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NBA FINALS: CELTIC v LAKERS

June 17, 2010

Phil Jackson

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Seven

Boston Celtics 79
Los Angeles Lakers 83

PHIL JACKSON: Well, it's done. It wasn't well done, but it was done. And we did it with perseverance. I thought our defense was terrific. We were able to step in and play the kind of defense that we've established as kind of a calling for this team, and we found a way to generate some points. And it certainly was that, generating points.

Q. Ray Allen hit a big three in the fourth quarter with just seconds left on the clock. Can you take us in the huddle, what you told your team after the time-out.
PHIL JACKSON: Switching on all back screens and crosses. If things happen, you have to bail each other out and make sure you take guys off the line. It didn't happen, but that's what we were planning.

Q. Kobe admitted that he thought he was forcing it a little, that he was gripping the ball too tight. Was there anything that you could say to him or did he have to work through it?
PHIL JACKSON: In the first half I just mentioned I thought he was a little bit too animated. He was trying too hard, and I thought, he's a guy that can try hard and get things accomplished by sheer will. But this night was not one that he was able to do that on. He had to do things that were off ball and things that were in the context of what we wanted to do offensively.

Q. You sat him at the start of the fourth quarter. Was that just to give him a moment of pause?
PHIL JACKSON: Yes, and then he came back and gave us the help we needed down the stretch.

Q. Is this one more emotional than the others for you, and if so, why?
PHIL JACKSON: No, it's not. There's no residual as far as beating Boston or anything like that. Of course it's always great to have an opportunity to play against a highly-watched team and a popular team like that in a series that is as difficult as this one is. But emotionally, no, it was not. I thought there was -- the closing stanza at Chicago was perhaps as high emotionally, and also running through the series in 2001 was one of the most perfect ball that I ever saw a team play that I have in the playoffs.

Q. Another touchy-feely question: But you have this veneer of unemotional responding to us, but can you talk about what another one means in your heart, in your mind. We saw Derek get very emotional after he wins the game back in Boston. Do you ever have moments where you're close to showing emotion?
PHIL JACKSON: I frequently cry, I really do. (Laughter). But not tonight. It's really about my inner being, it's about the joy for this group of guys that put so much work out. I mean, we tax these guys. We make them go through all kinds of difficult things during the course of a year, ask them to play injured, ask them to play with injuries, and they're a willing group and I'm very proud of them and very happy for them.
I think that's really the joy. To have put in 114 games and coming out this way at the end, there's a certain sense of gratification, and that's what I have to believe in.

Q. Can I also ask you when you're down by 13, is there worry, is there concern? The fans are obviously worried and concerned, but as a coach are you nervous, aware that the game could get out of control?
PHIL JACKSON: We're very aware of that, and I knew that that was a very possible scenario in this game tonight, that they were going to come back and play better, they were going to be more aggressive in their defense and be better. They make good adjustments as a team. Ron Artest was the most valuable player tonight. He brought life to our team, he brought life to the crowd.

Q. We're used to seeing Kobe Bryant take over a game with his scoring at the end of a game. Can you talk about the way he rebounded and took charge in the fourth quarter?
PHIL JACKSON: Well, he found himself frustrated out there for a number of minutes, all kinds of little things, ball coming out of his hands, losing the ball, very simple things, not being able to make complete plays, turnovers, et cetera. But he stayed with it and he found a way to help this team win, and most of it was defensively, I thought in the course of the fourth quarter. Rebounding, extra effort, challenging guys for three-point shots. He did a great job.

Q. We saw Kobe, as you were mentioning earlier, kind of trying to force it a little bit in the first half especially and then toward the end there when you've got this big moment, hands up, throwing the ball out to Artest at the three which is not one your fans often like to see. What did you see at that moment in terms of kind of deciding to give up that shot?
PHIL JACKSON: Well, the time-out we mentioned to them that they're not going to let you beat them on the drive. You're going to have to get the ball up, hit the open man, we're going to have to share the ball. My staff was very strongly encouraging Ron because he was the guy with the open looks to step into his shot, be confident and take the one there in rhythm, otherwise penetrate and move the ball to the bigs inside.

Q. Was it meaningful to see Kobe make that move, though?
PHIL JACKSON: Yeah, it really was. The real play that I thought was a play that kind of changed and gave us that renewed energy, we came back, was Pau coming off the post and hitting Fisher, and Fisher hitting the three-point shot to bring the game back to a tie. I thought that era, and then Pau controlling the game from the post position for a couple minutes there, that really changed the complexity of this game.

Q. You've always said throughout the year that if you were lucky enough to win a title, that would improve your chances of coming back next year, if you were invited that opportunity, and improve the chances of a lot of the guys, as well. Can you talk about that, and do you still feel the same way?
PHIL JACKSON: That's a wonderful thing. That's as much as I'll talk about it. It does improve my chances.

Q. Doc talked a little bit about Rasheed and how this might be the last time that we see him on an NBA court. Can you just talk about what Rasheed gave as an opponent tonight?
PHIL JACKSON: Oh, he was a good defensive player tonight. I thought he befuddled Pau the first half. I thought his length, his ability to change his shot, block a couple shots, help them out -- his offense was effective as a post-up player. I was very concerned about the fact that this team was going to have more options without Kendrick Perkins than they would with him on the floor because of Rasheed's talent and how talented he is. He's been a very good competitor over the years and I don't know if he's going to give the game up or not, but it's certainly a very fitting way to go out of the season.

Q. How do you win a game shooting 32 percent from the field and 67 percent from the free-throw line?
PHIL JACKSON: Well, we had 23 offensive rebounds. That's how you do it. I think we had 11 turnovers. That's another way you to do. It's just about being persistent and aggressive and getting extra shots because shots aren't going to go in, and that's what we did tonight.

Q. You talked about the role of fatigue after Game 6 affecting both teams. It seemed like it was a big factor tonight. Talk about that and the ability for both teams just to work through that over the course of the game.
PHIL JACKSON: Yeah, it obviously was -- timeouts were taken sometimes with just the idea of resting players, fatigue factor being a contributing element to I think just maybe lazy passes or turnovers or whatever happened that was difficult out there. I saw Kobe struggling, called a time-out early, had to try and get the legs back under the team again.
I thought Pau had good energy in the game tonight. He was the one guy I felt really played with good energy. And for the most part, I didn't see Ron tire out there. I thought he played with good energy in a game in which he had to play a lot of minutes, and he's played consistent minutes throughout. With the Boston team obviously I saw Garnett fatigue, and that's been one of the issues we've had all the way through this series is run him hard and keep running him if you get a chance because fatigue will affect his game. But he played a good game tonight, too.

End of FastScripts

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