NBA FINALS: PISTONS v SPURS

June 21, 2005

Manu Ginobili

MANU GINOBILI: It was hard. Of course I didn't have the same energy as in the first half, but still, I think that even with the energy that I had available, I could have done a way better job making decisions in the last five minutes. So even though, of course, it's not the same energy, I am still very upset because the way I played down the stretch.

MANU GINOBILI: I think in the last two minutes, it's not the same as at the beginning where you can let the game come to you. I think you just draw plays, you've just got to execute and be smart. I think I didn't take good decisions on offense. I made a couple of mistakes on defense, too. So, you know, that's what makes one team win and the other lose. That's what happened in Detroit, too. We made a couple of great shots; we won. Today, they did, we didn't play that smart in the last two minutes; we lost.

MANU GINOBILI: Can you go one by one? I'm a little tired now and not that smart either.

MANU GINOBILI: I don't think we played that bad of a defense. They just happened to make a lot of shots, many of Chauncey's threes were contested and he made them. Rip had a great night, too, on the screens. We played the same kind of defense in the other games. It just happened that they made so many shots. Then we played on the offensive side, as I said before, we didn't take the smartest decisions, because if we did, we would probably be talking about something totally different now. About the fast break, it's not easy. They are a very good team. They go to the offensive board very hard. So, you know, everybody is trying to get the rebound and by the time we get the ball, it's not that easy to get to the other side as fast. I think we should try to get some easy buckets more against them, but, who knows if we are going to be able to. I think I'm missing one.

MANU GINOBILI: In the third quarter and in the fourth we took too many shots. I think we should have put the ball a little more inside on Tim. But, you know, many, many other games, probably the last two games we won because of those threes. Today we relied on that too much and it was not a great night. So we should have been smarter. That was one of the parts of the game that we are a little upset, too.

MANU GINOBILI: Yeah, now we've arrived to a point where it's similar, it's one game, but that history doesn't matter. Home-court advantage doesn't matter anymore. It depends a lot on the character of the players, how you respond under pressure. And so, yes, I think I'm going to be ready, but, who knows, then probably you can have a bad game and you can't have one. We just have to be there as a team, support each other and pass the ball. You don't have to have a great night to play good D. It has to be a team thing, very defensive and a lot of adrenaline going on.

MANU GINOBILI: Because he's quick. He's got quick hands. He did it the whole series against everybody, against Tony, against me, against Tim. It's something that he does very well. So sometimes I'm going to be able to go finish and sometimes he's going to have to do the right play. Just happens.

MANU GINOBILI: No. I think I had the right approach. I'm happy with the way I faced the game, I played, it just so happens I made too many mistakes down the stretch. I'm going to try to be smarter and take better positions. I don't think it was a matter of the approach. I think we did that well. They just had a great game, make a lot of shots, and that's it.