NBA FINALS: PISTONS v LAKERS

June 8, 2004

Kobe Bryant

KOBE BRYANT: Maybe. It seemed to be that way every series that we've had so far. Hopefully this momentum will carry us throughout the remainder of the series.

KOBE BRYANT: Fouls. You know, we gave up a lot of -- we put them in the penalty early. Put them at the free throw line more than we should have. I think they had 14 free throws in a quarter and were able to stay in the game, along with second shots.

KOBE BRYANT: I felt like Richard was pretty close. I felt like he played good defense. I felt like he was pressuring me. He knew I wanted to go for the 3 and stayed up close to me. I just backed him up and rolled over him. As far as their defense, I just attacked them, put them on their heels. I picked my spots. My teammates knocking down shots helped out a lot because they could not collapse on me as much as they did in the first game and really opened them up.

KOBE BRYANT: The key for me in those type of situations is just to make sure I have good balance, get a good look, those are the two most important things. A lot of times in situations you might not get a good look, you might get fouled or hit on the elbow, so it's just important to get your mindset ready through that and shoot through it. That's what I try to do in those situations.

KOBE BRYANT: Yeah, I did. I got into a good rhythm.

KOBE BRYANT: I don't think they wanted to switch with Rasheed jumping out on me. You know, he moves his feet extremely well and he's very long but I don't think they want to switch out or have him extend too far out because then he won't be able to cover the basket. I just took advantage of it. Now, the next game, I don't think it's going to be that easy.

KOBE BRYANT: The guys were ready to play. They play extremely hard day-in and day-out and they prepare themselves accordingly. Karl has been training Luke from day one and has been a great mentor for Luke, and I for Kareem. They were ready to play when they step on the floor. They have all the confidence in the world and we have confidence in them and that helps a lot. Luke, he just came in and had a monster performance. You can talk about my shot all night long but without Luke in the ballgame playing as well as he did, we would not be in that position.

KOBE BRYANT: As far as them not fouling, I was actually waiting for them to foul. I was trying to time it up, just waiting for my dribble, gauging the dribble and waiting for them to come in, so maybe I could get a four-point play or something like that. As far as my professional career, this is probably the biggest shot I ever hit in my career, period. I have to put it second behind the shot that I hit to beat Rip in high school. (Laughter).