NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SPURS v SUNS

May 28, 2005

Gregg Popovich

COACH POPOVICH: We had a good team performance tonight. I thought as a team defensively we did a better job than we have in the first couple of games. That allowed us to be in a position to win the basketball game. I was very pleased that we did a better job in that area.

COACH POPOVICH: Well, when somebody scores -- a team scores as little as they did in the second quarter, it's not always your defense -- that's part of it. I thought we played very good D in the second quarter, but they also missed some shots, they participated in that, but the defense was a real priority for us. I think the guys responded to it very well in the second quarter, made them realize again who they are and they carried on with that fairly well in the second half.

COACH POPOVICH: We changed it up, did a couple of different things.

COACH POPOVICH: Sometimes we did a few different things.

COACH POPOVICH: I hope so. He's a really tough-minded individual. He's a good competitor, he can handle critiques. You know, you tell him you got to do this or that, he doesn't take anything personally. He just wants to get better. When you have an athlete who is talented like him but really wants to get better, it's a wonderful experience for a coach. So he's been like that since he arrived when he was 19 years old.

COACH POPOVICH: He always is a big part of what we do because he pushes it offensively and on defense he sticks right to people. He's willing to play it the entire game and that really sets a tone for us in that regard.

COACH POPOVICH: When we score a lot in a quarter I assume it's an aberration. I really look at the opponent's score. I never expect us to, you know, amaze the world with our scores offensively, but looking at what the other team scored is what we all look at.

COACH POPOVICH: Holding leads in the league is tough. With the 24-second clock and the teams how talented they are, it's a coach's nightmare to go up quickly in a game. Because you know just average-wise, something is going to happen. So to keep the lead is always a great thing, but I think they got it within 6 or something. So it's not like we kept it at 15 the whole game. We got nervous too.

COACH POPOVICH: Perhaps. I think in the fourth quarters, you know, to be able to have Tim (Duncan) down there doing what he does offensively but making decisions and keeping things spaced, really helps us a lot in the fourth. But Manu (Ginobili) and Tony (Parker) are important in what they do, the role players like Bruce (Bowen) and Brent (Barry) to keep the thing spaced. Rob (Horry) always does his job at both ends of the court. It's really a team thing, but we do have pretty good experience, I guess.

COACH POPOVICH: Totally due to Timmy's work with himself. That sounds sort of odd, I guess, but he's gone through this problem before in the past and he's worked himself out of it literally. He's not a guy that wants to hear a lot from a lot of people and five coaches and 3 gurus and all that. He's very good at assessing himself, looking at film, coming out and putting the time in, getting a rhythm down. When he finally figures out what process and rhythm he wants, he gets pretty good.

COACH POPOVICH: No. I thought I saw Stoudemire score about 12 points in a row in the fourth quarter.