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NBA FINALS: MAVERICKS v HEAT

June 2, 2011

Jason Terry

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Game Two

Dallas Mavericks 95
Miami Heat 93

Q. Jason Terry, so Wade hits the three, they get up 15, there's a huge celebration by LeBron and Wade right in front of your bench. Walk us through that and how it impacted the game.
JASON TERRY: Right at that moment, it was a turning point in the game. Obviously we come out of that timeout, and if we don't score, than we're pretty much dead. We looked at each guy in the huddle to a man. Me specifically looked at Dirk and said, there's no way we're going out like this. It's too much time left in this game. And for us to go out in a blowout-type fashion with them dunking on us, shooting threes on us, it would have been disheartening. We continued to keep faith in ourselves. We went out and grinded it out and got it done.

Q. What happened in the fourth quarter from the comeback to the defensive assignment, the game-tying three, everything you were going through, the whole emotions in the fourth?
JASON TERRY: You can just sense it in us we weren't going to give up. We were going to be resilient. If you look back at the game, we turned the ball over, giving them so many run-outs, so many dunks, so many opportunities that it didn't allow us to set our half-court defense. But for seven minutes there in the fourth quarter, we really buckled down offensively. We started to take care of the ball. We started to get shots at the basket. And then defensively we stayed in front of them, we gave them one shot at it. That's what kept us in the game.

Q. There was a lot of focus on you against LeBron in the fourth quarter from Game 1. It seemed like you were playing a lot of point tonight. What were the adjustments that were made with you against LeBron in the fourth?
JASON TERRY: Jason Kidd seen an opportunity for me in transition where if I can get the ball up ahead in transition, I'm able to work. I'm able to use my speed and quickness and the space on the floor. That was an adjustment we made. We kind of fell into it being that we were down, and it's something that we hadn't done really primarily all playoffs. But with LeBron on me, obviously he's bigger. So I need to utilize all the space on the floor.

Q. You struggled a little bit early in the game. How did you manage to keep your confidence up and make big plays down the stretch?
JASON TERRY: My faith is in God. Being resilient and having that tremendous faith, I knew there was plenty of time left in the game. I have had games throughout my career where I've struggled. I've struggled throughout three quarters in the game and then, boom, in the fourth quarter the light comes on. Tonight was another one of those examples. In a game with this magnitude, to be down 15 points in that situation, I was just going to do whatever it took to leave it all out on the floor. That's what happened tonight.

Q. Jet, you've seen enough of Dirk in your time in Dallas. Seeing him spin away from a double-team, come back to his left with a splint on his hand and finish with the game-winner, how big is that and what does it say about his toughness?
JASON TERRY: If we go back to the possession before that, I don't want to tell you what he was saying in the huddle. A lot of curse words. That was my mistake, my error that left Chalmers wide open for three. As we got ourselves together, we got composed. We knew what we wanted to get accomplished on the offensive end. Dirk knew it was coming to him. He does what Dirk always does. He comes through in a big way.

Q. Jet, when Wade hit that three to put them up 15 and him and LeBron did that dance in front of your bench, what sort of emotions did that spark in you and your teammates?
JASON TERRY: I don't know if they seen me. I was behind them. I can't say what was going through my mind. Seeing them celebrate like that, man, it really was disheartening for us. Then I took another glance at the score and at the time, there was a lot of time left. And so in that huddle in that timeout we looked at each other to a man and said, hey, we have one more opportunity. Let's go make a run at this. Get some stops. Get some baskets. Get back feeling good about ourselves, and the momentum carried us. And we came away with this one.
Again, thank God for the opportunity. Tremendous comeback. It was similar to OKC when we were down 15. And we came back on them.

Q. Jason, you were on this team in 2006 when the Heat had a similar comeback in this building. Do you feel like you did what was done to you in 2006?
JASON TERRY: Well, if we lose this game, then we're looking at the exact same situation. We did not. We got the win. Totally different situation. Each experience, each Finals there's going to be a turning point. There's going to be a moment, so to speak. And tonight the moment was ours.

Q. Jason, what were you thinking on the last defensive possession when Chalmers was left open? And what did Dirk say to you?
JASON TERRY: I was thinking, let me buy J-Kidd some time up here and stand in the way. We knew Wade was going to get the look as he came up. I didn't have time to even look. LeBron made a tremendous baseball pass over the top. Chalmers sitting there, he could have spun it, twirled it, wrapped it around behind his back. He had all day to shoot it. Totally my mistake. Something that cannot happen again if we're in that same situation.
In that timeout Dirk is like, what were you thinking? And really, honestly, it was my mistake. And I take all the blame for it. Big fellow told me he had my back. And he did. He came down and got the game-winning bucket.

Q. Jason, can you talk about two things here: One, this is their first loss in the playoffs. They were 9-0 before this. This is your first win, you and Dirk, in The Finals in this building. You lost the three in '06 and here you finally get your win.
JASON TERRY: Definitely a good feeling. We did not want to go home down 0-2. It would put tremendous pressure on us. Every game for us has to be like this. For the last five minutes we really showed Maverick basketball, getting stops, getting out in transition, taking advantage of every opportunity that presented itself. There is no other way for us to play.

Q. Two things, Jet: First of all, when you come back from 16 against the Lakers on their court, and then 15 against Oklahoma City on their court in the late part of the game, is it any easier to do it a third time in these playoffs or is it just as hard every time?
JASON TERRY: It's just as hard every time. This group doesn't surprise me, though. We're very resilient. In Game 1, there was opportunity there down 10. We thought in our mind that we could come back. It didn't happen. We don't want to get in these situations. But if this situation does present itself, we're a veteran team. And we pride ourselves on being calm, being even-keeled, and if there's time on that clock, there's still time for us.

Q. In those last three possessions where Dirk scored in the final minute, two of those he finished with his left hand. There's been a lot of conversation about his left hand this last couple of days.
JASON TERRY: Unbelievable. But these are shots again that he works on that he practices. I don't know how that finger felt, but I know he didn't care. He was going to do whatever it took for us to get the win tonight.

Q. Jason, continuing on Dirk, from what you saw him at practice yesterday and shoot-around today, was there any concern going left that he would have trouble dribbling or finishing that way?
JASON TERRY: No concern whatsoever. We seen him shoot. He got some extra work in after practice to get comfortable with the situation. I've never played with a broken hand, but again, I'm a right-handed player, as is he. I don't think it really affected him at all. But you definitely have to ask him. Didn't look like it, though.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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