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NBA FINALS: MAVERICKS v HEAT

June 11, 2011

Dirk Nowitzki

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Practice Day

Q. Dirk, how have you been able to block out the last two days, the fact that you're one win away from what you've been working for for so long?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, we just don't allow ourselves to kind of be satisfied or be happy with anything. I think we did a good job in the first couple of rounds, always kind of keeping our edge to ourself. We won two games -- stole two games in L.A. and came back and still were able to win a big Game 3 at home.
And I just think we're a veteran team, and we can't get too high with the highs. I've mentioned it all playoffs long. We addressed it today. Hopefully we'll be ready to play tomorrow.

Q. Can you also talk about '06 when it ended in Dallas, did you stop to watch the celebration and just your memories of all that?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, you know, I never went back and watched the film. I never watched the celebration. But it is tough to always see another team win on your home court. It doesn't matter if it's a regular season or playoffs or championship. That's always tough in front of your home fans.
Ultimately, that's what we got to do now. We've got to steal one more game on the road, hopefully the next one. We've been good on the road all playoffs long, we feel. We won a game in Portland. We won two in L.A. We won two in OKC and we won this series already. So we feel that we can execute on the road as well. We have a bunch of veterans that are road-tested, and hopefully we can get a big game tomorrow.

Q. Dirk, why do you feel like you're having a better series against Miami this time around than in 2006?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, I feel like actually I haven't really shot the ball as well as I want to. I had some good looks, they just didn't go down. Just keep attacking. I think obviously my teammates are a big part of that. I think J-Kidd is able to give me the ball in situations where I want it. We got some good shooters around me. Tyson in the middle and Haywood have been great stepping in. So I don't have to force any shots if they're not there. Just swing it, run another pick-and-roll.
So just experience, I guess, is a big factor.

Q. What did you think of the video of Wade and LeBron coughing? Dwyane said that was a real cough, by the way.
DIRK NOWITZKI: I just thought it was a little childish, a little ignorant. I've been in this league for 13 years. I've never faked an injury or an illness before. But it happened. It's over to me. It's not going to add anything extra to me. This is the NBA Finals. If you need an extra motivation, you have a problem.
So we're one win away from my dream, what I've worked on for half of my life. This is really all I'm worried about. This is all I'm focusing on. And not really off-the-court stuff that happened.

Q. Dirk, what are your emotions now that you're just one win away from doing this and winning your first championship?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, kind of the same as yesterday or the day before that. I don't allow myself to sit back and relax now. In these playoffs, one win or one loss can switch the whole momentum. You don't ever want a snowball to start. I don't allow myself to sit back all of a sudden and be satisfied.
We got one more big win hopefully to get, and then I can be satisfied.

Q. Dirk, Holger (Nowitzki's shooting coach) had you work on or get involved in music, reading and some unusual things, put you through some unusual drills on the court. How has being kind of intellectually challenged helped you become a better player in your development at all?
DIRK NOWITZKI: I think when we first started it was always about -- when you're 16 it's about other aspects of life, too. It's not just focusing too early on one thing and just get good at one thing and don't have anything else in life. So just challenging other aspects of the brain and stimulating it, and music is a big part and reading and other stuff, too.
I just thought he was trying to show me other ways and not just on the court.

Q. Who is your biggest musical influence?
DIRK NOWITZKI: That's tough. I love rock now. I have played the guitar for a couple of years. I listen to old-school rock. Led Zeppelin, Stones, stuff like that.

Q. Dirk, your coaches had to be creative and a little outside the box in this series. Can you talk about some of the moves he's made and the ones you find to be the most effective to getting you guys in front in this series?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, I think he's pushed the right buttons I think all season long. He's challenged us in ways. Sometimes he's backed off. Sometimes he's letting J-Kidd run the show. Sometimes he feels like things are not going the way he wants to and he's clamping down a little more. So I think that was the challenge the first two years, to find a good mix between play-calls and freedom and still play enough defense to win. And I just think he found a good mix and he found all the right buttons to motivate us every single night to get to this spot.
I think every series, every time you go through a game, win or lose, you have to look at the film. You adjust. Sometimes it's major things, sometimes it's minor things the media doesn't even pick up. It might be little coverages. So I think every coach goes back after a game and adjusts, and we've done good so far. I think the major change was obviously starting J.J.
He's been phenomenal for us attacking the paint. He was shooting the ball well last game. They were going under his screen-and-rolls. He was able to knock some big shots down. J.J. has been good in the starting lineup.

Q. What about having Cardinal and Mahinmi in the game together with you on the bench?
DIRK NOWITZKI: You know, I feel we're a very close-knit group. We have a bunch of talent on the bench as well. Both of those guys bring us toughness. I think Mahinmi is very athletic, and Brian is a tough-nosed player who is very smart. They both gave us a huge lift last game, just by being in the right spot and kind of picking up our energy. Every player on the bench has been big at some point in these playoffs.
I remember Brewer coming in and really changing Game 1 in L.A. We were down 15, or whatever, in the third. He came in and gave us a huge lift. At some point every player on this bench made a contribution.

Q. Dirk, from your past experience and past seasons, can you relate in any way to the situation with LeBron where he can play well but be criticized and maybe come up short for not playing well enough?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, I just think sometimes when you don't win, criticism comes with it. That's just a part of the game if you're the star or the face of the franchise. If you win, it's great for you, and everybody looks at you. And if you lose, you're going to get hammered. It's just the part of the business. I think we understand that. We've been around long enough. I got hammered the last 13 years, basically. So hopefully this year I can make the hammering go away for one year.

Q. Does pressure build during a series when that's happening?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, I don't know. I never really try to focus on other people, what other people say. I always try to worry about myself. Every summer go back home and try to work harder and come back next year, and during the series you can't worry about other stuff. You focus on the teammates. You watch the film, you talk to the teammates, see what they can do to help you, what you can do to help them. And that's all I was worried about in the playoffs, is trying to perform.

Q. Dirk, you just said a chance to make the hammering go away for a year, wouldn't it be more than that? If you win a ring, doesn't that change the way you are looked at for good?
DIRK NOWITZKI: I don't know. You never know. That's another thing I'm not really worried about. I said it before The Finals started, I said I'm not trying to win for my legacy or for anything other than for just me being on the best team there is for that year. You want to be a part of the best, and so hopefully we can fulfill that and everything else is kind of a side note to me right now.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Dirk.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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