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NBA FINALS: HEAT v MAVERICKS

June 20, 2006

Dirk Nowitzki

DALLAS, TEXAS: Game Six

Q. Fourth quarter as far as you getting opportunity, it seemed to be a lot less. Was it something that they were doing, that you weren't able to get the ball as often as you would have liked?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, you know, I had a couple looks there, two or three, that I should make. Obviously once I drove, they really collapsed in the lane and had to kick it out. But, what can I say? I mean, it's a tough loss.

Q. You started off fast and you started going inside and that's when you took the 15-point lead. What happened to cause you to stop doing that and go back to start shooting from the perimeter?
DIRK NOWITZKI: I thought we really spread the game up from the beginning and that's what really got us the lead. We were pushing it. We were in transition, and that's really how we got the lead, not by going inside. We had good looks and we got to the basket. Obviously once we play against their set defense, they are really, really good. They just clog up the paint. They have got great shot-blockers in there. Then you're forced to shoot jumpers.
I thought we didn't do a good job defensively after that. Obviously to get in transition, you've got to get stops. I wasn't doing that.

Q. Dirk, they had a lot more players and coaches with a lot more Finals experience; what kind of role do you think that played?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Yeah, they made some adjustments. I thought once they got back home, they were great, obviously Dwyane was great. After Game 2, whatever, he was unstoppable. He really, you know, really won them the Championship. You know, from Game 3 when we were up 10, he just took over since then. He never let up. He was great.
So, yeah, they had some experience, we didn't, so obviously, I think a lot of good teams have to, you know, take tough losses and come back stronger next year.

Q. How can you use this as a motivating factor for this season?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, it's tough right now. You play your heart out for, whatever, eight, nine months, every night and give it your best and play all the way until middle of June. You know, you make it to the final, to the big stage, then go home; second is tough. Right now, it's a tough one to swallow. But I'm sure that the more time goes by, we can be proud of what we did this year. I think we had a heck of a year. Nobody really expected us to come out of the West. We kept getting better and kept fighting. So we can be proud of what we did. But obviously, right now, the frustration is high. You know, once the summer gets along a little bit more, we can be proud of what we did.

Q. What did you prove to yourself this NBA season and postseason?
DIRK NOWITZKI: To myself? Nothing really. Try to do more of the same that I did in the regular season and that's help the team win games. After, obviously, I had a disappointing playoff run last year and we got bounced in the second round, I thought we did a lot better obviously this year. We made it to The Finals. But like I said, we go home frustrated right now.

Q. How do you not play -- or playing the What If Game, you're up 2-0 and you're up in Game 3, if Game 5 is a little different; how much "what if" do you do this summer?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Yeah, you always go back when some time goes by. You think about certain possessions, certain plays that could have gone either way, a couple bounces here or there. And obviously, yeah, that Game 3 was big. I mean, we were up ten, we had the game under control with a couple minutes left, and if we win that, the series is probably pretty much over, and we just maybe were starting to celebrate too early or I don't know what happened. We didn't execute and we didn't finish the game. In The Finals you've got to play for 48 minutes, not for 43 or 44. That was a tough loss and that really changed the whole momentum of the series. After that, they got confidence. They played a lot better afterwards. Everybody kept making shots. And, yeah, if you look back at that Game 3 loss, it was a momentum-changer.

Q. As you look at it and the way this series did slip away, you guys talked about being confident and being confident coming home, but was your confidence really too shaken after losing those three?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Ah, I don't know, I think we were confident that we could win at home. We won two at the beginning of the series, and we won big games at home all season long.
So I thought we were confident that we could win it. I looked in everybody's eyes yesterday after when we came home and today, and everybody felt good. And that's how we came out. I mean, we really came out firing from all angles.
So I think we were confident enough to win it. But obviously, they closed the gap and kept it a close game, and then we just didn't have it in the fourth, didn't have enough to win.

Q. When did you feel tonight's game was slipping away?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, you know, it's a close game, so in a close game, you never feel a game is slipping away. Obviously, you're right there. We had a couple great looks at the basket from three that could have gone in, a couple bounces here and there. So in a close game, you never feel the game slipping away. But obviously when it went up five and down the stretch, we kept on hustling, we still had a shot to tie it. So it just didn't go in.

Q. Of course, Wade was the MVP, but when you look at Shaq's play, what did you think about his play in the latter games and how effective was he?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, you know, everything starts with Shaq, really. The way he's dominant in the post, it opens up everything for the outside guys. If you don't double-team him, he's just going to walk you under the basket and score every time.
So he kinds of makes you scramble and rotate all over the place, because he's still, you know, the most dominant player in this league. Obviously, you know, Dwyane was great, but everything starts with Shaq. They are both unbelievable players and they showed it in the series.

End of FastScripts...

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