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NBA FINALS: MAGIC v LAKERS

June 7, 2009

Dwight Howard

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Two

Orlando Magic - 96
Los Angeles Lakers - 101

Q. You guys have been down 2-0 in the past. Just talk about what you can draw from your past experience going into Game 3.
DWIGHT HOWARD: We've just got to go home and take care of business. The Lakers did a good job of protecting their home, and now it's our turn to do the same thing. We've been in some tough situations. We've just got to fight our way out.

Q. A lot of times when you beat Bynum, Gasol and Odom are right there. How much has their length been a factor in these first two games?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I don't think it's a big factor. We just had to find ways of scoring or kick it out to the open guys. They do a great job of collapsing once I beat one of their bigs. I've got to do a better job of finding open men, and we've just got to knock down shots.

Q. They had a big advantage in points in the paint in Game 1. You guys were able to control the points in the paint tonight and you guys outrebounded them substantially, but it seemed that you were doomed by turnovers and Stan alluded to the turnovers being what killed you guys. What happened?
DWIGHT HOWARD: We've just got to take care of the ball. There's a lot of times, I know myself, this is probably one of the games where I've had a lot of turnovers in the playoffs. I've just got to do a better job of finding my teammates and being aware of the guards coming in the paint for strips.
As a team we've just got to do better with not turning the ball over. That's how they got going on the offensive end, because of our turnovers, and it gave them the game tonight.

Q. That being said, as the starting front court you guys were over 50 percent from the field. Can you duplicate that in Game 3?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Hopefully we can do better. We play better at home. We tend to run more, shots fall more, but we've got to come out and really try not to turn the ball over as much as we did. That allowed them to get off on a break and get easy points, and we can control that, we should win.

Q. Are they doing anything defensively that you haven't seen in the previous series? Second, is Pau a better defender than you might have been led to believe?
DWIGHT HOWARD: No, I've been playing against Pau for a couple of years. I think they're doing a great job, team defense. They're mixing it up on me. When Pau is on me, he's forcing me baseline, and there's a big coming to trap me. They're mixing it up. They're doing some crazy things, and it's been frustrating me a little bit. But I just have to be more patient and trust my teammates, kick it out and allow them to hit the open shots, and hopefully that will free me up more on the inside.

Q. Is it different, though? Has this defensive scheme been different than what you've seen this playoffs?
DWIGHT HOWARD: A little bit. You know, they're doing something different. They're forcing me baseline and they're coming as soon as I put the ball down. So it's a learning experience for me. I've just got to really do my homework and try to find ways to beat it. But I think the biggest thing is just passing it out and allowing my team to hit those shots. That should open it up some more.

Q. Is the Lakers' defense the toughest defense you have faced in your career?
DWIGHT HOWARD: We've played against a lot of teams that play great defense. I think every team in the NBA is good when they have a chance to set up their defense in half court. We have to do a better job of running and getting open shots and freeing up different people. I think during the game we ran and got in transition and we were able to get easy buckets.
But any team is tough to score on once they get their defense set.

Q. Did you ever feel frustrated tonight?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Yeah, I was frustrated tonight and in the first game, but being the leader on my team, my teammates cannot see my frustrated. I've got to play through all the different situations and learn from them.

Q. It looked like you guys kind of came on the floor to maybe console Courtney after the play at the end of the regulation. What were you saying to him there?
DWIGHT HOWARD: He had a close one. He had a chance to finish the game. It just wasn't there for it to happen. There was nothing we could do about it. He missed the shot.

Q. Do you feel like you let them off the hook a little bit?
DWIGHT HOWARD: We had our chances to win. You know, we turned the ball over too much tonight. That got them the win.

Q. You played the Cavs and now you've played the Lakers two games. From your perspective, are the Lakers' bigs more challenging than the Cavs' bigs?
DWIGHT HOWARD: It's their defensive scheme. Phil is a smart, smart coach. Not saying the coach from Cleveland isn't, but the way they're using their bigs on the defensive end has been a little tricky for me. Like I said, it's something that I'm learning. Their bigs are doing a great job of forcing me to other bigs.
Like I said, I've got to trust my teammates and allow those guys to hit shots, and that will open everything up for me. But I've just got to do some more work on the offensive end, running, going to the glass and trying to get points that way.

Q. Do you think that Jameer's play has hindered the team chemistry? And do you think he'll be more effective at home?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I don't think Jameer has hindered anything. He's gone in there and he's done a good job, just lost some tough games. First game was obviously a blowout, tonight's game turnovers cost us, but there's nothing one individual person did to mess up the game. We win as a team and we lose as a team, so we can't fault Jameer's coming back messing up our team.

Q. But do you expect him to play better next couple games at home?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I expect all of us to play better. If we want to win, all of us got to step our games up.

Q. Do you think that Cleveland's big guys were slightly slower than the guys that you're playing now?
DWIGHT HOWARD: The Cleveland series is over with. It's a different ballgame. They've been doing a good job so far. There's no way you can compare Cleveland's bigs to the Lakers' bigs. They're different styles. You've got Ilgauskas who's more of a shooter; Bynum and Gasol, they move their feet better than Ilgauskas.
But it's two different teams, two different game plans. We've just got to go back, do our homework and come out ready for Game 3 and get a win.

End of FastScripts

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