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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v SPURSJune 4, 2012Scott BrooksSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Game Five Oklahoma City – 108 SCOTT BROOKS: I thought that was a total team effort. We stuck together, and we had a couple of bad stretches, but we didn't break. We battled through that. I thought everybody did a great job of chipping in. D.C., I give him a lot of credit. That's one of the toughest things to do in this league is to stay ready. Everybody talks about it, but he has done that. He has worked and cheered and did everything under his power to get an opportunity to be ready, and he did a great job, stepped in and had eight points and I don't know how many minutes, two or three minutes. But everybody did their job. I thought we were‑‑ we played about as hard as we can possibly play, and defensively they're not an easy team to guard, and we really did a good job of challenging every position. Q. What adjustments were necessary, if any, for Manu Ginobili being in the starting lineup? SCOTT BROOKS: Well, we had a feeling that they would insert Manu in the starting lineup. Our adjustment is just to play your man as hard as you can, and if you need help, your teammate has to be there to help you and that's what good teams do, and we did that tonight. That's been our adjustment all along. I just tell our guys we have to keep getting better each game, and I thought our guys done that. Manu had a great game like Manu is capable of having. He made shots. We gave him a couple easy ones, but he made a ton of tough ones and that is what great players do and he's one of the best game‑time players. Q. With the way Game 1 ended you had a nine‑point lead going into the fourth quarter. How much do you think your guys were able to draw on that experience tonight? SCOTT BROOKS: Well, it has lot of similarities, up nine, fourth quarter, and tonight same thing. We've learned from it. That first game we didn't move the ball as well as we did, and we didn't defend as well as we were capable of defending. I thought we turned the ball over too many times in the second half, but I give them a lot of credit. They got into us, they got into the ball handler and forced us to play out of our comfort zone, but I thought we did a great job of weathering the storm. They're a terrific team and they will keep battling and they are not just going to give you the game and we knew they were going to make a run. We stayed together. We made big shots down the stretch. James hit a big three. He may have hit two big threes, but everybody did their job to get this win tonight. Q. Along that line, players from Game 1 to Game 4, what did they learn about one another and what did you learn about your team? SCOTT BROOKS: Well, we definitely know that we have to play 48 minutes against this team, and we know that there's two good teams playing each other in this series, and we have a lot of respect for what they do and how they do it. You learn. We're not too proud to learn from how players play, teams play. They're a great team and they pass the ball as well as any team in basketball. I think tonight, the last game, 27 assists, tonight, 22 or 23, the game before that, 23. You have to be able to trust your teammate on both ends of the floor, and I think our guys have done a great job this series. Q. How much mental toughness did it take for you guys to stick together and stick with it when they're making all those runs? SCOTT BROOKS: Well, we talk about effort with our guys all the time. There's physical effort and there's mental effort, and we all have enough in our tanks to be physical for 48 minutes. That's easy to do. You can play back to back, and this year we played back to back to back, and we played five and six nights. But the mental effort is what gets you to win games against this team because they keep coming at you. They've got great experience. They've got one of the best coaches of all sports, and we know that we have to play every possession and every position. Our guys have done a good job with that. But like I told the guys, we still have some basketball in us to keep improving, and we should get better and each game goes on in this series. Q. There were ebbs and flows, you had a chance to put them away and you didn't, and it came down to that one last stop. Can you walk us through what was going on in the huddle? SCOTT BROOKS: Well, we just wanted to not give them an easy three, and I thought our guys did a great job of switching. That's what you want. Great players make incredible shots, and we knew that‑‑ we know that they have a few great players on that team that can make that shot. So we just wanted to make sure that we contest every shot that they will take. I thought the play before we gave Manu too quick of a two, and we were up five. I thought we could have done a better job there. But I thought the next possession we did, and they took a tough shot and that's what you want, and rebounded, and won the game because of toughness. That's the way we have to play. We're a physical team and a tough team, and we have to display that every time down court. Q. (Inaudible.) SCOTT BROOKS: At that time I think we just switched. It was random switching. He did not start off on him, but he might have ended up on him. Q. Could you talk about Kevin? Were you stunned that he was zero for zero from the field in the second quarter and talk about his 22 points in the second half. SCOTT BROOKS: Yeah, I mean, that's what good players do. They just stay with the game plan, and they stay focused and they just stay with the game and don't let the game dictate how you feel. And Kevin did a good job of staying in. Great scorers, there's going to be halves or quarters and halves where they don't get a lot of looks or they don't make shots, but he has the ability to have a big quarter and he has the ability to have a big fourth quarter, as we've all seen. That's a luxury to have when you have the ability that he has. But I keep saying this: He's a talented player, but he works extremely hard. He works like he has no talent because he works hard every day just to try to make the team. That's his mindset, and that's how he's improved in the last five years. Q. You had early foul trouble, slow start, and you endured that. Which pleased you more, enduring the start or surviving the finish? SCOTT BROOKS: They both were big hurdles to overcome. One thing I tell our guys, you can't worry about foul trouble. You have to do the right thing every time down court. If you have two fouls and you have a chance to block a shot or take a charge, you have to do it. The minutes always equal itself out. If you average 35 and you got in foul trouble you might have 32 this night. To I just tell them to play through it, your job is to play your minutes as hard as you can and for your team, and we did that tonight, and in the end that's hard what we did. It's an amazing crowd here. It's a great environment with a great team, and they came at us and they were attacking, they were getting lay‑ups, they were getting to the free‑throw line, and we did a good job of settling ourselves down and making important baskets when we needed it. Q. You guys were up 13 with five minutes to go and almost gave it all up, and Russell had a brutal finish. Can you talk about just trusting him and how hard is that to watch as he's doing that? SCOTT BROOKS: Well, I believe in all of our guys. I believe in what they do because I see them every day. I have the great fortune that I can see these guys work every day. Did Russell have a great second half? No. You still‑‑ I still believe in our guys. I believe in what they do. I know their heart, I know they're about the team. Tony did a good job. Sometimes you've got to pat your opponent on the back and say, good job, you pressured me. He got him out of his zone, his comfort zone, but we'll figure that out, going into next game. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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