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NBA FINALS: MAVERICKS v HEAT

June 9, 2011

Rick Carlisle

DALLAS, TEXAS: Game Five

Miami Heat 103
Dallas Mavericks 112

Q. Coach, this is the first game where triple figures in scoring. You had five people in double figures. Talk a little about what you thought was so different about this game offensively.
COACH RICK CARLISLE: We made more shots. We did a lot of good things defensively, which led to good offense. Look, I don't know, it was -- did Chicago score 100 the first game of that series? That was one time they did? You never know when the games are going to go that way. The thing we got to do is we got to make sure our defense is consistent.

Q. Rick, what were your thoughts on Jet tonight? Not just with the 21 points but he also had six assists and was kind of a facilitator for you.
COACH RICK CARLISLE: He played great. He played great. During periods where Dirk was out of the game, we were going to him, and he was delivering. Those are tough stretches of minutes for us, because it's just tough when Dirk is out of the game.
But it's the total game that we've all been preaching to Jet really since the playoffs began. And tonight he did a terrific job.

Q. Rick, can we get your thoughts just being one win away from a world championship now.
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Well, we've got to just continue to work the process, and for us the process is being in a stance, being tied together, being really tight defensively, because they're great players and put unbelievable pressure on you.
We understand where we're at, but we also understand what got us here, and that is making sure we stay in the moment.

Q. When they got that 6-0 run and they got themselves a lead, what did you tell your guys that propelled them to finish the game, close out and get the victory?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Well, we have to get some penetration and get the ball in the basket and we have to get some stops. They were able to do that. They were able to do that. Miami, they keep coming at you. They keep coming at you. They got guys that really attack. Their bigs are very versatile. They're very tough to guard.

Q. Coach, congrats on the win. Game 4 DeShawn Stevenson with key plays from the perimeter. Tonight it was J.J. Barea. Talk about his performance.
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Barea's penetration was terrific. He got going with his outside game and his inside game, which really helped us. Look, we threw in some difficult shots, but when you play as hard as we've been playing, the basketball gods tend to be kinder to you.
We have had some tough luck shooting the ball. Tonight I thought the way we hung in and the wherewithal we showed and played with helped us get over the hump a little bit.

Q. Talk about the importance of the three-point shot getting hot for you guys in the fourth quarter and then overall the magnitude of this win going on the road back to Miami.
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Both teams are shooting the three well. They shot 40%. They made 8 out of 20, which is a big number for the playoffs. 13 is a big number. You get hot, you get on a roll, and you can have a night like that.
They don't happen very often. Last time we had a shooting night like this was Game 4 against the Lakers. That's why you just keep working your game. And that's why you stay persistent, you keep defending, you keep systemically stepping into shots that are there and you're going to have some breakthrough games.
Persistence is our game. We're an old-school team. We're not high fliers. We have a couple of guys that can get up in the air a little bit. Our game is near the ground. We have to play with brains and guts.

Q. Coach, why were you so effective in your half-court offensive sets? You had great ball movement, court symmetry, spacing.
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Well, I would think that a lot of time we were getting stops that led to those situations. Look, we made some tough shots, and we had some good momentum in our offense tonight, and that helps.

Q. Coach, can you talk about Dirk's health tonight. Any residual effects from last game?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: I don't believe so. He may not be 100%, but he seemed to be okay.

Q. Coach, can you talk about Brian Cardinal's performance tonight.
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Yeah, terrific. Last two games, I mean, he's really a unique player. So resourceful defensively, always around the ball. He's always going to be there taking charges and he's always going to be there -- he's going to be making contact with people. I thought the block that was called on him may have been the wrong call. I thought he was in position. I thought Wade came right through his chest. He's going to be there, and when he's on the floor, you know, we become a more active defensive team for sure.

Q. Can you talk about Mahinmi. Three fouls tonight and played much better defense than he did the other game or so.
COACH RICK CARLISLE: He did a terrific job for us. And with Haywood out, looking at the thing, I wasn't sure where those backup center minutes were going to come, whether it was going to be Marion playing with some hybrid lineups or whether there would be an opportunity to get Ian out there. Because I believe he can help us, because he's very active and he played a lot of very effective minutes for us during the regular season.
But he helped us tonight. For sure.

Q. Rick, how aware were you when Dwyane went to the locker room? And did he seem slowed at all to you down the stretch?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Not to me, but, you know. I mean he was still driving it good and getting to the free-throw line. I'm not sure what happened to him. The guy that started for him hit two threes that started the half. Didn't look like they lost a whole lot.

Q. Rick, you said that you've always preached to Jet to play the complete game. Can you elaborate a little bit about what you mean by that and what he did tonight that's maybe different than you've seen him do the last few games?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: He's been playing well, really. If you look at the whole playoffs, he's been playing terrific all-around basketball. With a great player like that Dirk, a guy of that magnitude, everybody wants to try to find who the number two scorer is, which guy has got to score the second most points, or whatever.
Jet is a great scorer, he's a great shooter, and he's a great player. But he's a terrific all-around player. He used to play point guard exclusively, so he has a lot of experience as a play-maker. In situations in the playoffs where a guy like him draws attention, sometimes he's going to have to facilitate and create openings for other guys. Like the play where he got Kidd the three on the right top, that's a monster play. And that happens because he draws attention and he sees the floor.
It's that, and it's the defensive end. So, you know, look, he was sensational tonight. Especially in the fourth.

Q. Going back to Miami, sure you have two opportunities to win one, but talk about how important it is to get that first one and not have it go to a seventh game on their court.
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Again, I just would say to you that we're going to stay in the moment and we're going to just keep studying how we play our best. We're going to play whistle to whistle. I heard that term. Been watching the hockey series. A lot of the people in the hockey world use that term. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to try to win each possession and just take it one at a time.
An NBA Finals is a 16-day deal or whatever it is. And it's very long, but somehow or other it goes by fast. By staying in the moment and just really focusing on what's important for us, that helps us.

Q. Coach, is it refreshing or relieving to have someone other than Dirk finish the game off for you offensively?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: We've got a lot of guys that have been terrific finishers for us. A lot of times our game becomes very balanced. We had five guys in double figures tonight. We had a guy with eight and two guys with four and a guy with three. So that's pretty good for us. Some nights it's just we need seven guys with four points or more. You're never quite sure how the total is going to get to where it gets.
That's kind of defined us as a team. There's no set formula, other than we need each other. And we need to play a certain way, and we need to play with a certain collective intelligence and will. And the defense has got to be tight. So we were able to do a lot of those things tonight, and I think that's why we won.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach.

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