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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v SPURSJune 10, 2007Tony ParkerSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Game Two Q. You've talked in the past about how it can be difficult for all of you guys, you, Manu and Tim, to have big scoring nights, but throughout these playoffs you guys seem to have had more than a few games like tonight. Are y'all playing better off each other or what's been the key? TONY PARKER: I think -- I don't know, for whatever reason in these playoffs, the fact that Manu comes off of the bench, he gets a lot of plays when me and Timmy, we're sitting down. And I think everybody just gets offense. I don't know why. We're not doing something special. We're still playing the same way. I just think we're doing a better job to take turns, and we're moving the ball great and we're just taking great shots. Q. Did they do anything different with you? You still seemed to be able to get to the rim fairly easy. TONY PARKER: They started with LeBron and he went on to the pick-and-rolls, same strategy that Phoenix tried to do. For me it's just the fact, be patient, be patient, try to get good shots and try to get my teammates involved and try to make some stuff happen. The key is patience, not taking bad shots, because they're just giving me shots sometimes, but I have to be patient and run the team. Q. Obviously you guys were dominating them in the first half. Can you talk about the challenge of playing with a huge lead for a long period of time? TONY PARKER: It's tough, it's tough. That's why sometimes I don't like to have a 20-point lead. I'm not going to complain, I'll take it. But sometimes it's tough because it's the NBA, and Cleveland, they've got a lot of pride, and they made a hell of a run in the fourth quarter, and that's going to give them confidence going back to Cleveland. It is hard to keep leads. We tried to keep strategies in defense and it didn't work out that much. They hit a lot of threes and they was playing well in the second half. I just think we have to keep playing and be aggressive. Tonight we kept the lead, but we need to play better in the fourth quarter. I think in the fourth games we played against them we lost in the fourth quarter. Q. Could you feel yourself losing intensity and trying to get it back? TONY PARKER: A little bit. When you get a big lead you're not playing with the same intensity, you don't go on the loose balls, and we can't play like that. We can't let them out work us. We need to play better in that situation, and sometimes it's hard. Q. How much does it concern you that Detroit in that series Cleveland was able to overcome a 2-0 deficit and come back and win the series? TONY PARKER: We have to give them respect. I'm going to go further than that. Two years ago we won against Detroit by 20 in Game 2, and in Game 3 we got smashed, we lost by 20, and in Game 4 we lost by 30. We need to remember that and learn from our mistakes. I think that's enough to make us get ready. And Cleveland, they played good against Detroit and they came back, so we have to be aware of that. Q. You talked about it just for a moment, but the intensity in the fourth quarter, what is it about this team, your team, that for three quarters it's one way and in the fourth quarter it's totally something else? TONY PARKER: For whatever reason, I don't know, it's just basketball. If I knew I would not lose that lead. I think it's about intensity and just keep playing the same way. I thought we slowed down too much in the fourth quarter and the offense was not playing with the same aggressiveness. Q. Did Pop say the same thing in the locker room? TONY PARKER: Pop was telling us, push the ball, push the ball, but it just didn't happen. Q. If you win at home, do you think you will be The Finals MVP? TONY PARKER: It's a long way, a long way. But I don't think about that. I'm just trying to be aggressive and just try to play my game. And whatever happens, Timmy is the man. Timmy is the star on our team. Q. You guys have done well, even in a lot of different environments, but what are you expecting Tuesday in a place that's never had this type of game before? TONY PARKER: I think it's going to be very loud. They've never been in a Finals so it's going to be very loud, a little bit like Utah. It's going to be very tough. I think they're going to play better. I think Cleveland is the type of team that plays better at home. They've got a lot of players who play better at home. They're going to play with a lot more confidence and they're going to shoot the ball better, so we have to match that. End of FastScripts |
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