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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS v HEATJune 7, 2012LeBron JamesBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Game Six Miami Heat - 98 Q.  LeBron, your teams have struggled in this building over the years in the postseason. How nice is it to come in here and put on a performance like that in a must‑win game? LeBRON JAMES: You just said it, it was a must‑win game for us to continue our season. I'm happy we were able to put together a complete game for the first time this series. We were close in Game 1. We played really good in Game 1. Since then we hadn't played a complete game that we're capable of doing. So that's what I'm more excited about than anything, that we finally put a 48‑minute game together. And it allowed us to win this game, a game that we had to have. Q. Following up on that point, do you feel this was your best playoff performance? LeBRON JAMES: I don't know. I don't know. I haven't really‑‑ I haven't watched the film or anything like that. I just tried to make plays for our team throughout the whole game, as long as I was on the court I wanted to make plays, both offensively and defensively, to give ourselves a chance to win. I think I did that tonight. Q. LeBron, as much as what was at stake tonight and as much as what you guys have heard the last couple of days about you and about the team, did you come in feeling like this was a game you had to have? I'm not saying you pre‑planned it. LeBRON JAMES: In an environment like this you want to have a big game. I wanted to be there for my teammates, no matter what was going on throughout the course of the game. So like I said, I'm happy I was able to make some plays both offensively and defensively to help us win this game. This was a gut‑check for us. And it's good to see we were able to bounce back after that loss, after that Game 5 loss at home. Q. LeBron, what's it feel like when you're out there dominating a game like that? When was the last time you felt that way? LeBRON JAMES: You just try to keep the pedal going, keep the pedal down and just continue to be aggressive. I felt like I was aggressive from the opening tip, and the guys continued to find me. I tried to keep it going. I felt like that a few times in this postseason. And it's a great feeling to be in when you feel like everything you put up is going in. But you just can't‑‑ you can never let go. You can never let it die down or anything like that. You know you have to continue to put pressure on their defense, and I was able to do that. Q. Can you do this again in a Game 7? And will you have to? LeBRON JAMES: I don't know. I take every game as its own. I will continue to be aggressive. I will try to continue to play at a high level like I done the whole postseason. If it results in these numbers or whatever the case may be, I'm going to go out there and play my game and play as hard as I can. I don't really care what the stats say. I won't regret Game 7. Win, lose or draw, I'm going to go in with the mindset like I've had this whole season. And we'll see what happens. Q. LeBron, Doc talked about how it's hard, it takes a lot out of a team when a guy hits you like that. Can you tell that you took their heart a little bit in that first and second quarter? LeBRON JAMES: I wasn't paying too much attention to those guys. I was focused on what we had to do as a team, as an individual, to help us win this ballgame. I was in such a zone I really didn't‑‑ I wasn't trying to pay too close attention to their expressions or what they were going through over there. I was just doing what I had to do to help our team win this game. I have no idea. Q. LeBron, what did you use as motivation for this game? Did you think at all about the last two times you had elimination games here? LeBRON JAMES: I don't know. I didn't use any motivation. I just went to my habits. I went to what I built over the course of the season, over the course of the years, and just went out and played. I wasn't going to feel sorry for myself or anything tonight. I just go out and play as hard as I can, as I said, and try to make plays for our team. And at the end of the day, whatever happens happens. I can be satisfied with that. I didn't need no extra motivation tonight. It's the postseason. I know how big these games are. Every game is big. So that's my motivation itself. But I didn't need any extra motivation in this game. I just went to my habits, what I built ever since I started playing this game. Q. LeBron, Coach Spoelstra talked about clearing out the noise. I'm interested how you did that. Did you turn off the TV? Not listen to the radio? How did you approach the last couple of days? LeBRON JAMES: I don't really get too far in sports talk radio or anything like that too much. Over the postseason I've been doing a lot of reading and been watching movies and things like that. I don't really hear the outside noise of what's said about me or what's said about our team. As a team, we never get too high, we never get too low. So we kind of just try to stay focused on what's at hand. And over the course of these 48 hours we've just been worried about Game 6, how can we prepare to win Game 6. And our coaching staff gave us a great game plan, and as players we tried to go out and execute that. Q. Fantastic game. Listen, it's obvious you do any and everything to help your team win, but has it ever really been more apparent how central it is for you in particular to really look to shoot the ball, even if it's over two or three defenders? Seriously. LeBRON JAMES: For me this game is all about team. I was coached that way as a kid, and it was instilled in me ever since I picked up a basketball. As an individual you can't do it by yourself. No matter what my numbers was tonight, nowhere near we would have won this game if the other 14 guys weren't in tune and wasn't focused about us trying to win this game. So two guys come to me or three guys come to me, I'm very good at math, that means someone is open. I believe in my teammates, and they're going to knock that shot down. So that's how I play the game, and I will continue to play the game like that, because it's gotten me to this point. Q. LeBron, you said, I won't regret Game 7, and that's been my mindset all season. Where did that mindset spawn from? I guess to not regret means you had to at one point regret. LeBRON JAMES: No, it doesn't mean that. I'm basically saying this whole team is about getting back to the way I play the game of basketball. I said that to all you guys, seen the interview I did with Rachel before the season. You guys have all seen it. In a great place right now as far as the game of basketball on the court and off the court. So I'm looking forward to Game 7. See you all in Miami. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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