NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

September 27, 2020

Kemba Walker

Boston Celtics

Game 6: Postgame

Miami Heat 125 Boston Celtics 113

Q. Having made this deep of a run in your first year in Boston, what do you take out of it?

KEMBA WALKER: It was a fun run. A tough finish, obviously, but we fought hard and that's all you can ask for. You want guys to compete at a really high level, and I'm just proud of all these guys. It's been a really fun year to be around these guys.

Q. What do you see happening in the fourth quarter there with you guys when they responded with that 26-6 run? Did you guys feel you were pressing offensively?

KEMBA WALKER: I don't think we were pressing. I think we got some really good looks. They didn't drop. Whenever we did miss, those guys brought it down with great pace and made the plays that were necessary. That was the big thing. They made the plays and we didn't.

Q. What do you take away from this series? It seemed like three of the four games you guys lost, you guys had a chance to win and they just kind of took it from you. How do you change that? How do you become the team that takes it from others?

KEMBA WALKER: You just have to learn how to -- you have to grow. We're going to have to figure out how to win those games down the stretch. But we got time. We're sad to be out of here. At some point, we'll look back on this and just learn. It's all learning experiences. And we all just have to have big offseasons and be ready to come back whenever we start back up.

Q. When you look at this team, what are some areas you think, as a collective body, you need to kind of grow from this experience to help you going forward?

KEMBA WALKER: I think for us it's more whenever we have leads learning how to maintain it, learning how to be better, not playing in spurts. I thought we did that a lot throughout the course of this season. We'll get better. We had a lot of times where all of us didn't play together -- injuries, things of that nature. This is our first year together, so we're going to have some time to grow. It's going to be a fun group for the next couple years.

Q. This is obviously your first opportunity to be this late in the playoffs. What are you going to remember about it beyond obviously the unique circumstances of it? And what are your biggest regrets from the way this played out?

KEMBA WALKER: I learned a lot. I learned a lot. Just the intensity of the playoffs. Every possession just matters so much. From game to game, things switch from game to game. Adjustments. Every game is just different.

Biggest regrets, I don't have any. I don't have any, man. I thought we fought hard. A lot of credit to Miami. Those guys are really good. A lot of credit to my teammates. I thought we fought hard. Like I said, that's all you can ask for. I have a lot of respect for the guys that I play with.

Q. The whole series was a constant battle between trying to stay on their shooters without getting exposed by Bam Adebayo attacking the rim. How big of a challenge was it just navigating that the whole series?

KEMBA WALKER: They did a great job. They did a great job of balancing their attacks. They have great shooters. But it just didn't work out. Bam, he's a star, and he played like it.

Q. It was obviously a postseason grind for you guys with games every other day, for the most part. How do you feel like you are doing physically with your knee at this point now that it's all over, the whole plan you guys put into effect?

KEMBA WALKER: It doesn't matter at this point, to be honest. Anything I tell you would be an excuse. I was trying. I was able to be on that court, so that's really all that matters.