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NBA FINALS: MAVERICKS v HEAT

June 5, 2011

Erik Spoelstra

DALLAS, TEXAS: Game Three

Miami Heat 88
Dallas Mavericks 86

COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: This series is turning out to be an absolute series of endurance, mental and physical. We didn't expect anything less than the competitive physicality of this game tonight. Our guys really competed. At times it was a little uneven, but we found ways to make plays on both ends of the court, to grind this game out in a very enduring win.
Now we just have to move on. The tough part right now is amnesia. Both teams are highly competitive. This is a competitive series, as you can see. We have to really gather ourselves in 48 hours and get right back and do this again.

Q. Coach, what was the defensive strategy on that final play? You doubled Dirk earlier and forced a turnover. On that final play it looked like Haslem played him straight up. What was the strategy on that final play?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't want to get into too many specifics. Our guys know when there's opportunities for our playmakers to make some plays. That was a very similar situation to what we saw the other night. Had a different matchup. That's a makeable shot, even for him. But UD did a great job of keeping his chest in front of him and forcing him into a fadeaway. Nowitzki is a tough player. That shot hung up in the air about as long as it was in between Game 2 and Game 3. It was a good offensive play, and a good defensive play. And he happened to miss.

Q. Coach, could you talk about your team's performance tonight. On the boards you didn't win the rebounds but you came out two consecutive games with the three-point shot shooting 42% tonight.
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: It was a fistfight under the glass. We had five of those fouls on block-outs and were giving up some size, but certainly not giving up anything in competitiveness and fight. That's the way it will be. Both teams understand how important finishing off your defense is. And second-chance opportunities, relief points. Our guys were getting into that fight. It will continue to be that battle.
In terms of the three-point shooting, yes, we shot a good percentage, but, again, it was within the context of what we wanted to do. That was to be aggressive, set the tone, to attack. We didn't necessarily get to the free-throw line but we were getting to the rim. And then we have rhythm shooters. So those guys have proven long enough that they'll make timely open threes, especially when we're able to get some other things that are important for our game.

Q. Erik, you guys have obviously had the right defense at the end when it counted. Some runs the other team went on, though. What, if anything, do you want to see change in terms of your defense to stop those?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: We have to continue to be active. We did have some breakdowns. Look, you have to give that team some credit, too. They have shooters. They have a great quarterback who will make you pay for mistakes. They have the shooting. And Nowitzki obviously draws a lot of attention. So we wanted to be active, create opportunities by making plays, keeping our bodies in front of them. This is a competitive series. When one team makes a run, usually there's a timeout and the next team comes right back. It will be a possession game virtually every game, probably to a fan's delight.

Q. Coach, does the emphasis just have to be pretty much on Dirk? Do you almost feel like not certain that the rest of the team can beat you?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, that's absurd. I mean that in a respectful way. That team has shooters, scorers, they have the quarterback. They make you pay. Any defensive mistake --

Q. But they haven't shown that.
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: They can. They've proven it. If you leave those guys open, the three ball is a dangerous weapon for them. They also can make plays and break you down or try to make it as hard as possible on all of them, including Nowitzki, sometimes they make it better. Sometimes it's a better offense versus a great defense.

Q. Erik, Chris seemed to struggle a little bit offensively maybe until the fourth quarter. What was your thinking in going back to Chris in those key moments down the stretch?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: The important thing about that that we didn't necessarily do in Game 2 was trust. That play wasn't designed for him. It was a couple of triggers, ball moved, put the ball on the floor, some rotations and we hit the open guy. There was a handful of those possessions in the fourth quarter, big plays where the ball moved and it found the open man and make or miss, it's the right play. Chris has done that several times in this playoff run in those corners. When we need a big one, he hits it. I don't care what happens up to that point. Makes some winning plays and he's able to knock down a big one for us.

Q. Chris was 0-8 in this building. He has talked about how coming back has sometimes been difficult for him. We all know what he shot in the first three games going into that last one. What does it say about the confidence level that he didn't look to give it up to somebody else, he wanted to take that shot?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Not only that, but his teammates. First it started with Dwyane. He threw it to LeBron, LeBron threw it to Chris. And that's fundamental basketball at its best. When you see an open man, you hit an open man. And like I said, we made a few of those plays down the stretch. It was good to see him knock that one down.

Q. Over the course of the three games, both teams have shot pretty well on threes, but very poorly on twos. I wonder if you have any hypothesis as to why that is?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: It's competitive. Both teams are competitive defensively. That's the identity we've tried to create since the very first day of training camp.

Q. Has this been a more defensive series than you expected?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No. When you get to this level, come on, you have to have the habits. I think Dallas has been an underrated defensive team all year.

Q. Coach, Rio gave you that lift off the bench. Can you talk about him.
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: He's a tough kid. He's a gutsy player. We all know in big moments he doesn't shy away. He gave us some big plays, especially when Dwyane was on the bench. He was able to create some opportunities for us, hit a big three. He's not afraid of the moment. So we needed those minutes, every bit of them.

Q. Coach, after the loss at home, you expressed a high degree of confidence and you came out and executed. Talk about how big it is for you to win this game here in Dallas and, as far as your confidence going forward.
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: It's just one. We're not going to make it more than what it is. We have two wins under our belt. We have to try to be greedy and get another one. But there isn't going to be anything easy that comes in this series for either team.
After Game 2, that's so far out of our mind at this point. It's all about the win or the loss. It doesn't matter. Even this, it's not a good win, it's not a bad win. It's a win. We have to move on and we have to try to get the next one.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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