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NBA FINALS: HEAT v MAVERICKSJune 11, 2006Antoine WalkerDALLAS, TEXAS: Game Two Q. What's going on with you guys offensively -- just seem to be kind of stuck these last two games? ANTOINE WALKER: Early in the game we had the game under control. About seven, eight minutes in the second quarter, we had a five-point lead and we didn't score the rest of the quarter. I had a couple good looks. I mean, we got good shots but they just didn't fall. They were double-teaming Shaq well and he just threw it out the post. Early in the game we missed a lot of layups and our free throw shooting is killing us. When they make a six or seven run, it makes it seem like a 15-run on us and when we have opportunities to close the gap, those are things we have to work on as we go in the series. Q. You really got hot in the second half. Did you feel that you needed to step up with the offense being sluggish? ANTOINE WALKER: Well, the first half, I shot three or four times, I had a couple looks that I missed. I just wanted to stay aggressive. The way they defend us, they are going to make Jason and other guys make the shots. I was lucky to make a couple layups to get myself involved in the game. As the series goes on, I just have to stay aggressive, when opportunities come to shoot the basketball, shoot them. Q. The coach mentioned earlier about the series you played on the previous teams, and you were down, do you believe that this team can turn it around just like you did in the previous series to make it? ANTOINE WALKER: I take my hat off to Dallas. They defended on their own court. Obviously we would have loved to have came here and get a game but now the series switches to Miami. We have three games on our home floor. We have to take care of business. It's not a guarantee, so Tuesday night becomes the biggest game of the season for us. We have to lay it on the line, becomes a Game 7 type of situation for us. We need to get a win, we need to get back in this series and we need to come out focused. This series is far from over. We know that and hopefully they know that. This is far from over, we're a team, veteran group of guys. A lot of us have worked our whole career to get to this point and we ain't going to lay down now. Q. What was Shaq's mood through the game and afterward? ANTOINE WALKER: Shaq's fine. He's frustrated. He's a guy that likes to get involved in the game. They are doing a good job of double-teaming him. Obviously, you know, a couple passes in there got taken, just trying to get it to him and he probably could have ended up with a different game but obviously we went to a smaller lineup to try to get back into the game, which we had chances there at the end to get back into it. It just ended up in that way but Shaq is fine, he's a warrior. He's a guy that we follow, so we follow his lead. Q. When you see the numbers, that he only had five shots, what does that make you think? ANTOINE WALKER: Five shots, I thought did he a great job, I thought the first half he did a great job of establishing chances is, when it was a 6-, 7-point lead, I think I had a couple good looks at 3 where he passed it up the post. Those are shot attempts for him when he's getting -- obviously the second half didn't go according to plan. We got down 20 points so we have to get back in the game. Shaq will be fine, we have to make adjustments, try to get him on the move a little bit more where he can get involved. Hopefully he stays with the guy on the floor and stays focused because this series is far from over. Q. What needs to change for you guys when you return home to Miami for Game 3? ANTOINE WALKER: Just little things. We've got to pick up our energy level, they beat us to the loose balls especially early in the game. They come up and hit a couple shots, Stackhouse finished that strong in the first half. So we just have to get back to playing Miami Heat basketball, that's inside out and establish our game. And we've got away from that in these two games so we've got to get back to what got us here The Finals.
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