NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

September 17, 2020

Kemba Walker

Boston Celtics

Game 2: Postgame

Miami Heat 106, Boston Celtics 101

Q. Did you and Brad talk about playing fewer minutes?

KEMBA WALKER: No, we didn't. Just happened that way.

Q. There were reports of yelling in the locker room, things been thrown. Marcus exited emotional. Can you speak to that scene or describe what it was like?

KEMBA WALKER: It was nothing. It was nothing.

Q. What happened in the third quarter?

KEMBA WALKER: Man, they outplayed us. They outplayed us. That was really unacceptable on our behalves. It was really just a bad quarter for us.

We didn't continue to do the things that we did to get us up, get us that lead. I think we got kind of comfortable. Those guys, they took advantage of it. They played hard. They played really hard. They played a lot harder than us. They wanted it.

Q. Late in the fourth quarter, they went on a big run. What happened there? How do you have a third quarter like that and the end of the game after the way the fourth quarter went in Game 1?

KEMBA WALKER: I don't know. We fought our way back. But just a lot of mistakes. We made too many minor mistakes that really hurt us. We got to clean that up in order to beat these guys.

Q. With things getting kind of emotional after the game, what do you have to do as a leader to make sure things don't go the wrong way, that you keep everyone together?

KEMBA WALKER: It won't. Ain't nothing happening in the locker room. I don't know what you're talking about, to be honest. We'll be fine. We'll be fine.

Q. Their zone defense seemed to give you a lot of issues in the second half. What do you need to do better against that?

KEMBA WALKER: We're going to watch the film. But we got to find a way. That's really it. We got to get into the lane, just make plays.

Q. There were a bunch of plays where you had three guys under the rim on defense, the ball would go up for a rebound, you would be staring at each other, someone from Miami would fly in and get the rebound. How do you have to communicate better to get those defensive rebounds, reduce those second chances?

KEMBA WALKER: That's on us. That's on us. They do a great job at flying in. We just have to do a better job at getting on their bodies, prevent those guys from getting in the lane when the ball goes in the air. We got to hit some bodies.