« A lot of emotions »

Tony, how did you live your first All Star Game ?

I was very happy to be on the court, it was a lot of emotions. It took me a few minutes to realize everything that was happening. It is a incredible to be on the court with such players. I will never forget this evening. I was also lucky to have Avery Johnson as a coach for the West All Star team. After a mere seven minutes he sent me in the line of duty and it was a great moment.


Once on the court, you needed a bit of time to find your rhythm.

At the beginning, I did not know what to do but on my second appearance, I played like I know how to do. I gave some rhythm by pushing the ball. Kobe (Bryant) and Garnett did not keep on telling me that I needed to go and I needed to score my first basket. They were extremely happy for me once I scored.


As it is often the case, we saw an offensive feast throughout the first three quarters and the game became tighter in the last 12 minutes.

Yes, the defense took over at the end. McGrady was not able to score the tying basket but there was a small foul on him. I think the NBA wanted to avoid the overtime (Laughs). We have done everything we could to have T-Mac as the MVP but unfortunately, without the victory it was not possible. LeBron James makes for a great MVP.


What is your highlight moment of the weekend ?

Without any hesitation I would say when I stepped on the floor and I got the ball in my hands. Also, I won’t forget my first basket. What is nice is that everything went well with the other players. Kobe and I got along great and this is the reason why he pushed me to attack the basket in the second quarter. He was the first one to congratulate me when I scored my first two points.


On the bench, it seems like you were having a few good laughs with Kevin Garnett…

I was surprised as he was extremely nice to me. When you play against him, he does not appear to be as nice but on the bench we laughed for a while. He was the funniest player on the team. He did not stop all weekend long. I loved my experience with him. He is a great guy.


The next objective is to be on the starting five ?

I would sign any given day to play twenty minutes at the All Star Game even it it is coming from the bench ! Dirk Nowitzki played the last five minutes but never was in the starting line up. Honestly, I am ready to do the same.


You will not have any time to breathe as you host Seattle on Tuesday at the AT&T Center.

Yes, the return to the reality will be hard especially since Pop is awaiting us Monday at 4pm to prepare for the game. Hence, I will have no time to breathe. We have another thirty games to go prior to the beginning of the playoffs. The objective is to gradually gain power. Prior to loosing at Philadelphia and Cleveland, we were having a good series. These couple of game put a grey note on our road trip. The goal thus is to embark on another winning series.