timaios
04-19-2008, 10:10 PM
http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/quotes_080419.html
Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “Obviously a great game on the part of both teams. One would have to feel unbelievably fortunate to come out of that with a win. I thought the best thing we did all night was really exhibit fantastic mental toughness…we worked at it all night long, we didn’t play very well but I thought as the game went on, we got better and better. We were very fortunate but thrilled to get the win.”
On if Duncan’s three-pointer was a drawn up play - “Yes it was…but he was the third option. In all honesty I didn’t think it was going to go there but he was exactly where he was supposed to be and you could imagine my horror when it went his direction. That’s not what we expected would happen.”
On using the intentional foul method on Shaq - “Who knows. That is just a roll the bones type of deal. Sometimes Shaq misses his free throws and sometimes he makes five in a row. So that’s just another weapon that you have but it could easily backfire. We don’t do it often, if ever but for whatever reason I felt like doing it at the time.”
On being able to handle more emotional games like this one - “Well if they are there, one must. You would hope that the rest of the games are just normal games and somebody wins and somebody loses…that’s enough to kill you if every game is like that. They’re a great team and the last two times we played them, they beat us to death. So it was good to come out and get a win but that’s all it is…”a” win.”
Tim Duncan
On his three-pointer - “Pop just draws up the play, and kind of puts me in that position, at the last second he switches who ever the other “big” was, and he switches me for him; and Manu did a great job of turning the corner and drawing everybody. I had all the time in the world to line it up, and I just threw it up there and hope for the best.”
On “switching” with the other big - “No I wasn’t going to be the screen guy. I wasn’t going to be the screen and pop guy.”
On the prospect of a wide open shot - “I don’t know if “excited” is the word in a situation like that where its over time and it’s a big shot at a big time right there and just kind of in between going for two or three in that situation and I got a wide open look. From what I read nobody left the shooter in the corner so I just lined it up and just let it fly."
On where this game ranks in his career - “It’s easily right up there, its unbelievable in a situation where Steve (Nash) hits yet another three in the corner that could have sent it to another overtime. I don’t know if I would have had anything left.”
When asked if he fills confidence when shooting outside - “No, I’m very confident, I just don’t think anybody else is.”
On Manu going one-on-one - “He’s one of the best one-on-one players in the league. Raja’s one heck of a defender. In a situation like that I don’t even know if we were in the penalty or not, but you want to play the perfect defense, and Manu is going to go right at you and make you make a decision. He made three, four lay-ups in that kind of same situation to get us to that point. My legs were dead and I was more than happy to stand down there and hope he made it."
On remembering his last three pointer - “I think this is my first this year. It actually did (feel good leaving his hand) luckily enough like a minute before I got like a 19 footer from the top of the key and that one went down for me. So you see your shot go in and you’re confidant, and it helped a little bit, and I tried to get some air underneath it and see what happens.”
On if he’s happy with the day off tomorrow - “I think both teams are, it was such a hard fought battle in a game that can go either way. So easily we are lucky to come out of here with a win and we’re lucky to have some time in between these games because I think we are going to really need it.”
On the feeling of the game - “It feels like a finals game. But it’s the first game of the first series and we’re going to have to get our energy back up and not let it overwhelm us coming into the second game.”
On the win - “It doesn’t matter how many points I score if we go out there and they get the edge over us. It’s just great to get the victory whether I score the 40 or I score two, its all about the win.”
Brent Barry
When asked if he has been working with Tim Duncan on his three’s - “It was awesome. I think it was his first make of the year, wasn’t it? The play was obviously designed for Manu to try to get in there and make the play. I think that Manu felt some defensive pressure and thought it was time to kick it out. I don’t think he knew it was Tim he was kicking it out too. It was just a heck of a shot.”
“It was an amazing basketball game to be involved in. I’m going to go home and watch it on instant classics.”
“For us we played a sub-par game and we had to come back from a lot of adversity. It’s sort of been our “M.O.” for us in game one of any series here at home in the first round over the past couple of years; we haven’t come out and played all that well. So, for us to fight back against that team in that environment and what went on during the game is just a remarkable accomplishment. We’ll think about it for another 24 hours and then put it to bed.”
On ranking this high drama game in the Tim Duncan era - “I haven’t been here for all of them, but just as a basketball fan I’m sure that Steve (Nash) and Amare and Shaquille will tell you that they enjoyed playing in that game. There obviously has to be a winner and a looser, but as players seeing guys do what they do and do it at there best in these situation. You just have to really appreciate it and I think guys in both locker rooms do that.”
Kurt Thomas
On the game - “It was a great game, it was great to be apart of it. It was just great to be out there competing against that team.
On him taking charges in the game - “I’m just trying to play solid defense. Whether it’s its getting a steal, getting a block, getting a great rebound or taking a charge, a lot of people don’t realize how important it is to take charges. I just wanted to go out and do what ever I could to help the team.”
On if Tim is already bragging about his three tonight - “No. ‘It’s just one game.’ that’s all he’s saying. It was a big shot that Tim hit, it was a big shot that Finn (Finley) hit and a great shot by Manu (Ginobili). It’s just one game, we have to build from this. We have to watch the film and fix the mistakes we made and come out and play better.”
Suns Head Coach Mike D'Antoni
On the game - “Above all I thought it was a great game. We had our chances obviously but that’s why they are the champions…they came up with one, two, three, four great shots. We had some chances to put them away but couldn’t do it. If we are going to have six more games like this, someone is going to get their money’s worth. We’ll try and tighten some things up before the next game.”
On Tim’s three - “Yeah he was 0-4 on the year so I guess he was due. You have to give them credit, they did a great job and probably the Finley three is the one that hurt the most. We had a chance after being up five and then three but we didn’t hit the big shots and they did. Again, you have to give them credit.”
On wanting the good things from the first half to continue in the second half - “We were doing well but they’re not just going to fold it up and go home…they’re going to make runs at you, it’s their home court so you want to beat them but we got in foul trouble. I tried to save Shaq and Amare a little bit but I thought fouls were a problem sometimes and also trying to save some of the guys.”
On if he was surprised to see Pop intentionally foul Shaq - “No, we’ve all watched enough basketball to know that is people’s game plan. But that’s OK, we have other options open so we can sit him on the bench for two minutes and then bring him back in.”
On considering fouling being up three with 10 seconds left - “Not at ten seconds because it’s tough. But we always give our players an option to foul…they have to know the situation they are in. You can’t chase Finley around and foul him as he is shooting the ball. He just caught it and shot it. They get away from you…if something happens we do foul but again you have to play smart and switch everything and we just didn’t do it. Now if it gets down below three seconds, yeah we usually try to foul. I know that everyone who’s not a coach wants to foul and all the coaches don’t want to. It’s a tough situation and little harder than what most people think.”
On Finley’s three hurting more than Duncan’s three - “Finley’s three hurt more because we probably should have switched that. With Tim you have to say ‘hey that happens’ and he hit an unbelievable shot. With Finley, you kind of know can do that so we should have swallowed him up and not let him look at it.”
Amare Stoudemire
On the game - “Well, we came up a little short tonight. We got into foul trouble very early on in the game and didn’t give Shaq enough time to get into a solid rhythm which really hurt us. I felt as though I just could play well enough to make a contribution to tonight’s game and when you play the Spurs you have little room for error.”
On the series outlook - “I still feel like we are in really good shape. This is going to be a long series and we will live to play another night.”
On Tim Duncan’s three point shot - “When Tim made that three point shot all I could think was, Happy Birthday Tim. He made an amazing shot and that is probably a shot he will never have again.”
Raja Bell
On foul trouble - “The fouls really hurt us tonight and its a real shame because we had a very good game plan to work against the Spurs. We never gave Shaq a chance to get into a solid rhythm and make his shots.”
On tonight’s game - “I think we played really well and had many opportunities to win tonight but we just couldn’t get over the hump.”
On foul calls - “Its is what it is. The shots were made and the calls went both ways for both teams. Tonight was very electric but when you come into San Antonio you give your best and you get the best.”
Series outlook - “We can’t let games slip away like we did tonight. We need to focus and stay out of foul trouble.”
Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “Obviously a great game on the part of both teams. One would have to feel unbelievably fortunate to come out of that with a win. I thought the best thing we did all night was really exhibit fantastic mental toughness…we worked at it all night long, we didn’t play very well but I thought as the game went on, we got better and better. We were very fortunate but thrilled to get the win.”
On if Duncan’s three-pointer was a drawn up play - “Yes it was…but he was the third option. In all honesty I didn’t think it was going to go there but he was exactly where he was supposed to be and you could imagine my horror when it went his direction. That’s not what we expected would happen.”
On using the intentional foul method on Shaq - “Who knows. That is just a roll the bones type of deal. Sometimes Shaq misses his free throws and sometimes he makes five in a row. So that’s just another weapon that you have but it could easily backfire. We don’t do it often, if ever but for whatever reason I felt like doing it at the time.”
On being able to handle more emotional games like this one - “Well if they are there, one must. You would hope that the rest of the games are just normal games and somebody wins and somebody loses…that’s enough to kill you if every game is like that. They’re a great team and the last two times we played them, they beat us to death. So it was good to come out and get a win but that’s all it is…”a” win.”
Tim Duncan
On his three-pointer - “Pop just draws up the play, and kind of puts me in that position, at the last second he switches who ever the other “big” was, and he switches me for him; and Manu did a great job of turning the corner and drawing everybody. I had all the time in the world to line it up, and I just threw it up there and hope for the best.”
On “switching” with the other big - “No I wasn’t going to be the screen guy. I wasn’t going to be the screen and pop guy.”
On the prospect of a wide open shot - “I don’t know if “excited” is the word in a situation like that where its over time and it’s a big shot at a big time right there and just kind of in between going for two or three in that situation and I got a wide open look. From what I read nobody left the shooter in the corner so I just lined it up and just let it fly."
On where this game ranks in his career - “It’s easily right up there, its unbelievable in a situation where Steve (Nash) hits yet another three in the corner that could have sent it to another overtime. I don’t know if I would have had anything left.”
When asked if he fills confidence when shooting outside - “No, I’m very confident, I just don’t think anybody else is.”
On Manu going one-on-one - “He’s one of the best one-on-one players in the league. Raja’s one heck of a defender. In a situation like that I don’t even know if we were in the penalty or not, but you want to play the perfect defense, and Manu is going to go right at you and make you make a decision. He made three, four lay-ups in that kind of same situation to get us to that point. My legs were dead and I was more than happy to stand down there and hope he made it."
On remembering his last three pointer - “I think this is my first this year. It actually did (feel good leaving his hand) luckily enough like a minute before I got like a 19 footer from the top of the key and that one went down for me. So you see your shot go in and you’re confidant, and it helped a little bit, and I tried to get some air underneath it and see what happens.”
On if he’s happy with the day off tomorrow - “I think both teams are, it was such a hard fought battle in a game that can go either way. So easily we are lucky to come out of here with a win and we’re lucky to have some time in between these games because I think we are going to really need it.”
On the feeling of the game - “It feels like a finals game. But it’s the first game of the first series and we’re going to have to get our energy back up and not let it overwhelm us coming into the second game.”
On the win - “It doesn’t matter how many points I score if we go out there and they get the edge over us. It’s just great to get the victory whether I score the 40 or I score two, its all about the win.”
Brent Barry
When asked if he has been working with Tim Duncan on his three’s - “It was awesome. I think it was his first make of the year, wasn’t it? The play was obviously designed for Manu to try to get in there and make the play. I think that Manu felt some defensive pressure and thought it was time to kick it out. I don’t think he knew it was Tim he was kicking it out too. It was just a heck of a shot.”
“It was an amazing basketball game to be involved in. I’m going to go home and watch it on instant classics.”
“For us we played a sub-par game and we had to come back from a lot of adversity. It’s sort of been our “M.O.” for us in game one of any series here at home in the first round over the past couple of years; we haven’t come out and played all that well. So, for us to fight back against that team in that environment and what went on during the game is just a remarkable accomplishment. We’ll think about it for another 24 hours and then put it to bed.”
On ranking this high drama game in the Tim Duncan era - “I haven’t been here for all of them, but just as a basketball fan I’m sure that Steve (Nash) and Amare and Shaquille will tell you that they enjoyed playing in that game. There obviously has to be a winner and a looser, but as players seeing guys do what they do and do it at there best in these situation. You just have to really appreciate it and I think guys in both locker rooms do that.”
Kurt Thomas
On the game - “It was a great game, it was great to be apart of it. It was just great to be out there competing against that team.
On him taking charges in the game - “I’m just trying to play solid defense. Whether it’s its getting a steal, getting a block, getting a great rebound or taking a charge, a lot of people don’t realize how important it is to take charges. I just wanted to go out and do what ever I could to help the team.”
On if Tim is already bragging about his three tonight - “No. ‘It’s just one game.’ that’s all he’s saying. It was a big shot that Tim hit, it was a big shot that Finn (Finley) hit and a great shot by Manu (Ginobili). It’s just one game, we have to build from this. We have to watch the film and fix the mistakes we made and come out and play better.”
Suns Head Coach Mike D'Antoni
On the game - “Above all I thought it was a great game. We had our chances obviously but that’s why they are the champions…they came up with one, two, three, four great shots. We had some chances to put them away but couldn’t do it. If we are going to have six more games like this, someone is going to get their money’s worth. We’ll try and tighten some things up before the next game.”
On Tim’s three - “Yeah he was 0-4 on the year so I guess he was due. You have to give them credit, they did a great job and probably the Finley three is the one that hurt the most. We had a chance after being up five and then three but we didn’t hit the big shots and they did. Again, you have to give them credit.”
On wanting the good things from the first half to continue in the second half - “We were doing well but they’re not just going to fold it up and go home…they’re going to make runs at you, it’s their home court so you want to beat them but we got in foul trouble. I tried to save Shaq and Amare a little bit but I thought fouls were a problem sometimes and also trying to save some of the guys.”
On if he was surprised to see Pop intentionally foul Shaq - “No, we’ve all watched enough basketball to know that is people’s game plan. But that’s OK, we have other options open so we can sit him on the bench for two minutes and then bring him back in.”
On considering fouling being up three with 10 seconds left - “Not at ten seconds because it’s tough. But we always give our players an option to foul…they have to know the situation they are in. You can’t chase Finley around and foul him as he is shooting the ball. He just caught it and shot it. They get away from you…if something happens we do foul but again you have to play smart and switch everything and we just didn’t do it. Now if it gets down below three seconds, yeah we usually try to foul. I know that everyone who’s not a coach wants to foul and all the coaches don’t want to. It’s a tough situation and little harder than what most people think.”
On Finley’s three hurting more than Duncan’s three - “Finley’s three hurt more because we probably should have switched that. With Tim you have to say ‘hey that happens’ and he hit an unbelievable shot. With Finley, you kind of know can do that so we should have swallowed him up and not let him look at it.”
Amare Stoudemire
On the game - “Well, we came up a little short tonight. We got into foul trouble very early on in the game and didn’t give Shaq enough time to get into a solid rhythm which really hurt us. I felt as though I just could play well enough to make a contribution to tonight’s game and when you play the Spurs you have little room for error.”
On the series outlook - “I still feel like we are in really good shape. This is going to be a long series and we will live to play another night.”
On Tim Duncan’s three point shot - “When Tim made that three point shot all I could think was, Happy Birthday Tim. He made an amazing shot and that is probably a shot he will never have again.”
Raja Bell
On foul trouble - “The fouls really hurt us tonight and its a real shame because we had a very good game plan to work against the Spurs. We never gave Shaq a chance to get into a solid rhythm and make his shots.”
On tonight’s game - “I think we played really well and had many opportunities to win tonight but we just couldn’t get over the hump.”
On foul calls - “Its is what it is. The shots were made and the calls went both ways for both teams. Tonight was very electric but when you come into San Antonio you give your best and you get the best.”
Series outlook - “We can’t let games slip away like we did tonight. We need to focus and stay out of foul trouble.”