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NBA FINALS: LAKERS v CELTICS

June 10, 2008

Sasha Vujacic

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Three

Q. After two rough losses in Boston, what was the difference for you guys? You hit some tough shots at the end and you had big momentum. What was the main difference from when you guys played in Boston?
SASHA VUJACIC: Well, it was great to be at home finally and playing in front of our home crowd. I think they gave us a little bit more confidence than usual. We just played with heart. We didn't play a great game. We didn't play not even good. We were just fighting, and that was the key.

Q. You seemed to have that confidence to take your shot. This is the big stage at the NBA Finals, and you've never been necessarily in these kind of situations before, but you didn't hesitate to take a shot and came back and hit a big one. Can you talk about your confidence playing in this moment?
SASHA VUJACIC: That's what I love the most, and that's what I live for, those kind of games. My shot went in, and the most important thing was the way we played on defense. We didn't let them get a big lead, and we stayed in the game. And that was a team win tonight.

Q. Building on what you were saying about what you guys were able to do defensively, what were you able to do definsively personally?
SASHA VUJACIC: Definsively I'm not very satisfied with the way I played. I played okay, but I gave Allen a couple of easy shots coming off the screen, so I think I can improve on that prospect. We just made a couple of adjustments starting the game, and like I said, we didn't play good, but we played good enough to win. That was the key.

Q. I'm confused. I thought you were the Machine, but now I hear you're the Rockhead. Maybe you could explain the two different nicknames and how you all worked tonight.
SASHA VUJACIC: (Laughing) like I said, it was fun tonight. My teammates gave me open looks and we played team basketball on offense. Whenever we play like that, whenever we move the basketball, sometimes the shots are not going to go in, but we were smart enough to know what we have to do, and that was the fun. And once again, a great team win.

Q. You were making shots, and most of your teammates were really struggling. Did you have any sense of that, and did you think it might be up to you and Kobe tonight?
SASHA VUJACIC: You know, it was one of those nights that we came back to Staples Center after playing two games in Boston, so we have to adjust to it. Sometimes the shots are not going to go in, sometimes they're going to go in. The most important thing is when I had the opportunity to take the shots, when I had open shots, I live for those shots. And it's a team win, again. Whenever you ask me, it's a team win, the way we played, and the way we did tonight.
I think we were fighting and we didn't want to give up, and it's a great "W".

Q. Phil did describe you as a bit of a hard-head. Can you describe your attitude and explain why you have that attitude.
SASHA VUJACIC: I don't know. I just love basketball, and I love playing the moments that I'm playing right now. It's the NBA Finals. I was dreaming about that all my life, to win the NBA Championship, and now I have the opportunity. Whenever we play team basketball, we are in good shape. I'm stubborn, so probably that's what got me where I am right now, but team win (laughter).

Q. Can you talk about that three-pointer you hit with 1:50 left to put you up by five? Seemed like a huge shot in the game, like how that developed and how that felt.
SASHA VUJACIC: Those are the shots I live for, honestly. I love the last five minutes of the game, last two minutes, last possessions of the game. My teammates did a great job, they double-teamed Kobe, Lamar got the ball and he found me in the corner and I was wide open. I had the opportunity to make a shot, I made it, and we got a W. But I think that wasn't the key; the key was team defense and team offense, once again. It's great; it's fun when you're not playing good, but you're fighting and you have your crowd behind you and you are able to win, so that tells you something.

Q. Did you feel like that shot made them reluctant to double Kobe in the last minute? When he went one-on-one on Gasol because you made that shot they weren't going to double?
SASHA VUJACIC: That's what happens when we have a lot of people and shooters on the team, and our spacing is great, so Kobe has an opportunity and he can do whatever he wants. He can go to the basket. If they're going to double-team him, he's going to find open teammates, and that's why he's MVP this year and that's why he's playing like MVP, so it was good.

Q. Another important sequence at the end was on defense. You seemed to get knocked down pretty hard, there was no foul, you stayed with it and then you got the foul. Can you take us through what happened on that play?
SASHA VUJACIC: To be completely honest, there were a lot of moving picks, and tomorrow we're going to study the tapes and we're going to see them even more than we experienced them tonight. Not to complain about it, it just happens. It's part of the game, and I just did not want to give up. I'm never going to give up, and not just me, but the whole team. We know why we are here. We want to protect our home court, and we're going to give everything we have to be in good shape to win.

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