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NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND

February 14, 2010

Dirk Nowitzki

ARLINGTON, TEXAS

East Â– 141
West - 139

Q. Dirk, talk about the crowd, what was the most impressive for you in this unbelievable venue?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, just the whole atmosphere. You know, I've never been in a gym this big. It was amazing how many people came out to support us and see this game and be part of history.
So I'm glad I was a part of this whole weekend, especially my new hometown. It was great, and just needed that win at the end kind of to top the whole thing off. But other than that, had an amazing weekend, and I will always remember this, you know, 108,000 people is just great. And some of the guys came up to me before the game and said, "This is unbelievable, this is amazing." So I think everybody really was excited about this one.

Q. Was this All-Star more serious, even from the start, maybe because of the crowd?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, it was pretty loose, I thought the first three quarters. But it's always been like that, I've been a part now nine times, All-Star Games, and the first three quarters are pretty much up-and-down, free throws, dunks, and the fourth quarter gets more serious. You know, down the stretch, both teams wanted to win.
They just made one more play than we did, but we had a shot at the end. Carmelo had his look, and they deserved the win.

Q. At the end there was the 3-pointer supposed to go to you on that one?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Yeah, we had a little flair screen there and I actually had Dwight Howard in the air, so what I should have done was jump it to him, got three free throws instead of two, and we would have been up one. But we went right back and Chauncey fouled Chris, and either way, just match play, play-by-play down the stretch, and unfortunately we came up a little short.

Q. Pretty cool to have a chance to win it like that?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Yeah, just to be in this game was, like I said, an unreal experience and I'll always remember this for the rest of my life, and so will probably the guys. Yeah, just to compete and be in it at the end of the game and have a chance to win was great.

Q. You almost scored the winning shot. How important was it for you to score the very first basket in the game?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Yeah, it was great. I mean, you know, the guys were talking about it a lot; I'm supposed to shoot a lot and Steve when he was out there, always dribbled to me and flipped the ball back and forced me to shoot all game long. The guys were great and I was able to force the first two shots, which was great, because I didn't know in the big gym, and I was nervous, but I was able to get those first two to settle down a bit so it was great.

Q. Was it different with this dome, so much bigger?
DIRK NOWITZKI: It was unbelievable. Usually in All-Star games, not everybody is going out to shoot and warm up, but if you looked an hour before the game, I think both teams, all players were almost out there shooting, because you know, it's so different in a huge dome with the background. So both teams were out there getting loose, and I thought for actually the size of this arena, both teams were shooting pretty well.

Q. For a while it looked like it was going to come down to you and Dwyane Wade at the free throw line, were there any flashbacks to 2006 there?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Oh, man, I tried to forget about 2006 by now. You know, they deserved it back then, and so hopefully I get another shot, but you know, he's an incredible player and he's fun to watch.

Q. Mark had said through this process that it was really important to involve the local fans in whatever was going on. For you how important was it to have your fans in this building cheering for you?
DIRK NOWITZKI: It was amazing. You know, I said it all week; that to me, I think my first All-Star appearance will always be my most special one, just because I always dreamed about it and always wanted to be a part of it once.
But this one is definitely close up there with my first one, just because it was in my hometown and so many people came to see it. I needed like 60 tickets which is like a record ever for me. It was amazing how many people wanted to come and see this game and be part of history. I'm extremely proud of what Dallas was able to showcase this week. Unfortunately the weather wasn't that great; I think other than that, the weekend was perfect, great parties, so everybody enjoyed the festivities.
And yesterday, we had fun and today the game was great, so I think everything all around was awesome.

Q. Just like to get your thoughts on your new teammates, Butler and Brendan Haywood.
DIRK NOWITZKI: I think it's always a little sad in the middle of the season to see teammates go. We have been through a lot of battles with Josh and with the other guys, but I think as a franchise, you are always looking to get better. Especially we were struggling here for a month, and so we are excited now to have some new guys. I think Caron is a proven scorer in this league, he can give us another option, he can post and shoot and Damp has been hurt for the last month with his knee off and on, and I think he can really protect the paint for us, finish in the paint. He can really be a force in there.
And I think Stevenson is actually a pretty good player, he can go at the twos, he can make the shot when he's open. Yeah, we are excited and hopefully we can come together quick. I mean, we only have one practice tomorrow, and I've got four games in five nights coming up, so it's not going to be an easy ride but we are looking forward to coming together quick and hopefully finish the season strong and have a great run in the playoffs.

End of FastScripts

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