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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: NUGGETS v LAKERS

May 25, 2009

George Karl

DENVER, COLORADO: Game Four

Denver Â– 120
Los Angeles - 101

Q. Can you just talk about Carmelo obviously had trouble all night but you guys were able to overcome that and you beat the Lakers at their own game by pounding them inside?
COACH KARL: Well, I think we've been shown a lot of video that rebounding is a big part of this series. And, I mean, if I had to say one thing, I think that was the fundamental change that, you know, gave us extra possessions. It gave us energy. It gave us points. Chris, Nene and Kenyon are all very good, great.
There's an urgency to our performance, and I think the result showed in the scoreboard. J.R. gave us a big game. I thought L.K. was good off the bench. But our bench was the best it was in this series.
And we're going to need them two more times somewhere along the way.

Q. How did you keep J.R.'s confidence up after --
COACH KARL: Keep his confidence up? How about my confidence (laughter)? How about driving me crazy?

Q. What did you tell him?
COACH KARL: I was yelling at him. I wasn't being nice. I just had to keep my mouth shut. That's who he is. And he's done that a lot for us. But forgiving turnovers and mistakes when you have a big lead and the technicals, those are things we gotta grow up and get by.
And I think his talent and his skill is flamboyant, explosive. And he makes the 3s. It makes us a very explosive offensive team.

Q. You talked earlier tonight about you like the team's emotional excitement. But it seems to me it leads to those technicals. Is there anything you can do to stop that; is there anything you want to do to stop that? Are you worried it's going to come back and bite you in the next three games?
COACH KARL: I think I'll observe that if it was a different type of game, I might have taken J.R. out of the game. But I still thought the way the game -- we have to run clock, space the court, ball handling, free-throw shooting, all that was on J.R.'s plate, too.
So in a different situation where the game might have been a defensive game or lower possession game, different style game, I might have put A.C. in or L.K. in.

Q. Made some good defensive plays, yes? J.R.?
COACH KARL: J.R.'s made some very good defensive opportunities here. Overcoming Melo, Melo is not feeling very well. He was sick before the game and had a heaviness to him and he battled through it.
And it's just great for the fans. I'm happy for the guys in the locker room. But what a building. What a building to be a part of. And I just think right now we're in a position of get better tomorrow, get rested tomorrow and go down to LA and play basketball.

Q. Is this kind of symbolic of just what this team has done all year from day one where nobody expected much to just continuing to come back after tough losses?
COACH KARL: You could coach the games the first three games any way you wanted to make them out to be. They could have won all three. We could have won all three, with a play or two here or there, a shot made here or there.
And tonight's game, we got more of an explosive performance from our players offensively. But I don't think -- I think the game will get more fundamental. The rebounding excites me because I think it's going to be a big part of what we're going to have to do in Staples.
We got back to being attack the rim team, we penetrated and we showed them some clips of New Orleans and the Houston series where they have trouble with ball penetration.
And I think the guys really bought into we're going to go to the rim. And that's who we are. That's when we play best. You throw in some defensive aggressiveness. Gasol and Bynum both had big games from the standpoint of statistics.
But the rest of the team -- seemed like there was a three-man show: it was Gasol, Bryant and Bynum most of the night. And that wasn't enough tonight, unfortunately.

Q. In regards to the rebounding specifically what are some of the things your big three guys were doing to be so successful?
COACH KARL: In a lot of our offenses we're trying to get our big guys underneath the basket and on the baseline more than out front. And so that gives them angles and opportunities. When Gasol or Bynum chase -- come to the ball, the penetration, we want them instead of thinking defensive retreat, think pound.
It's just a small adjustment, but most of it was because we constantly got to the rim, constantly got to the rim. Creates a lot of help position, help opportunities and also gives you great rebounding opportunities.

Q. Were you able to appreciate the irony at all of a Chauncey Billups stolen inbound pass leading to a layup the other way? Apparently not. Fourth quarter.
COACH KARL: That was a big play. That made me stop sweating. But why is the irony?

Q. Because your team allowed two stolen inbounds passes and losses.
COACH KARL: Oh, I gotcha. I had forgotten about that (laughter).

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