NBA FINALS: PISTONS v SPURS

June 19, 2005

Robert Horry

ROBERT HORRY: I think the Orlando series back when the 3-point lane was a lot shorter and you could do things of that nature. That was a time where the ball just felt good and the ball kept coming my way and I was able to do things like I did tonight.

ROBERT HORRY: When I was going through the air I was like, "Please let me get there, please let me get there." Because, you know, if I took a fall -- maybe a younger Rob could have got there with ease, but I wanted to get to the rack. I was hoping they weren't going to call a charge on me and that would be my sixth foul, and I just said, hopefully it would go in and it went in. I took off so far, I kind of hurt my shoulder, just an old injury that keeps flaring up. I just wanted to get there and hope I make a basket.

ROBERT HORRY: (Laughing).

ROBERT HORRY: Yeah, I get on myself more than anybody. Coaches get on me but I still get on myself more than anybody, and I wanted to be the best teammate I could be, and I wasn't a very good teammate. I was turning the ball over and blowing layups, I just told myself, you've got to come out and help the team play, you're worried about them contesting your threes so much that you've just got to let it flow.

ROBERT HORRY: Actually, I wasn't even thinking about it, I said, "Okay, I'm getting ready to cut through," and Manu, it was supposed to be a pick-and-roll with Tim and I saw Rasheed bite and I set said, "Oh, let me stay out here." I just got the ball back, since I was shooting well I wanted to let it fly. I'm the type of player, I want to win a game, I don't want to go to overtime. I'm always going to go for a three.

ROBERT HORRY: Oh, man, you know, I don't know how to even talk about that, man. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. People start with, "He's lazy in the season, but then in the playoffs he comes." But I don't think that has anything to do with it. You know, you can feel the energy here, you're not even playing but you can feel the energy. When you're in the playoffs you feel that energy and that makes you hyped and gives you the energy to go out and the playoffs, the fans, the atmosphere, it just hypes you up to go out and try to play better.

ROBERT HORRY: It's the playoffs, man. If you don't get excited about the playoffs, you don't even deserve to be playing basketball. I get excited for the regular season, also, but it's just added excitement when the playoffs start. Hey, check the stats, they are basically the same. They are basically the same. (Laughter).

ROBERT HORRY: I would say that, you know, there have been a lot of guys who have played incredible in the NBA Finals. I don't know, that, my second half, probably ranks probably 25th, somewhere down there like that, you know, but that's the thing. If you go through a basketball game, if you can't have a smile on your face, that's my philosophy, you've got to have a smile on your face and enjoy the game, because there's a lot more serious things going on in this world than playing the game of basketball, I just try to go out there, have fun, keep a smile on my face and enjoy what I do.

ROBERT HORRY: Forget about Tim. He needs to make his free throws. Where is he? (Laughter). It's a team effort. Guys miss free throws, like I missed a free throw. You can't pinpoint, from the people that missed theirs at the beginning of the half, you can't just label, point out one aspect of the game. It's a total team effort and his fourth quarter was disappointing.

ROBERT HORRY: To be honest with you, it felt a little bit better. One time I shot a three from way out deep, and I made it, oh, I'm ready now, I just had that feeling, I had that energy like, man, this is a good game. You know, people have always been talking about how this is not going to be watched and it's just going to be a defensive struggle. Tonight was a good game to watch. It was a nail-biter, two teams battling hard, it was fun to play.

ROBERT HORRY: You can make it Rob, R-o-b, but B-o-b, that's not me. But Timmy, you see, he found out about that, just killing it, rubbing it in, "Bob, Bobby." Tim is just a jerk, man. Wait until I see him. (Laughter).