HEAT Head Coach Pat Riley

For three days we heard a lot about Shaquille has to get more touches, has to be more involved. Five shots, five points; that just absolutely inexplicable to you?
Well, first of all, we didn't come out being you can talk about touches all you want. It's always about touches, and that's not what this game was about today. You can say whatever you want to say about it.

Yes, we need to get him the basketball. But this game was about another team's competitiveness and energy at the start of the game. I mean, they doubled him every single time he caught the ball; he made the pass that he was supposed to make, and the other times they would front him. Any time he tried to throw the ball over the top, we didn't get out of it what we want. So, obviously, we have to go to work on that the next couple of days.

I just thought their energy and their effort far surpassed ours.

In theory, with them doubling Shaquille, that should free up Dwyane a little bit and obviously didn't have a very good game, does he need to be more aggressive from the get go?
I thought he was very aggressive. He didn't have a game that I think you all are accustomed seeing him have. He's missing layups. They did a great job of helping on him.

He's a great student of the game. They are doing some things that I think we can learn from at home, maybe attack a little bit different.

But they know who to stay home on and they know who to leave open. That's what the answer is that's what the question is now. Who is going to be stepping up and making shots on double team.

Jerry Stackhouse is not really known as a 3 point shooter, when you see him going up for those shots at the end of the first half especially with hands in his face, are those shots that you can live with?
No, I don't think we want to live with any open shots on this team. They got off to a good start. We had a 28 23 lead, it was 39 34; and then it was an 11 nothing run. He had three threes and one was a four point play. That sent us into the locker room obviously not in a very good state of mind.

He's too streaky a shooter. He'll make threes, he'll make shots, and he did a great job for them today.

It seemed like your plan was to get more physical with the Mavericks. Did it backfire?
That wasn't our plan - did somebody say it was our plan?

It seemed like it :
It seemed like it? No. We want to be aggressive every game, but it wasn't like, you know, we've been preaching every day let's come out and be physical with the team. It's a couple of hard fouls or something like that, doesn't mean that that's the game plan.

We wants to attack, we want to be aggressive as much as we can. If there's a team that was physical today, they were more physical than we were, there's no question about that.

What needs to change in Game 3 in Miami?
Well, we don't care if it's 2 2 1 1 1 or 2 3 2; they did what they had to do here.

What we'll have to change in Miami is obviously we have to play the game a hell of a lot better than we played it here in Dallas. And definitely, whatever adjustments we make over the next couple of days are going to have to work. So, we're going home, we've got three in a row at home. There's no guarantee that that's going to make a difference, unless you really come and play.

They did what they had to do. Everybody's written our team off, even in Chicago. We lost two games to Chicago and then we got buried by New Jersey in the first game. We were history, and then we were history against Detroit. So even when we were ahead 3 1, we were history. I'm sure we're history right now. (Laughter).

So, we'll see what happens at home.

Does it amaze you that this team has this kind of personality where they can have a game like this and you kind of scratch your head when you talk about not having enough energy in an NBA Finals?
No, I don't think it had anything to do with energy. First of all, we've been here for six days, that's not an excuse, but you're in a town for six days; we played our best game the other night on the road, here.

But no, that's not an excuse from an energy standpoint. I've been in a lot of playoff games, and I've gotten beat by 40, 30, 25; you know, won by 25 or 30. Doesn't make any difference. The whole thing is about the next game and trying to leave this behind us. Maybe it will, you know, set a fire in us a little bit to do something a little bit different than we did down here. But I leave it behind us and we go and we make the adjustments. We come ready and hard, you know, on Tuesday night, and that's all it's about now.

A two part question. Why leave Shaq on the bench the final 15 minutes of the game, and what was his reaction?
He's fine. Shaq's fine. We were down 25. We were down 25 points, you know. As a matter of fact, it looked as though the game might even have gone. We made the belated run in the fourth quarter. I didn't want to get him hurt or to get Dwyane hurt, but looked like we made a belated run there in the fourth quarter. It had nothing to do with anything other than that was the score. I want his energy, I want his total game for Tuesday night.

Just wanted to ask as far as how Haslem is doing, what's his condition, is he good to go for the next game?
He took quite a fall. So we know he's real sore. It's very hard to keep him out. You know, I just didn't want to exacerbate at all what could be a problem, so we won't know until he gets X rayed.

HEAT Guard Dwyane Wade

Pat said it wasn't so much about touches, although he admitted it had more than a little something to do with it, but he said it was about energy and effort. How do you explain what happened in the first half in terms of energy and effort and Dallas:
I Can't really explain it. I think the second quarter in both games, it got away from us. It really did. They executed, got good shots. We turned the ball over and missed shots and they got out in open transition and got open shots. They did a good job of moving the ball around.

What are they doing differently defensively towards and you talk about how huge Tuesday night is going to be?
First of all, Tuesday night is Game 3. They did what they are supposed to do. They won two at home.

We have to go take care of our home starting Tuesday. You know, use our crowd to get our energy up, but we have to play a lot better on both ends of the floor. They did what they did last game, came out trying to blitz the pick and roll more instead of laying back. But obviously I missed some shots that I normally hit but I was still being aggressive.

Antoine just said that Shaq was frustrated as the game went on. What did Shaq say to you later on or during the game, you guys were talking on the bench?
Nothing, he didn't show his frustration to me. At that point he was asking me why I wasn't in the game. But, you know, of course, he can't be as dominant as he wants to be right now because his other guys are not playing as good as we should. So they are able to key on him and take away the other guys a little bit because we're missing shots, not being efficient. So that's taking away from Shaq a little bit.

You know what, down two games, it's a best of seven series, I think Shaq understands, he's been in this situation more than anybody, so I'm sure we'll bounce back.

What's it like for you to see him sitting for so much of the game?
It was crazy, you know, especially when he's not in foul trouble and, you know, you wonder why. You know, we've got to find a way. We've got to find a way to get our big to be more dominant. With the touches that we give him, we have to find a way to make him more efficient.

You know, five shots, of course that doesn't mean we get the ball to him only five times- but five shots is what we want. Playing 29 minutes, we want him playing more than that. But going over the next game plan, that's what it's all about.

You spent two days talking about 11 shots, get him more touches and get him more involved, there has to be some sense of frustration that even though it's only 29 minutes that he was not even a factor in this game.
Well, they double teamed him. You know, he didn't get the ball. He's kicking it out. There's nothing more for him to do besides that. Like I said, it's going to be hard for him to get more shots if they continue to double team him and he's kicking it out and he's not scoring. For one, he's a great passer, and for two, he finds the open guy and sometimes they are not, so he's got to a better job than that.

The return to Miami, Game 3, what kind of needs to change?
Everything. But, you know, we'll come out and like I said, our crowd will be behind us and we'll play with a lot of energy. We've got to execute better on offense. You know, be patient and attack more. We can't go through stretches like we have on the road of letting this team get out and be explosive.

You know, when they are going on a run, we have to at least keep it to a minimum. Like they did at the end of the second, we can't do that at home.

We've got a lot to change, but we'll look at film tomorrow, see what we have to do and come back in Game 3 better.

How are you feeling physically after coming off the illness?
I'm feeling all right. I think Tuesday will probably be my best game the way I feel physically. The next three games at home will probably be the best I feel all series. So, looking forward to it. Looking forward to playing a lot of minutes and being efficient.

Can't help noticing your finger is bandaged. Is that something?
No, it's nothing.

HEAT Forward Antoine Walker

What's going on with you guys offensively just seem to be kind of stuck these last two games?
Early in the game we had the game under control. About seven, eight minutes in the second quarter, we had a five point lead and we didn't score the rest of the quarter. I had a couple good looks. I mean, we got good shots but they just didn't fall. They were double teaming Shaq well and he just threw it out the post.

Early in the game we missed a lot of layups and our free throw shooting is killing us. When they make a six or seven run, it makes it seem like a 15 run on us and when we have opportunities to close the gap, those are things we have to work on as we go in the series.

You really got hot in the second half. Did you feel that you needed to step up with the offense being sluggish?
Well, the first half, I shot three or four times, I had a couple looks that I missed. I just wanted to stay aggressive. The way they defend us, they are going to make Jason and other guys make the shots. I was lucky to make a couple layups to get myself involved in the game. As the series goes on, I just have to stay aggressive, when opportunities come to shoot the basketball, shoot them.

The coach mentioned earlier about the series you played on the previous teams, and you were down, do you believe that this team can turn it around just like you did in the previous series to make it?
I take my hat off to Dallas. They defended on their own court. Obviously we would have loved to have came here and get a game but now the series switches to Miami. We have three games on our home floor. We have to take care of business. It's not a guarantee, so Tuesday night becomes the biggest game of the season for us.

We have to lay it on the line, becomes a Game 7 type of situation for us. We need to get a win, we need to get back in this series and we need to come out focused. This series is far from over. We know that and hopefully they know that. This is far from over, we're a team, veteran group of guys. A lot of us have worked our whole career to get to this point and we ain't going to lay down now.

What was Shaq's mood through the game and afterward?
Shaq's fine. He's frustrated. He's a guy that likes to get involved in the game. They are doing a good job of double teaming him. Obviously, you know, a couple passes in there got taken, just trying to get it to him and he probably could have ended up with a different game but obviously we went to a smaller lineup to try to get back into the game, which we had chances there at the end to get back into it.

It just ended up in that way but Shaq is fine, he's a warrior. He's a guy that we follow, so we follow his lead.

When you see the numbers, that he only had five shots, what does that make you think?
Five shots, I thought did he a great job, I thought the first half he did a great job of establishing chances is, when it was a 6 , 7 point lead, I think I had a couple good looks at 3 where he passed it up the post. Those are shot attempts for him when he's getting obviously the second half didn't go according to plan. We got down 20 points so we have to get back in the game. Shaq will be fine, we have to make adjustments, try to get him on the move a little bit more where he can get involved. Hopefully he stays with the guy on the floor and stays focused because this series is far from over.

What needs to change for you guys when you return home to Miami for Game 3?
Just little things. We've got to pick up our energy level, they beat us to the loose balls especially early in the game. They come up and hit a couple shots, Stackhouse finished that strong in the first half.

So we just have to get back to playing Miami Heat basketball, that's inside out and establish our game. And we've got away from that in these two games so we've got to get back to what got us here The Finals.

Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Avery Johnson

How does it feel to put together a defense that took, as you have said, the most unique player in the game, out of the game?
Well, I don't know if we took him out of the game. Obviously just had a hard time getting going, you know, on top of it, sometimes when your free throw is not going, that can stimy you a little bit.

So we just tried to keep a body on their guys. They are very tough to guard. And we know it's going to be a different story in Miami. They will probably be more aggressive than they were in both of these games.

But part of their game plan was to be aggressive, they want to get in more shots and he ended up getting less than half.
We kind of knew that coming into the game. If you watched the game, you know we were really trying to double team him quite a bit, even before he got the ball.

So we're just trying to make them go other places sometimes, and sometimes it works and sometimes it don't.

Just wanted to ask you, as far as especially the second quarter rally that you guys had, if you could talk about the comeback that you guys had?
Yeah, it was big. We just had a really, really bad first quarter. Would we throw the ball all over the gym. We were trying to run. We made a concerted effort to run more. They got in the bonus in the first two minutes of the quarter, they seemed like they were in the bonus, we tried to run more but we just couldn't finish our break.

On top of it, we had a bad first and a bad fourth quarter, but the second and the third quarters were the quarters that really kind of helped us get control of the game.

So our guys are trying. You know, we're not playing perfect basketball. But, again, if you don't play perfect basketball and still can win another game like this, you know, they score 80 and 85 points, we'll take it, but we're not satisfied.

Can you address the other day you talked about Dirk and Josh really didn't get a lot of space in Game 1 and that's why they didn't shoot very well, what did you do to get them more space? Obviously Dirk had a much easier go getting shots hand than he did?
Dirk, boy, he came back tonight. He got to the free throw line a little bit more. We tried to move him around a little bit. If you don't move them around against this tough defense they sit on all your plays, they sit on the front side of all your plays, so we've got to use both sides of the court, and sometimes even the third side. That's how good their defense is. So we try to move them around quite a bit.

Talk about Stackhouse's part of that rally towards the end of the second quarter, how big was that that they hit those threes?
That was big because we talked about not settling for threes and you'll have your opportunity to get some. We did a good job of penetrating and getting the ball back out. We did a good job of trying to finish our shots, especially had they forced us deep into the shot clock, which they do quite often.

So, again, we didn't want to come out and settle for threes, but if they were there, take them and take them with confidence.

After building that 24 point lead, how do you explain the drought that you had in the fourth quarter?
It goes both ways, man. You know, you've got a 24 point lead, you're in The Finals, nobody is going to just pack it up and go home. It's too much time left in the game. You know, when you've got a player of Wade's caliber, he gets to the free throw line, he makes shots. You know, Antoine Walker has hurt us a couple of times with threes.

So they are not going to quit. We've been down by 20 or 26 points and have stormed back during certain games this year. I wouldn't expect our guys to quit. So there's a lot of fight in that team, and we didn't expect them to quit and we got stuck, we got stuck. And we'll take a look at it. Hopefully if we're ever in this situation again, which is a rare deal, we'll try to execute better, and, you know, finish the game strong.

Damp played really good against Shaquille O'Neal, did you expect them to sit Shaq out the rest of the fourth quarter.
Again, that's a coach's decision. We didn't know whether he was going to come back in or not. Mourning did pretty well in there for him and we'll have to take a look at that because we didn't see Zo much in the first game. But now we've got some film and we can take a look at how he hurt us a little bit inside.

There are big guys that play defense in different styles. We've got to give them a lot of help. By no stretch of the imagination are they playing Shaq one on one all the time, but they are working hard, all right. And it's a tough job for tough people, and that's why we got them.

How pleased with your guards' performance against D Wade and what can you do in Game 3 as you go to Miami?
Again, J.T., and Devin a big lift for us, 40 points or something off our bench if we're adding it up right, and we need that. We feel that we have, you know, nine or ten guys. Obviously Marquis is not playing a lot, but our point guards, you know, we need their quickness out there with all of the different schemes that we have. And Devin was much more under control tonight, and he and Terry, you know, they play together some and Devin backs up Terry. So we have a couple of different options.

How big during the season has Stackhouse's ability been to change games the way he did tonight?
Yeah, it's been huge. You saw it years ago with a team like Detroit Pistons with a guy like Vinnie Johnson; to have that guy that can come off the bench and get you points, without you even setting screens for him. Stackhouse is a scorer, and he's done it for a lot of years in our league.

You know, it's rare to have a guy like that on your team, especially with the way the NBA is now. You know, it's hard to have a man of that caliber.

So he's bailed us out a lot this year. I don't think we'll be here without him.

Mavericks Forward Dirk Nowitzki

How pleased were you with your performance of your teammates? You look up, you see Josh going, diving after balls, and Devin doing his thing?
Yeah, I thought our energy was great today. Energy was great today. We were hustling on defense, but offensively moved the ball to the open guy and really shared the ball well and played with each other as a team and really attacked from all angles.

I thought defensively we rotated for each other and we had active hands and it was fun to watch. I thought in the fourth quarter, we let down a little bit and we played more to keep the lead instead of keep attacking. So that was something we've got to look at and address in the fourth quarter.

But to get the lead, I thought we played a heck of a game.

Were you surprised to see Shaq come out on you a couple of times in the first half?
Yeah, he's been doing it in the first game, too. He's been trying to, you know, blitz on the screen and rolls and get out there and move his feet. He's been very active.

Talk about Damp's play again tonight, and also, two key hoops I thought Van Horn had early on that kind of sparked y'all a little bit?
I think it's a complete team effort. If you get The Finals, you have to play on all angles and our big guys have been doing a great job, obviously on Shaq. Nobody really can stop him one on one. We're playing to send help as soon as we can. But they are trying to battle him, trying to keep him out of the paint. Josh and Damp, they were both active on rebounds and just trying to keep a body on Shaq. They were big the first two games and hopefully they can keep it up.

Van Horn, Stack, we need all the guys from the bench making plays. Stack was huge in the run we had in the third quarter he's a very streaky shooter and he just caught fire and it was fun to watch.

When you look at stats, were you amazed you were able to hold Shaq to that few shots?
We're trying to have our guys on him as soon as we can and just scramble and make things happen on the defensive end; I thought we had great energy.

It feels good to be up 2 0, but now the series shifts to Miami. How do you keep the feeling good in everything that you did tonight and take this into Miami?
Well, obviously we've got to stay focused, we haven't really done anything, we won two games at home. We know they are a different animal at home. They are going to be obviously fired up. You know, Shaq and Dwyane, they are going to get their troops ready to play.

You know, it's all about, you know, getting rest and being ready. It's a quick turnaround with the flight tomorrow. So, you know, we've just got to be ready to play, that's the bottom line. I thought, you know, hopefully we'll learn from the Phoenix series where we won the third game on the road, and I thought we relaxed a little bit. Next thing you know, we get drilled in Game 4. So I think we learned in the playoffs, you know, the teams are too good. You can never relax, you can never take a breath. You always have to, you know, keep the pedal to the medal and hopefully we all stay focused.

Can you talk a little about the difference in this game from Game 1, Avery was talking about moving around to be able to get you more space to your shots. Was it a little easier to get the shots off today?
Well, I still they tried to play me very physical and get in me. They basically tried to do the same thing they did in Game 1.

I thought I caught the ball a little more on the move, which is better. Because when I catch it standing, you know, they are going to box up, the guys are going to get into me and we have nothing going. I thought out of the movement, I'm a better player anyway instead of just holding it and playing one on one. I thought we did a better job of that and trying to be active and really help the team win.

Do you find is it hard after a tough shooting game like that not to force it; to not press the next game out, because it looked like you really did a good job of staying patient?
Yeah, I think early on, I tried to be aggressive. First spun right away in the first play of the game and doubled off my foot. So obviously that really wasn't the start I was looking for.

I know that our team is good and that we can all make plays and make shots. If they stay with me on pick and rolls the way they do, our other players have to step up and play well and make plays. If the opportunity is there for me, I'm still going to be aggressive and try to score. So I thought we found a good mix today. We had a lot of guys in double figures, and that's how we have to attack if we want to win.

Just as far as you guys have had such great depth throughout the playoffs, and now Miami may have just talk about the depth and how critical that's been and how critical it's going to be?
I think our depth is really what got us here. We won 60 games in the regular season with a lot of injury problems. You know, our bench has had to step up a lot of times to win big games for us in the playoffs.

Obviously, like I said, you've got to have a great team to get to this point in The Finals Nobody is going to carry a team by themselves or with two guys. You can't come here The Finals. The league is way too good for that. You have to have guys playing well together. You've got to have a strong bench. You've got to be obviously well coached, and both teams are there. So looking for a battle in Game 3.

Mavericks Center Erick Dampier

Can you talk about what you guys were able to do, as a team to keep Shaq grounded tonight?
We just tried to give him defensive looks in the defensive scheme. All depends on where he was catching the ball. We would double sometimes, which made him pass the ball out to open players and they had to make plays. I think we just put together a good defensive effort tonight.

Shaq has been pretty hard on you in the past, as hard as he's been on anyone pretty much, do you take it personally, and does it inspire you when you go against him?
I just go out there and play and do whatever I can to help the team win.

Obviously we made some comments back and forth last year. I think that's behind us now. So, you know, I think the most important thing is just for me to go out there and play and help the team win.

You didn't play a lot in the Phoenix series, so coming in and helping stop Shaq like you did, is it kind of like a vindication for you?
Even though I didn't play a lot in the Phoenix series, it gave me an opportunity to get a lot of rest. They played a smaller lineup, so we had to play smaller. Diop came in and did an excellent job for us. We have guys that can come off the bench, and my job to come in and be a quality center in the series, so we're pleased.

How do you and Diop complement each other?
When he's on the floor, I'm trying to find things in his game to help him, even when I'm on the floor and he tries to find things that I can do better to help the team win.

A lot of talk in here has been about how Shaq didn't get that many touches and it's pretty much a guarantee they are going to make a statement in Game 3 with him, can you talk about stepping up your game even more?
In Game 1 they said he didn't get a lot of touches. You went back and watched the game, I think he got 30 touches and 12 times he passed it out. How many more times does he want to touch the ball; regardless of what they do, we are going to make the adjustments.

Alonzo Mourning talked about how it was going to be a long night for the Mavericks and they talked about adjustments they were going to make and you guys basically made sure none of those predictions came true.
Hey, it's the two best teams, one from the East and one from the West. Whoever can go out and execute the best, execute their game plan. We still have a system of what we're supposed to do defensively and we went out and were victorious.

Surprised Shaquille sat out the second half?
We know 8 percent of their offense is going to run through Wade and Shaq, so we have to stick with our defensive tactic and defend hard the shots that he takes.

You've had great depth through the playoffs, how much should it continue to help you guys through these next couple of games?
We're definitely deep. You know, we have guys that come off the bench and give us quality time, all of our scorers. We just try to do what we can to help the team. Whenever I get the opportunity to score I just try to make the most of it or create some for someone else.

Mavericks Guard Jerry Stackhouse

If you could just talk about that run that you guys went on in the second quarter, especially, and how big was that for you guys to really put them on the defensive?
Well, yeah, it was great to get a little distance going into halftime. We obviously we started out pretty good in the first quarter, and then all of a sudden everything kind of got stagnant and we looked up and the score was 16 16 and 16 18, and we knew that couldn't be our game. We had to force the issue, make it a little more of a tempo game. Fortunately we were able to hit a few threes in that stretch to end the half.

I think our defense picked up in the second half and we were still able to make shots. We knew even what 20 , 30 point lead, a team like that that has capable three point shooters are going to be able to make a run, but we held them off.

Can you talk about just as far as I think you guys ended up with five players in double figures, can you talk about the offensive balance you guys had tonight?
Yeah, we just moved the ball. I think sometimes, you know, when you move the ball, certain guys are going to be the ones that are consistently open.

Tonight it just kind of spread open. Tonight we moved the ball around the horn, we ran our plays when they came and double teamed. Like every time tonight, we made the right play. But obviously we had a few turnovers when we were trying to force the issue a little bit. But for the most part, we were just playing together like we have all year.

What impact has it had on your career a few years ago when you became a sixth man and minutes went down, opportunities went down, do you think that's lengthened or enhanced your career in any way?
No, I don't think so. I think my pattern has been my pattern. It's been a great ride for me. I've been from a team that won 18 games my rookie year to a team that's playing in the World Finals. And a lot of highs and a few lows in between.

But, you know, it's all been worth it. I think everything that I've gone to and gone through has, you know, helped me be able to be in this role now. I think even the Washington situation, I was always aggressive and aggressive, aggressive, and aggressive, attacking. And I think you watched it, when I was hurting to slow down a little bit and I think that's probably when my game really, you know, changed for the better because I couldn't really go at the pace that I wanted to.

And then when I got healthy again, I had both speed; I had the speed to still go and get 30, and the speed to try to bait them to move the ball. And it worked out perfectly with this team. I think Avery believed in me, not only as a player, but as a person and I think that that's and these guys trust me with their lives. It can't be a better situation for me.

You're known more as a driver and not as a 3 point shooter. What do you think the difference was tonight?
I mean, I think that's what you guys say. (Laughter).

I felt tonight was the way they have been playing and how they have been slacking off in the corners, it was a good opportunity for me to go in the gym last night late and work on some 3s and it paid off. I just thank God for allowing it to go in for me tonight.

I am a slasher and I am a guy that gets to the basket. I would even consider myself a streak shooter, too. You have a few that might not go in, but I feel that any time when I'm feeling good that they can go that they can go down for me. I just try to stay aggressive. Like I said, my teammates were always encouraging whenever I'm in the game and got an open look, they shoot it, especially certain spots on the floor.

With that streakiness, do you feel like you're a guy that if that first one goes in, the next few are a whole lot easier for you?
That's what this game is all about, confidence, and seeing the ball go in is huge.

Like I said, last night and coming in, working on it, obviously when I stepped on the floor tonight and the first one was a long 2, went down, you know, my mechanics were right and I felt I was doing the things I needed to do to have a good shooting night.

Obviously I wanted to set those shots up and still be able to drive and get to the basket, and I still was focused on trying to get to the paint, get to the basket, put pressure on their defense. But tonight was one of those nights for me from the line, but I don't know what it's going to be next time.

Like I said, we're a team that tries to take whatever the defense gives us and we feel that we've got a lot of people that's capable of stepping and up and having big nights on any given night.

How late were you in the gym last night, and when you get into that kind of a zone does it start feeding the energy to know it's just going to go in when it leaves your hands?
Well, you never know it's going to go in until it's through the hole. But it definitely felt the ball felt good leaving my hand tonight.

Last night I was we got a lot of guys that come in and put the work in. You know, Dirk, J.T., those guys are always in the gym late. I bump into them. I'm thinking I'm letting them do all what they do and kind of sneak in behind them but Dirk is still hanging around the gym last night when I got here.

We feel that this is an opportunity for us and we want to do all we can to prepare ourselves to be able to fulfill a dream of ours and fulfill the dream of our city, fulfill the dream of our organization, and we're one more step closer to that.

Do you know how late you were when you left here?
No, I don't. It was just a few I was here probably 20 minutes, 30 minutes. It was ten o'clock. I was still in bed in plenty of time. (Laughter).

Curious, 10 points in a little over a minute, when you go into the locker room at the half, what do the guys say to you, and when is the last time you put up 10 points in about a minute?
It possibly happened at some point in the season. You know, you guys really started taking notice of us once we got to the playoffs and started making some noise.

We have been a team that have competed and done things like that all year, off the bench, and my role coming in. And bringing energy; I think everybody that looks as my role as coming in as a scorer off the bench, but I feel that with my presence, a lot of times it's drawing double teams and maybe not even getting assists, making the pass out of the double team that moves to the next pass that gets a guy a good open shot.

It's about sacrificing and giving up yourself. Avery talks about that all the time. Give yourself up for the next guy to give a good shot and I think all of our guys have bought into that, and that's why we are where we are.

Just talk about that stretch real quick, just how much did you do you want it at that point when you are feeling it like that at the end of the half?
They double teamed Dirk. My guy was leaving, like I said, after I shot the first one, there was no hesitation once I caught it the second time. I was probably three feet behind the 3 point line on the second one. You know, when you're feeling good, you let it ride.

But, like I said, tomorrow is a different day. Maybe my time to be on the block hopefully with what I've done this half, same thing with Jason last half. They were a little more conscious of him tonight, and maybe they will be a little more conscious of both of us in the next game and there will and another guy; it will be Josh or Marquis or Keith or Devin, another one of our guys will step up and have another big night for us, because everyone on our team is capable.