NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: MAVERICKS VS. WARRIORS

May 24, 2022

Maxi Kleber

Dallas Mavericks

Game 4: Postgame

Mavericks 119, Warriors 109

Q. Maxi, you hadn't attempted a two-pointer this series before tonight. Was getting a two, finding shots within the arc, something that you noticed or was an emphasis?

MAXI KLEBER: I didn't really emphasize on it. I just tried to do, like, the right things, get the right spacing. Today when they play zone or when they double-team Luka, it's a short roll that's open. The first one I caught really deep, so it was like a layup, otherwise you try to find guys and kick out.

I'm not worried about what shot I get, if it's a two-pointer or three-pointer. I just try to make the right decision.

Q. Jason said it was a nice compliment for this team that they had to go to zone a lot. Do you see it that way as well?

MAXI KLEBER: Yeah, I mean, I think not just this series but even before we did a great job with Spencer, J.B. and Luka attacking mismatches and all that. It just shows that they just try different things to take that away from them. They force other shots.

Last game we didn't really shoot the ball well. Today we shot the ball better. It's one key to win the game then.

Q. This late into the season, do you feel like what you're being asked to do is different than what you were asked to do during the regular season? How different would you say your role is if at all?

MAXI KLEBER: I don't think it's really that much different. I think everything we do is just a lot more detailed. So on offense, on defense, you have a lot more information. I think that makes it like a little bit easier sometimes to play because you just know what to do because there's certain things that they just want from you because everything is so detailed, we know exactly how to attack that.

I think the coaches do a great job analyzing the games, coming in and then, like today in shootaround, we talked about how to attack the zone, make adjustments and all that.

I would say it's pretty much the same, everything we do is just like a lot more detailed.

Q. I heard God Shammgod said to Tim Hardaway Jr. tonight this was the first night of y'all starting to rewrite history. What is the confidence level here?

MAXI KLEBER: I mean, if you don't believe in it, you might as well just stay home, right?

We come here to win games. Game 2, we had a big lead, we should have won the game. We gave it away. Game 3, we didn't shoot the ball well. We have the power to beat them. We just stay confident, that was one game. Now we're just focused on the next game, nothing else. Everything else is in the past. We don't have to worry about what's coming after this game, we just focus on that game, prepare again, analyze what we can do better on offense and defense, just go from there.

Q. You were in a really good rhythm from three-point in the first two series. Could you put a finger on why you got off to a slower start in this series? Not as many open looks?

MAXI KLEBER: I don't know. Like I just keep shooting the ball when I'm open. It's the right decision, I just take the shot. Like I guess everybody else would be open.

I had, like, a couple shots where I thought it's going to go in for sure. If you make three more shots, it's a totally different percentage, so we're not talking about a big sample size. Obviously you want to make your shots.

I'm going into the game with the same mindset. If you get the shot or you have that pick-and-pop, that's a shot you take, that's the right decision. We going to take it every time.

Q. You talk about the confidence you guys have. How much of that derives from Coach Kidd and the way he prepares you guys, what he says to you guys?

MAXI KLEBER: It starts obviously with him. But all season long he always believed in us, the way he prepares us for games, especially now in the Playoffs, sometimes he even asks, Do you guys believe? Obviously the answer is yes. He makes sure we do.

The way he prepares us, the way he talks to us, we know that he got our back, too. So, you know, obviously if your coach is on your side, you know that gives you a little boost, too.

I think he's a big part of why we are so confident as a team, too.

Q. Putting things into perspective, what made this game so different compared to the other three?

MAXI KLEBER: I think overall after the first game we did a better adjustment on defense, taking like threes away, forcing them to more midrange jumpers. On offense we just made shots, so that's the difference.

Q. How confident are you as a team for the next game? What are those things that you take from tonight and would like to repeat in San Francisco?

MAXI KLEBER: Yeah, obviously playing there is not easy. They have the crowd on their side again.

But like I said in Game 2, we proved that we can play the right way and be up. We just got to do a better job maintaining leads if we have them, same like today.

We stay confident, as I said. We have no reason to be shy. With the back against the wall basically, we just go out there and play our best, play hard, come out and compete like today.

Q. How much of a pressure is it knowing that you have to win the game? Is there some concern of preparing for the next game about that kind of stuff?

MAXI KLEBER: I mean, I don't really like to think about pressure that much. I think the pressure is more on their side to win the games. We have at this point nothing to lose, so we just go out and play free. That's kind of what we did today.

But, you know, I would say, like, maybe you have that little bit of pressure feeling before. But as soon as you step on the court, you don't think about stuff like that, you just go out there and play and try to make the right decisions, take the right shots, play the right defensive scheme.

I don't know. At the end of the day you just go out there and do your best, everything else, whatever happens happens.

Q. How important is home-court advantage? Will you miss that in the next game?

MAXI KLEBER: Obviously. Being or playing at home with your fans is a big difference. Playing there, obviously it's going to make a little change for us, too, because the crowd is going to be loud. When they make a crazy shot or whatever, everybody gets hyped. We have to maintain our cool and just keep playing our game, not get distracted by that.