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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PISTONS v HEAT

June 2, 2006

Dwyane Wade

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Game Six

Q. Dwyane, could you take us through last night? When did you start feeling sick? What time did you go to the hospital?
DWYANE WADE: About 3:00 in the morning, but I probably went to the hospital more around 8:00. I think you'll save the rest of that for Sunday conversation.
Q. You want to talk about J.W.'s play tonight playing the supporting cast for you?
DWYANE WADE: Oh, man, hats off to my teammates. He did a great job. Jason Williams did an unbelievable job tonight hitting 10 out of 12 shots. Not having the best series and really coming out when we needed him stepping up. I seen it from the get-go. I knew Udonis was going to be ready, Antoine played great, James. On and on, Gary and Alonzo, they really wanted it. We rode Shaq when other guys weren't doing nothing, and I had a chance to come in and put my little two cents in with the team, I do that as much as possible. But they did it tonight, so I'm proud of them guys.
Q. We do have to ask you now about the IVs you took before the game and halftime. What did you take, when and how did that affect your play?
DWYANE WADE: If anything it helped me just trying to get hydrated. More than anything, especially at halftime, that's why I came out a little late, I was still getting my IVs in me trying to get hydrated because I knew I was going out there to chase Rip and I had to get a spurt in on offense. I took one early at the hospital all day and then at halftime.
Q. How did you feel when you got to the arena tonight, and were you appreciably better in the second half than you were in the first half, feeling better?
DWYANE WADE: Yeah. I felt better than I thought I would when I got to the arena today because I pretty much went from the hospital home to change and to the arena. I was feeling a little weak. Of course that's how I was going to feel. I was still here mentally. I really wasn't worried. I knew my guys was really going to step up and play tonight. I just knew I had to do my job, and that was passing them the ball. I tried to do that today.
You know, second half I felt a lot better coming down the third quarter when my team needed me to score some buckets and I finally got into a groove for a minute, and we took it from there.
Q. Shaq said he talked to you this morning about taking time to get better, that he would take care of this. Did you see that he wanted to kind of take the game over?
DWYANE WADE: No question. He did a great job. When we needed a basket, we threw it in to him and he's been very accurate like he's been the whole series, dunking the basket, going up strong. The first half he had 19 points, nine rebounds, so that was great. That was excellent. He just told me to come in and just pace myself. He said the guys are ready today so you ain't got to do it all today, just pace yourself. I did that, and when it was time for me to take over, I went out there and hit a couple shots.
Q. How sick were you over the course of those 12 hours? Was there a lot of throwing up?
DWYANE WADE: I was sick. Just like anybody else that got the flu, throwing up. I never really throw up, so it was a change for me. Sore throat, very, very bad. My wife was up with me all night, so I'm glad I had her there with me to help me out all night, so it was good.
Q. Can you just talk about what was going through your head the last couple minutes as the timer was going down?
DWYANE WADE: You know, it was a great feeling, man, talking to Udonis towards the end of the game, just thinking three years ago we started off 0 and 7, and to be at the point where we are now on our way to the finals is truly amazing for this organization, for all these guys that's here, especially when there's been a lot of doubt on this team. But we're in the finals now. As the saying goes with this team, they did what they do and we went out there and played team basketball at the right time of the year.
Q. What does it mean to Shaq being back to the finals after not having gone the last few years, and also do you see a difference in his commitment and dedication compared to last year to get back there?
DWYANE WADE: First of all, I know he's not close to being happy like the rest of us were celebrating. It's a lot of our first time going to the finals. But we celebrate tonight and move on. His goal is to win another championship, no question about it. But to get this team to where we are now and him being a big part, which he couldn't be as much last year because of the injury, it means a lot to him. We have a lot of respect for him and he's our leader, and we continue to listen to what he says, being prepared to embark on another finals for him.
Q. Can you be specific on the timeline about when you started feeling sick, who you called, who told you to go to the hospital and when you went?
DWYANE WADE: Well, at 3:00 o'clock is really when I woke up and I knew I wasn't going to go back to sleep. I tried to do what I can. My wife was giving me tea and vapor rub and everything she could. I told her to call Mr. Cope, our trainer, probably about 7:00 or 8:00 today and that's when he told me I need to get to the doctor, and I stayed at the doctor until about 3:00 o'clock and came over to the game.
Q. You were talking a few days ago about the last few minutes of Game 7 last year, how you think about that and how that motivates you. Can you talk about how all year that kind of guided you and beating the same team on the same floor to get to that goal?
DWYANE WADE: First of all, giving credit to the Pistons for being a great team, for making us play the way we have because you've got to play great to beat them, so give them credit. But second of all, we wanted it. Last year hurt a lot. I'm sorry that the guys from last year can't experience what we're experiencing now, but I'm happy for the guys that are here that are getting an opportunity to experience it. We dedicated ourselves to come in as a team in the playoffs and really use our powers, our strengths and do it together.
But beating the Pistons makes it real. If it was any other match-up in the Eastern Conference Finals, it wouldn't have been the same. Not knocking any other team, but because they knocked us out last year on our home floor, so doing it, once again, winning on our home floor this year made it sweet.

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