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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v SPURSJune 2, 2012Scott BrooksOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA: Game Four Oklahoma City – 109 COACH BROOKS: I thought it was a great team effort. I thought our bigs did a great job of obviously making baskets. Serge 11 for 11, Perk 7 for 9. Both had terrific nights offensively, but our guys were finding them. That's what we've been talking about. We had 27 assists. That's outstanding offensive basketball. And then Kevin took over at the end. I don't know how many points he had straight. It seems like 15‑16, but he had a remarkable fourth quarter. I just like the fact that everybody chipped in. Russell, I give Russell a lot of credit. He in that fourth quarter became a pass defensive‑‑ he became like the dirty garbage man player by hustling, scrambling. He chased down a loose ball, and I thought his effort was tremendous. Q. You guys believed in each other all along. But what are the emotional benefits of getting a game like that from Serge, Kendrick to a certain extent, one game after you got the same thing from Thabo? COACH BROOKS: Well, to be where we are, we have a pretty good basketball team. We have a very good basketball team, a deep basketball team, and a team that believes in each other. As you coach this group, guys step up, and guys step up at times throughout the year, and they stepped up tonight. Thabo stepped up last game with his defense, with his offense. Tonight, our bigs did a good job of defending and scoring. Give our playmakers a lot of credit. They were demanding a lot of attention. Like Kevin Russell and James will do, and they were finding open shots for Serge, and open and drop off passes for Perk. That's what we've been doing. I give those guys a lot of credit for executing it. Q. KD only took four shots in the first half. Did you not think he was getting the looks he wanted, or do you feel like he was just deferring to his teammates they were making shots? COACH BROOKS: Yeah, one of the things about Kevin, I wasn't freezing him out, trust me. I'd like him to shoot more than four times. But with Kevin, it's not about shots. It's about playing very consistent with some toughness and making plays for his team. I think he had eight assists tonight.       They're a great team. They're a team that plays great defense. They're not just going to continue to give him looks. I give him credit. He opened up the defense by making passes, and that's what our guys did tonight. Our three play makers did a great job of finding our bigs for open shots. Q. Do you feel like your team was finishing out plays with box outs and rebounds tonight, particularly on the defensive end? COACH BROOKS: Yeah, we did a great job of defending. They made some tough shots. They're going to make some tough shots. They made some threes. Leonard is a terrific player. Obviously they're very pleased on how he's progressed and improved every month. He's really good. He had another great game for them. But they were making shots. I thought we did a pretty good job defensively. The field goal percentage is not where we'd like it. But they were making some tough shots. Q. You talk about the bigs offense. Serge has become more known for that, but Perk, definitely, that's not one of his strengths. Can you talk about what he was doing, especially, and his production early, just the tone that that set? COACH BROOKS: With Perk, he provides so much toughness for our team. We talk about it all the time. He's a force on the defensive end. He scores points with the screens, and he's done that. He had an incredible series against the Lakers, and he's having a great series in this series with setting screens. But he was rolling hard. We were finding they were jumping out on Kevin, putting two guys on the ball, and Kevin was doing a great job of finding him. Our bigs were looking for each other on big to big passes, but that's what good teams do. 27 assists, that's a terrific ball movement and believe in each other. But we have a deep team. Some nights different guys have to step up, and Serge and Perk had an offensive night that we were all very happy with. Q. San Antonio, obviously, you guys had a lopsided victory in Game 3. What exactly did they do tonight to adjust and make the game tougher for you guys than it was in Game 3? COACH BROOKS: Well, I think they did a great job of getting into us, making us really work for all of our cuts, all of our passes. They were denying. But we knew going into this game, just like us, they have a lot of pride. We knew that going into this game they were going to play aggressive. They were going to attack the basket, and I thought they did that tonight. But we both just hung in there and fought. Then Kevin got hot at the end. Kevin got hot. He made shots. Did a great job of setting up, catching at the nail, catching it where we wanted it. Double teams are hard to get. When he did get double teamed, he had a good pass. James made a good three. He stepped up and found the right play each time. Q. You've seen plenty of great scoring nights from Kevin. What was different about tonight? COACH BROOKS: The eight assists. He's really improved as the years have gone by of becoming a better play maker, and that's through the work that he puts in with our staff. They do a great job, and he's a worker. He comes into practice every day trying to figure out ways to improve his game.       This year we challenged him to be a better play maker for his team, and he did that. He's done that all year. He's been, even early in the season, he's had some turnovers by doing that. They weren't selfish turnovers. They were turnovers trying to find his team, and everything clicked tonight. He was finding himself at the end, but finding his teammates early in the game. Q. Taking a broader view, what do you think it means that he closed the game? He closed what I imagine you might call the biggest game in franchise history in his career. COACH BROOKS: Going into this game we knew how important it was. It's a lot easier going to San Antonio 2‑2 instead of being 1‑3. But when we lost our first two games, our guys did not get down on themselves. We knew they did a great job protecting their home court, and we have to do the same. We have an incredible fan base here. They love our guys, and our guys did a good job of performing and making them feel very proud of our players by just working hard and playing hard. It was terrific that Kevin did a good job of closing out the game. But Kevin's about winning. He's not about scoring 16 points in a row. If he would have had 15 assists or making the right plays, he's happy with that. He's a team player, and he's only going to get better. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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