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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SUNS v LAKERS

May 25, 2010

Steve Nash

PHOENIX, ARIZONA: Game Four

Suns Â– 115
Lakers - 106

Q. Steve, obviously the bench was huge tonight in the second quarter. Mainly. But also in the fourth quarter, gave you and Amar'e a chance to be on the bench and get some rest?
STEVE NASH: The bench was fantastic. You know, they made a lot of plays offensively, but defensively they were great in the zone. They scrambled. They were intelligent. They made good decisions. And, you know, they were by far easily the difference tonight. And, you know, we're just real proud and excited for them.

Q. Steve, Amar'e came off a 42-point game and really subjugated himself to the second unit and let them do their thing. Can you talk about what that means to have a star like that take a back seat and yourself as well?
STEVE NASH: Well, I mean, I think that's what being a team is about. And, you know, we're not the most talented team, but we've got depth and we've got to make that a staple of our success. We need those guys to come and do a great job.
The first unit was okay tonight. We fought. We hustled, did what we could. And the second unit was really efficient.
There's going to be nights like that where we need to have them like that especially in a series like this. And it was fantastic to watch. And we all had a blast over there cheering them on. And win four games in the series, we're going to need them.

Q. Steve, your squad's resiliency parallels your resiliency coming back from the broken nose. Unbelievable run. Will there be some partying at the Barrio Cafe to celebrate the victory?
STEVE NASH: I don't really party too much anymore. But, you know, it was fun in the locker room. Everyone enjoyed the game tonight. And we have a special group of guys who play well together. Really are supporting each other. Rooting for each other. Happy for each other. And that's why I think we've had as much success as we've had.

Q. I know seven seconds or less is a long time ago, but did you have any flashbacks when it started raining 3s again?
STEVE NASH: Everyone's been saying after Game 3 and down 2-0 you haven't shot the ball well yet. So it was nice to feel it kind of open up and the 3s start going in. Particularly for Channing.
But the second unit went on a nice run there and made a bunch of 3s that was about as exciting a stretch as I've seen sitting on the side line in my team here.
So it was fun to see the shots go. But we gotta continue to do the little things to win in LA especially we've got to prove it either in game 5 or 7 that we can win in LA.
So all we've done is earned ourselves a great opportunity to go and try to win in LA.

Q. I was going to ask you about that. You're going back to LA. 2 out of 3 now. Talk about the poor starts and fighting digging yourself out of the hole in shooting percentages. How do you get yourself out of that trap?
STEVE NASH: In Game 1 we started out pretty well. In Game 2, maybe not. But both games by the end of the first quarter they had given themselves a 10-point lead. I think, important for us is not the offense as much. Our offense was pretty good in LA. Not as good as maybe tonight. Or even Game 3. But not bad. 109 points, 50 percent both games. But we've got to slow them down.
And that's more than anything what we've done at home is slowed them down. Obviously the zone is a big part of that. But we expect more from them. We expect them to play better. And we've got to match it.

Q. Steve, talking about the zone defense, obviously the Lakers, unleash in Game 3. They said they were going to make adjustments. But they admitted they're still having problems with that zone. So do you feel like you've found an Achilles heel against them?
STEVE NASH: We've got to play some zone against them for sure, you know? We've got to continue to adjust and be intelligent in the zone. Make good decisions. And at the same time we've got to sprinkle in other looks. We've got to be able to play man for stretches like we did tonight in the first half.
And, you know, we've got to fight. They're bigger than us. Most people can make an argument that they're better than us. But we've got to have a lot of heart and a lot of determination and find ways to win the little battles.

Q. Kobe had 15 in the second and 16 in the third but only seven in the fourth. Could you talk about your defensive approach against him in the fourth quarter?
STEVE NASH: To be honest, he made a lot of tough shots. He made a lot of 3s, long 2s. So maybe he didn't quite make as many in the fourth. But he still had a phenomenal game.
And seven points isn't bad for a quarter. So he had a phenomenal game. He was aggressive from the perimeter, he made a lot of shots. And we gotta obviously keep an eye on him.

End of FastScripts

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