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NBA FINALS: MAGIC v LAKERS

June 4, 2009

Kobe Bryant

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game One

Orlando Magic - 75
Los Angeles Lakers - 100

Q. Can you talk about the defensive intensity you guys played with tonight?
KOBE BRYANT: We played very well. We played with a lot of energy. Guys are working hard. That's all you can ask for when you played against the Orlando Magic because they do a great job of spacing you out, and everybody on the floor has to be willing to work.

Q. Was there a different way you played them tonight as opposed to the two games in the regular season?
KOBE BRYANT: No, I just think we did a better job, did a better job staying alert, and like I said, man 1 through 5, everybody was dedicated to working hard, came back in transition, did a pretty good job.

Q. You had a career Finals high with 40 points. What can you do to take this into Game 2?
KOBE BRYANT: I think the best thing we can do is just forget about it. That's the best thing we can do. This is a resilient Orlando Magic team. They've been through a lot of adverse situations before. This is nothing to them. They'll be ready to go Game 2, and we've just got to forget about this and move on.

Q. The camera is catching you with bared teeth all the time now. They started to show it last couple games, Denver and here. Are you aware you're doing it? And secondarily, your expressiveness has gone up another level. You've been a hard driving leader for a long time, but it seems like you've really cut it loose now.
KOBE BRYANT: I just want it so bad, that's all. I just want it really bad. You just put everything you have into the game and your emotions kind of flow out of you.

Q. We've talked a lot about the offense of you guys tonight, but the defense was spectacular, too. Can you talk about some things you guys were doing to keep them from getting a lot of open shots?
KOBE BRYANT: We just had to work hard. Just worked hard. We scrambled. We were very active, our bigs were very active, and that's what you have to do against a team like Orlando. You've got to work your tail off 24 seconds.

Q. What's the rest of your life like right now? Are you completely focused on this right now? We talked a lot before in the Denver series about how much or how little you're sleeping. Is this completely all you're focused on right now?
KOBE BRYANT: Pretty much. Pretty much. I'm a bit of a -- my kids call me Grumpy from the Seven Dwarfs. That's how I've been at home, just a grouch.

Q. Is this the first smile we've seen from you in maybe a week?
KOBE BRYANT: Probably.

Q. Those guys will come out on fire in Game 2. Is that something that you guys are going to discuss, that they're going to make adjustments?
KOBE BRYANT: We'd better be. We talked about it a little bit after the game, and we'll talk about it at length tomorrow. This team is extremely resilient. We'll be ready.

Q. You talked about you want it so badly. Not to suggest that you didn't want it badly in 2000 and 2001 and 2002, but the fact that you've lost the last two times you've been in The Finals, the fact that there's been a gap, has that created this more intense hunger that we just have from you right now?
KOBE BRYANT: It's a bit of everything. It's a lot of motivation, a lot of motivation. I'm using it all right now.

Q. You took more shots tonight than the last two games combined. What about tonight made it a high volume shot night?
KOBE BRYANT: They were giving me a jumper. They were backing up, giving me a jumper, so I took them.

Q. The warrior glare has been inspiring, but the mantra now, I'm sure Phil has mentioned, maybe you've mentioned to the team, that after a victory you might tighten the cords of your helmet even tighter because even though you think you have found it, at that moment you have lost it.
KOBE BRYANT: We haven't found anything. It's one game. No big deal.

Q. At times the offense departed from trying to win the high pick-and-roll by offense. Was that by design? Were you seeing things?
KOBE BRYANT: That was by design. We saw something that at the moment in the game we needed a little bit of scoring, so I took it upon myself to use that play, come off, put a couple points on the board, tried to gear up some momentum.

Q. Can you talk about what you got from Fisher and Bynum versus Rafer and Dwight?
KOBE BRYANT: Well, we got consistent effort. Fish is always -- they didn't leave Fish too much. As the series goes on, maybe that will change. But the shots that he did have he knocked down. Defensively his effort was outstanding, and the same with Andrew. I thought Andrew came out with a lot of energy to start the ballgame, which really helped get us off to a good start and did a good job as you can on Dwight.
I felt like he did a good job.

Q. I know you've been working with trainer Tim Grover. I wonder what went into that decision? And are you physically feeling some benefits from that?
KOBE BRYANT: I feel great. This is the best I've felt late in the season in my whole career. I feel outstanding.

Q. Orlando, when you saw the rookie Lee guarding you, it's not like you're playing in the series with Houston. Do you feel like you can take advantage of this guy at any opportunity that you so choose?
KOBE BRYANT: No, I don't think so. I think that's doing him a tremendous discredit because even though he's a rookie, he's a very, very solid defensive player. I think he's proven that all year long. He's proven that in the playoffs, and Pietrus as well.

Q. I talked about this and asked the question to both Lamar and Pau: The last three games that the Lakers have played have probably been the best three games of the playoffs. Do you agree with that? And what do you have to do to make sure that this team stays in that mindset?
KOBE BRYANT: We've just got to keep working. I think we've been playing extremely well the last three games. We've just got to keep our foot on the gas and keep our head down and just keep on working.

End of FastScripts

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