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NBA FINALS: HEAT v THUNDERJune 19, 2012Chris BoshMIAMI, FLORIDA: Game Four Oklahoma City Thunder - 98 Q.  A lot of the season sort of you've been what they were tonight: LeBron with a huge game, everyone else helping out. Tonight you had real balance, you had Mario, Dwyane, you, one rebound for a double‑double for your third straight game. Do you think people sort of understate the balance of this team because the great MVP year that LeBron had, and how good does it feel to know that you can have this kind of balance? CHRIS BOSH: Well, I think for one thing, not only the whole MVP thing with LeBron but just the Big Three. We know that our size can kind of get lost in that. We really do have some big performances, but this is a team. It's always a team effort. It takes everybody. We have a lot of talented guys that are ready to step up at a moment's notice, and we kept telling Rio he was about overdue for a great game, and just to be able to have those guys to lean on for support when it's time, especially in big moments like this, I think it's huge. I have to tip my hat to Rio. He gets the game ball today. Q. Coach Spoelstra always talks about you guys being a family, and trying to identify who's your real identity as a team. Tonight you showed us that guys have developed fierce and maybe different from last year. And how do you feel is the identity right now of the Miami Heat in terms of getting ready for the next game? CHRIS BOSH: Well, I mean, that's all we focus on is the next game. We always said, I'm sure Spo has said it 100,000 times, is staying in the moment. That's what you always have to do. You have to stay in the moment, put everything in the past behind you, don't worry about the future. Just execute what you're supposed to execute at that time. You know, the family environment here, we've felt it since day one, since the first day we came together. This is one of the biggest families, if not the biggest, in the NBA, and they really make you feel that when you come here. It's really spilled over into our toughness, our togetherness, and we've been through a lot together. That's what the journey is about, so we have to continue to get better until the season is over. Q. Kind of playing off the journey and what you guys have been through, LeBron gets carried off by Juwan and J, it becomes a two‑point deficit, I know it's a crazy hypothetical, but is there any way you guys win this game a year ago? CHRIS BOSH: I don't think we would have won a lot of these games a year ago. Just looking at it, we were the ones who had the lead last year, and we couldn't capitalize. We had big leads in the fourth quarter last year. That was the biggest lesson for us, because we really learned that we have to play through it until the end. I know a lot of times with LeBron going down or somebody going down, it can always look bad, but those are the things you have to fight through. You know, this Game 4 was huge for us because we were up 2‑1 last year at home. There's a little bit more added pressure against a very hungry team, and we were able to overcome that. We just have to continue to meet the challenges and beat them. Q. Can you just describe the scene in that time‑out when LeBron had come to the sideline, he's laying on the court, getting work done, obviously in pain. What was that scene like that? What were guys saying? CHRIS BOSH: "Drink some Gatorade." We were just trying to make sure he was okay. And then after he kind of gave us the nod that he needed to stretch and he probably wasn't going to come back in the next possession, we just have to focus on the next play. That's the resiliency that we have. When things happen that seem tough, we just focus on the next thing. And then even after that, playing on one leg, I don't know how he did it, but he hit a huge three, and fortunately we didn't look back after that. Q. How jarring was that? Because I'm sure you guys had come to view him as kind of indestructible, and to see him unable to walk‑‑ CHRIS BOSH: Well, it's satisfying at the same time because that's what it's about. That's what being in this Finals is about, giving everything that you have until you can't walk anymore. I think he did a fantastic job tonight fighting through it, but that's how we knew we were going to feel beating these guys. We knew that we weren't going to have anything left in the tank. And it's kind of ironic because he was the main guy that said it. "You should be totally exhausted after this game." And just for him to set the example, that was huge for us. Q. Just to follow on what you were just talking about, Spo came in here and said it was sheer will when he was hobbling out there, he really didn't have any business being out there for that three. What example does that set, not that you guys need it at this point, but what does it tell every player on the court about how to finish the game? CHRIS BOSH: You said it, it's about will. It's about nothing else. It's about paying attention to detail, and when you have a moment, you have to seize it. It doesn't matter how you feel, how tired you are, you have to respond. He responded in so many big ways, and he wasn't able to finish the last couple of possessions, but that's why we work hard as a team. That's why we believe in each other as a team, because when we need a stop, when we need a rebound, we have each other. Q. When you got here two years ago and you started to know Mario, what did you get to know about his mentality that makes him so great under pressure? CHRIS BOSH: Well, I mean, I think everybody kind of knew the position he came from in Kansas with his big‑time performances there. But when we got into the season, he hit some big shots and just‑‑ you know, you've got to love his mentality. He wants to be the best, and that's where it starts. He puts in the work all the time, and he truly believes in his talent. It really is contagious. Once you see him, you can't help but believe in him. We've been staying on him because we need him. We knew coming into the season we needed him to be a better point guard, and we all had to get better, and he's just outlasted a tremendous amount of pressure and he's responding every time, and that's what he does. Q. Of all the situations you guys have been in, one win from The Finals, from the championship has not been one. Are you feeling really excited or calm and focused? CHRIS BOSH: Calm and focused. We're thinking about Game 5 right now. We keep the same mindset that we've always kept throughout the season. We take it one possession, one quarter, one game at a time. You know, we have to put everything together. We know it's not over until it's over, so we have to finish this job that we started. It's going to be another very, very tough game on Thursday, and if we're going to win it, we have to earn it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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