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NBA FINALS: CELTIC v LAKERS

June 8, 2010

Phil Jackson

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Game Three

Los Angeles Lakers 91
Boston Celtics 84

Q. Could you talk about the play of Derek Fisher tonight, how big it was in the closing of this win.
PHIL JACKSON: Well, Derek had made a number of plays in the fourth quarter, contested shots and taking things to the basket, and he just got out there ahead of the field. We have this direct line principle, no one steps up, you keep going, and he saw the opening and went and made a very bold play. It was one in four. It was imperative that it goes in for us to win.

Q. When you removed Andrew later in the fourth quarter, was that a lineup decision or was that because of his injury?
PHIL JACKSON: No, that was a lineup decision at that time. He had gotten -- tweaked his knee a little bit in that third quarter and come out, and I wanted to shorten his time. But that particular moment I thought it would be best to have Lamar in. Lamar played well tonight.

Q. Can you talk about the first time-out and how that really seemed to slow the Celtics' momentum.
PHIL JACKSON: Well, we were playing so poorly, it was just a necessity to call time-out to slow things down and get us back in defense and stop the offensive rebounding and Garnett running out and getting lay-ups and our misses. We seemed to gather some strength and change the course of the game right there, and that made a really good effort in that last six minutes of the first quarter.

Q. Pretty good defensive effort out there, Ray Allen 0 for 13. How surprising is that and how happy are you with your defense?
PHIL JACKSON: Well, defensively it was a good game, and this is a team, Boston Celtics that has so many guys that can contribute, Perkins -- Garnett tonight stepped it up and got his game going, and obviously Pierce was in foul trouble. He only played 33 minutes, 34 minutes. And the job that Fish did on Allen was terrific tonight.

Q. When you guys made that turnaround in the first quarter, Luke Walton came in, gave you some defensive energy and also hit a jumper at the end of the shot clock. Talk about that decision and what he gave you guys tonight.
PHIL JACKSON: Well, he's just a knowledgeable player inside of our offense, and there are times when we have to get the ball moving and get some things done out there where the Celtics put a lot of pressure on the ball and put guys in the drive a lot of times, so we need to have some guys out there that can play-make, also, on the floor, have recognition of what the offense represents. Luke is an old hand at that.

Q. There was that time-out when Kevin and Kobe I believe it was both knocked the ball out of bounds. It was a close call. There was a time-out right afterward. Did you go and request a review of that, and do you think they would have reviewed it if you had not requested it?
PHIL JACKSON: I don't know. You know, that's a hard thing to say. I think Crawford made a good decision. Danny recognized the fact that he hadn't had a good vision, that it was contested. There were a number of guys that called it off the bench, also. It was a key play for us in the game.

Q. That wasn't by your request, he was going to do it on his own?
PHIL JACKSON: You know, I can't say that my requesting it gave him the impetus to do that, but it was the thing that was -- it was the right action to do. It was under two minutes and that's what they can do.

Q. Can you just talk about the aspect, Derek Fisher talks about people often have written him off and what have you, but he always seems to step up in these big games.
PHIL JACKSON: Yeah, he's a really terrific leader, we know that, as a basketball player in our locker room. But his leadership on the court is just a solid presence out there, just trying to get the things operating in our offense, and a lot of times he's got to direct things from an off-ball position. Tonight they found a little wrinkle out there, even Kobe that they could run and get some activities and get some scoring in the fourth quarter, and when he's got an opportunity to hit a key shot, it seems like he's always there and ready.

Q. How much of Kobe's shooting woes is a result of what the Celtics are doing versus just him not having a stretch -- I think by my calculation he's under 44 percent for the series.
PHIL JACKSON: Yeah, that really -- they're getting up underneath him on his shot, so he's got a hard time getting a clear lift on his shot. It keeps him from turning his body, so he can't get the right turn a lot of times on it, and they've done a good job. He made a couple key baskets for us. Got 29 points, 29 shots to get it. So I know they're going to be happy with that. He's got to get better productivity out of it, and he knows that.

Q. How crucial was Lamar Odom's play off the bench tonight?
PHIL JACKSON: Well, he got going. He had a kiss shot that went in off the backboard. That was kind of a gift from God to him for all that stuff he's been through in the series.
He just had one of those nights where he kept playing and things happened and created things for himself, got an offensive rebound that was big at the end of the game, made a baseline drive that was another big basket for us in a critical situation.

Q. You mentioned Fish's defense on Ray, did you do anything schematically different or did he just play it better tonight? Did he get more freedom to fight through screens and whatnot?
PHIL JACKSON: Well, we didn't really want to have Ray to have option to go either way, and he walked Fish into position the last couple plays, and they didn't have either option to go at. We talked a little bit after the last game that when he's got both options, sometimes it's very difficult to stop him because he's got two big pickers that are sitting baseline or at the top of the key, wherever he's popping at off those screens. A couple guys stepped up and helped Fish; Pau got it, I think Ron helped block a shot with Derek. The guys were conscious of it and made good help.

End of FastScripts

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