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NBA FINALS: MAVERICKS v HEAT

June 5, 2011

Dwyane Wade

DALLAS, TEXAS: Game Three

Miami Heat 88
Dallas Mavericks 86

Q. For either one of you guys: After Game 2, Dirk said you can't win a game like that and come back on your home floor and lose Game 3. Do you guys feel like this win does anything emotionally, psychologically to this team to the Mavs?
DWYANE WADE: That's awesome, because we felt the same way. You can't lose a game like that and come and lose Game 3. We felt this was a must-win. We had to put it upon ourselves to try to take home court back in a sense, and by any means necessary.
So it was a big win for us, but it was a big game. I thought we did a good job of withstanding all their runs, withstanding the points in the game where it looked like they had momentum. And we held on to our lead and we made enough plays to win the ballgame.

Q. LeBron, we've seen you keep going at guys even if they're having cold shooting nights. Describe that mentality in particular as applied to Bosh tonight, wasn't having a great night and the game on the line, you gave him the ball.
LeBRON JAMES: It's all about trusting your teammates. D-Wade, we ran a two-three pick-and-roll. They put two on the ball. D-Wade hit me first. I had Tyson Chandler closing on me. I saw CB wide open. I don't care if he missed 15 in a row, he was wide open and that's his sweet spot. He was able to knock it down. It's the trust we have in each other's ability, no matter what the point of the game is at.

Q. For both you guys, a lot of what the Mavericks do starts on the perimeter a long ways from the basket. Seemed like tonight you pushed farther and farther out to make what they were doing at the beginning of plays tougher and you created a lot of turnovers on the perimeter. Is that because you don't have a fear of what happens against this team closer to the basket? Does that make sense? Are they so perimeter-driven by how they run their offense and shooting so many jumpshots that it makes it easier on you guys to take chances out high?
LeBRON JAMES: It's not even that. We play our defense. This is the toughest offense we've played all year as far as how many guys they put on the floor that can make plays. Not only for themselves, but for others. Unbelievable shooting team. And they make you stay in tune. You can never relax or they make you pay. Our defense always tries to extend offenses further than where they usually start. That's just our defense. It has nothing to do about them not being a paint presence or anything like that. It's just our defense. That's how we played all postseason all year.

Q. Dwyane, can you talk about the urgency you played with tonight? Especially with the rebounding. You were really aggressive going towards the boards.
DWYANE WADE: Yeah, just understanding the moment. Took it upon myself as a leader to try to lead my guys by example. And I think for me it started in practice yesterday. I was very aggressive going to the hole practicing. My teammates seen it. They can tell that I wanted this game, and I came in with the same mentality today. Just trying to -- like I said, I've been here before. So just trying to lead. My guys did a great job of following that lead. We were able to come out with the win.

Q. LeBron, three games in a row for you fourth quarter, not much. That's the moment superstars become superstars. Seems like you are almost shrinking from it. What's going on?
LeBRON JAMES: I think you're concentrating on one side of the floor. All you're looking at is the stat sheet. Honestly, I'm a two-way player. Since D-Wade had it going offensively, so we allow him to handle the ball, bring it on offensively. You should watch the film again and see what I did defensively. You'll ask me a better question tomorrow.

Q. What did you guys think, and can you tell me what was going through your minds as you watched with just seconds left on the clock, Dirk heading towards the basket once again. It was almost a replay of what happened the last game. What went through your minds there?
DWYANE WADE: Obviously, you know, we have a lot of confidence in our team defense. That was a man-to-man defense right there. It was Udonis putting his chest in front. We had a lot of confidence coming out of the huddle. We wanted to win this game right now on the defensive end with that stop. Even more confidence than we had if we were down two or tied and had it on the offensive end.
I was very confident in UD, understanding he wanted that challenge the last game, and he wasn't able to be put in that position. Put him back in that position this time. I knew he was going to at least make it tough. If Dirk makes the shot, at least do his job and make sure he takes a fadeaway at the end.

Q. LeBron, what did you think when you saw it?
LeBRON JAMES: Like D-Wade said, we had all the confidence in the world in our defensive scheme. UD wanted that matchup in Game 2. So we knew when he got this matchup, he was going to make Dirk take a tough shot. He made that shot before. He will make it again. At least we just make him work for it. Make him take a turn-around jumper. UD stayed in front of him and it rimmed out. It was a huge stop for our team.

Q. LeBron and Dwyane, talk about how much of a redemption winning this game in Dallas is after losing that big game at home. How does it give you guys confidence going forward in Game 4?
DWYANE WADE: Well, confidence, you get to this point with neither team confidence won't be an issue. Obviously it's a great road win. We got three games in a row here. So it's good to get the first one. Personally, I moved on from this win already. I feel like we did nothing but get home-court advantage back. But the next game is a big game. We have to bring our hard hats, understanding it's going to be tougher to win that game than it was to win this one. I believe in this team. If anyone can do it, I believe we can.

Q. Dwyane, you got a bit feisty out there today, whether it was talking to LeBron at one time in the fourth quarter, admonishing Chris to a degree. Can you talk about the spirit you have. It seemed for a while you guys were on pins and needles, you came together friendly-like. It seems like today you said, we need this. Can you discuss those what got those emotions going? And LeBron can you talk about when Dwyane got in your face a little bit, what's that experience like?
DWYANE WADE: Them guys understand. They know me. I understand them. If things are said to each other, it's all in the better for the team. It's all about winning. I want it. LeBron knew that. The things I was saying to him, I was saying to Chris, wasn't nothing they wouldn't say to me. It was something they would say to me in the Chicago series and vice versa. We have enough respect for each other. At the same time, I wanted it.
I was just trying to help them guys and feel like ways that they can be better to help our team be better at that moment and vice versa. They do the same to me. I don't know if I got in his face, but I was just trying to do what leaders do and do what captains do. Step up and say what you feel at that point in order.

Q. LeBron, it doesn't seem like there have been many teammates who feel empowered enough to do that. What's that moment like and what's it like having a teammate that, heck, at this moment I'm going to tell you what I need to tell you whether you're LeBron James or just the 12th guy on the roster?
LeBRON JAMES: It's just we're teammates. At this point there's no room to hold anything back. There's nine or eight days left in the season. I think our friendship allows us to don't care about that moment. It's living in the moment. That situation he had every right to say what he had to say to me. As a competitor, you love when guys challenge you. He challenged me in the locker room at halftime. He challenged me on the court. As a competitor, like I said, I respect that.

Q. What did he say when he got in your face?
LeBRON JAMES: Something that -- I don't know if my kids are asleep right now.

Q. It's midnight. You can say it.
LeBRON JAMES: No, my kids stay up late.
DWYANE WADE: They'll watch ESPN tomorrow.

Q. Dwyane, was it about the offense? Being stagnant or --
DWYANE WADE: It was about winning.

Q. Either for Dwyane or LeBron, it seemed like after the first quarter, Dallas' defense seemed to clamp you guys down. Your offense became stagnant. They held you to 59 the rest of the game and 40%. Was it something they were doing or changes they made, or was it you guys were not flowing as effectively as you were in the first quarter?
DWYANE WADE: I mean, obviously a game of basketball is a game full of runs. So there was moments in the game where offense looked great and their offense looked great. There were points where neither offense looked great. Obviously they did a good job of turning up their pressure. I thought we got ourselves in a little trouble by getting late clock. When we do that, they're able to turn up the pressure. It makes us take bad shots or settle for shots.
We always give teams credit where credit is due. This team worked very hard on the defensive end of the floor. But we could have did a better job and need to do a better job of making sure we don't put ourselves in 9-1-1 situations or turn the ball over and let them get in transitions like they did.

Q. Dwyane, Dirk scored 15 of their last 22. 15 in the fourth quarter. Last game he scored their final nine points. He's been great, but everybody else is not doing much. Is that because you guys are clamping down on other people, or are they missing open looks?
DWYANE WADE: Obviously Dirk is great. A great one-on-one player. A great shooter. We understand Dirk is going to get his numbers. It's our job just to try to make it tough on other guys. They have guys that can score the ball. Shawn Marion has come into this averaging 18 and 9. Jason Terry was huge for them in Game 2 and an unbelievable scorer. They have other guys that can score. It's our job to make it tough. They've shown they have a deep bench. They've shown they have a very good team. They wouldn't be in The Finals without none of them guys.
So we're not going to give Dirk all the credit at all. This Dallas Mavericks team is very deep.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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