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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SPURS v LAKERS

May 23, 2008

Kobe Bryant

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Two

Q. Kobe, you held them to 34% shooting. Was that more of your defense turning it up or did they have an off night or a little of both? Why were you so effective defensively?
KOBE BRYANT: I always think it is a combination of both. You know, it is tough to hold a team to such a low score by ourselves. I mean, it has to be a combination of them not shooting the ball well and us not rotating accurately.

Q. Kobe, what was the difference, in your opinion, tonight between this one and the last game that made you guys that much better?
KOBE BRYANT: Well, I think we -- in the second half of that game, Game 1, we figured out kind of the rhythm and the tempo of the game and some things that we wanted to do defensively. And, you know, tonight we were able to kind of put it on them a little bit in the third quarter.

Q. You were shooting as a team almost 60% early in the fourth quarter against one of the league's top defensive teams. What do you attribute that to?
KOBE BRYANT: Just ball movement. San Antonio is a team that feeds on individual play. You have to be able to penetrate, pitch. That person that receives the pass has to then be able to make a play. You have to be extremely, extremely unselfish against this team.

Q. Kobe, it seemed in Game 1 you learned a lot, the rhythm of Game 1. In game 2 you came out with a different offensive mentality. It seemed you attacked a lot earlier and often to maintain your flow in the offense.
KOBE BRYANT: I had my reads down already. Early in the game I noticed they made a little adjustment to their pick-and-roll coverage. And once I knew where my spot was going to be and my teammates, guys in the corner, things of that nature, where my shot was going to be when I needed it, I was able to take advantage of it.

Q. Is there anything that Bruce Bowen does. It seems like you are able to get your shot off but maybe presents a different challenge against other defenders in the league?
KOBE BRYANT: I think when the team that we have now, it makes it a little harder for him to guard me.
In the past, he knew that it was going to be an isolation, they knew it was going to be isolation. They can come and help, send two, three, guys when I go to the basket. And with this team, everybody is capable of making shots and making plays.
So it is a little difficult. That's why I'm having more room against them than I have had in the past.

Q. You guys obviously have a well-deserved reputation as an offensive team. But do you also take pride in being able to dominate games from the defensive end like you've done basically the last five quarters against these guys?
KOBE BRYANT: Absolutely. You know, we enjoy playing defense. We enjoy getting after it. We feel like we have a lot of length, a lot of speed to go along with that.
We try to use that to our advantage.

Q. You guys have won the first two games and you are halfway to the NBA finals. Can you allow yourself to think about it, that you are this close to it so far?
KOBE BRYANT: Not at all, not at all. You have to take care of business. Get to practice tomorrow and work on things that we want to adjust or get better at and get ready to rock 'n roll on Sunday.

Q. Kobe, what makes it more difficult to win in San Antonio? And what kind of effort is that going to be like?
KOBE BRYANT: I think it will be a more physical game. I think they will try to pick up the pressure, create some turnovers, get on transitions so they can get some easy baskets. So we have to play the game close to our chest and be solid.

Q. Can you talk about Sasha's defense on Manu. It seems like he has really raised his game defensively in the first two games of the series.
KOBE BRYANT: He has been a pretty good defensive player for us all year coming off the bench. He is doing a good job this year in terms of staying in front of him or pushing him into help situations.
What I like about him, is that he plays hard and he plays physical. We all appreciate his effort.

Q. Lamar is a guy that sometimes has to be encouraged to take sort of his shots and his opportunities more than maybe some other players. It seemed like tonight after the game, Phil was talking about that. Is that something you guys have to remind him to do sometimes?
KOBE BRYANT: Well, against this particular team we did. You know, it's such a good defensive team, he is not going to be able, if a guy backs up off of him, to go to the basket still. They are just too good defensively. If he has a little 15 footer, he has to take it and knock it down. He is talented enough to be able to do that, and he did it tonight.

Q. Talk a little bit Ariza coming back even though he only played a few minutes when the game was decided. How important to the team is it to have Ariza back?
KOBE BRYANT: It is very important. He is a great player. That length, his speed, since his injury he has been working on his game. He has been working on his jump shot a lot.
So now we not only have a better defender in the lineup we also have an outside shooter.

Q. I know you are only halfway there. You have won the games at home which you would probably suggest is what you had to do. Can you talk about the confidence this team has right now? You look comfortable on the court. You really dominated the defending champions tonight. You are close to getting into the finals. How confident is the team right now?
KOBE BRYANT: We're confident because we're executing and we know areas that we can get better at. That's where the confidence comes from. It doesn't come from -- yeah, winning these games helps. We know where we need to improve, what we are doing well offensively and defensively. We have confidence that we can make adjustments and be a better ball club.

End of FastScripts

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