it's going to be interesting.

Q: Talk about Game 2. You guys have been in this situation, and we asked Shaq about it, being down 1-0 in the Finals against Philly. Talk about Game 2.

Bryant: We are just going to break down this game and see what we can learn from it, come back from Game 2 and try to win that one. You know, it's a big challenge. It's a big challenge. But I think we're up for it.

Q: What reason do you think Fish and George and Mailman didn't get involved in the game? It just seemed like you and Shaq out there, they were not getting the open looks they usually get and it really showed in the statistics and everything that it was you and Shaq.

Bryant: You know, I think Detroit did a great job defensively mixing up their defenses and really not letting them get off in the past few series, we've been able to rely on throwing the ball in to Shaq, and teams coming down in double and he's able to kick it out and get other guys involved that way. This year we have to go deeper into our offense and we practice that every day. We have to be able to utilize the triangle and really cut guys up so that our teammates are not just threats as spot-ups, but they become, you know, really aggressive offensive threats off of penetration and cuts and things like that.

Q: Do you feel the soft press that Detroit threw at you after they scored baskets took seconds off the 24-second clock? It was more difficult for you guys to get into your offense that you were talking about.

Bryant: It did take some seconds off the clock obviously, but I don't think that was critical to our lack of execution. I think it's us getting back to basics of trying one-on-one and really having everybody be a threat offensively as opposed to just being spot-up players.

Q: Can you talk about some of the adjustments, or if there are any, you may have to make on Chauncey Billups? You made some adjustments in the San Antonio series on Tony Parker. Can you talk about him and what you have to do against him in the next game?

Bryant: Him and Tony are different players. Tony was so fast. Chauncey, he likes to size guys up more. He's kind of an offbeat type of player, and we'll have to break down the film and see where he hurt us, what parts of the game he hurt us at and make the adjustments accordingly.

Q: Obviously this is the series that Karl and Gary came here for. How difficult was it to start with a loss and neither of them got going tonight?

Bryant: I'm sure it's a difficult game for them as it is for all of us. But, you know, seven-game series, and as always, Game 2 is up next.

DEREK FISHER

Q: What’s the difference defensively?

Fisher: I think we’ve seen everything there is to see defensively, in terms of teams deciding at times to pressure us, at times trying to front and back Shaq, cut off Kobe’s penetration. You know, we’ve seen enough of that, but it still is different when you have to go out and play in the game, and still be successful executing and doing the things you do in the offensive game. So you definitely have to give them credit for coming in and sticking to the things that got them here, defending well. And we did not play well. We did not execute as a team … and basically the rest of us didn’t play well, never got into any rhythm as a team.

Q: How do you account for not being cohesive as a team?

Fisher: Well, cohesive implies not wanting to play together. I think there is no question that we wanted to; I just think that we didn’t do it. Part of it is that they are a good defensive team. But there are good defensive teams in the NBA, and we understand that. But offensively, we didn’t execute. We didn’t play with enough energy and quickness. They outplayed us tonight.

Q: How can you not match their intensity?

Fisher: It happens. If it was easy just to come in and win every time because you played well, I bet there would be more teams that find success in this league in the past. But it takes a lot to play well every night. As a team, obviously, we did not have that tonight. We have to adjust and come back and play on Tuesday.

Q: About the Pistons …

Fisher: I don’t know what everybody else expected, but we expected them to play hard. They are in the Finals, so they’re gonna come in a play hard and do everything they can to win games. And they did that tonight. It’s now our responsibility to come back and play hard in Game 2.

KARL MALONE

Q: It seems like this team played with a cavalier attitude.

Malone: I look at a game like this and I didn’t help Big (Shaq) and the guys at all. I think that the way I started the game ... I committed too early on defense. We talked about it. I had open looks and didn’t make those and that got us out of rhythm as a team. I’m very disappointed in me because I didn’t help the guys out at all. That’s unacceptable as a professional athlete.

Q: But this club didn’t seem to play with sense of urgency …

Malone: I think it starts with me. I really do. And as I’ve said it before, when I bring the energy, when I’m doing the things I’m suppose to be doing on the defensive end, I think they feed off of me. I didn’t do that tonight.

Q: Are two players in double figures going to get it done?

Malone: Like I just told you, I didn’t help us out at all.

Q: It wasn’t just you, though.

Malone: Like I just said, I think I’m a big part of that. I’ve been giving us double figures all year and the playoffs. And I didn’t do it tonight. We always talk about somebody else, but I can look at myself and say I didn’t get it done. That’s what’s disappointing. I don’t look at what my teammates did and didn’t do. I look at what I could have done. I committed too early on the defensive end and got wide-open looks, from the start of the game … and that’s terrible.

Q: What kind of adjustments do you make now?

Malone: I have to make those shots. I have to bring more out on the defensive end … four points is terrible. My little boy can do that.