	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: MAGIC v CAVALIERS

May 21, 2009

Rashard Lewis

CLEVELAND, OHIO: Practice Day

Q. Can you talk about yesterday. You probably had to win this round to win over everybody in the country. How do you think it will turn out?
RASHARD LEWIS: I don't think it's changed. Winning the first game means a lot to us. We want to be home court. But it is nothing.
We lost our first game in Philadelphia on our home court and still ended up winning the series 4-2. So you can't take this win for granted. I think we got to come out here even more humble tomorrow and try to get another win.

Q. You know how resilient you guys are. Do you think the rest of the nation is just now catching on?
RASHARD LEWIS: I think so. I think people are starting to recognize that we are a good team. We are for real. We are contenders to compete for a NBA championship. The more we go out there and win ball games, I think it will let people know that this is a good Orlando Magic team and we have to not take them for granted. They are for real. They come to compete.

Q. Why do you guys play so well on the road?
RASHARD LEWIS: I don't know. We are a good road team. It has been like that ever since last year.
This year we won a lot of games in a row. I think that's what helped us with our record on the regular season. In the playoffs, you know, you have to win on the road in order to advance or to win a championship.

Q. Is this what you signed up for?
RASHARD LEWIS: My main focus was competing for a championship, getting into the playoffs.
I can't play forever. This is my 11th year in the NBA. And I feel like Dwight Howard was the perfect candidate for me to go play alongside him to compete for a championship.

Q. How did you feel when you fell behind at halftime?
RASHARD LEWIS: We knew it was still possible to make it a game. We had a ten-point lead against Philadelphia and they came back and beat us. We have been in a situation when we were down for 15, 16 points and always came back. We always fought back and made the ball game four quarters.
The main focus was not to get it all back at once, but by the third quarter, try to make it a ball game in the fourth quarter. Cut the lead by ten, or even less than that, we'll have a good chance if we start knocking down 3s.

Q. I asked you last night about the shot. You said you don't believe it until it goes through the net wall. You sound like a baseball player who knows when hits one out.
RASHARD LEWIS: Actually I was feeling good at the time, especially in the fourth quarter. I thought if my shots were real good, I felt like anything I was going to put up was going to go in. The play was designed for me not to go too fast but to try to tie the game up.
We drew a foul and went to the line. It didn't work out that way. Hedo passed the ball back to me. It wasn't no hesitation, I felt like as long as I'm aggressive, then I can get the job done.

Q. Even when you were back home, it looked like you were putting up some more shots. You were getting some more work in. Is that because things didn't feel right, or is that the normal routine?
RASHARD LEWIS: No, just normal routine. I felt like early in the game I was missing shots. I didn't make very many shots. I wanted to get to the basket. I did get a couple layups. I worked my way out, short jump shots from a pick-and -- from a pick-and-slip. I was able to hit a short jump shot and then work my way out to the three-point line.

Q. You know all the 3 shooting, do you got to be greedy?
RASHARD LEWIS: You got to be greedy. We know Cleveland will come tomorrow ready to play. Just like we were when we lost the first game, we felt like Game 2 was a must-win for us. There is nothing about it. We have to go out and win the game.
I'm sure they are thinking the same thing. It is a must-win. They will come out and play even better than they did the first game. They played well. LeBron was great. I'm sure the other guys, the supporting cast, will be look forward to playing better, to help him out as well as the bench.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297