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NBA FINALS: HEAT v THUNDERJune 19, 2012Dwyane WadeMIAMI, FLORIDA: Game Four Oklahoma City Thunder - 98 Q.  Just talk about how it feels to be one game away from another title in line with the resiliency of this team. You lost Bosh early in the Playoffs, you had LeBron hurting tonight, and now you're one game away. DWYANE WADE: Yeah, this team, we had to go through something to get to the point that we are resilient, and that's going through a heartbreaking loss in The Finals last year. Really having to go back and gut‑check ourselves. But you've got to crawl before you walk. That's what we did. Right now we feel that any game we play, no matter what the score is, no matter what the situation is, no matter who's on the floor, we're confident that we can win the ballgame. Obviously we've got to put in the work, we've got to do a lot of things to do that, but that's the confidence that this team has. Q. If you had been told that the classic scenario of you're going to lose the lead and lose LeBron in the fourth quarter of the game, how much would you have liked your odds of pulling this thing out? DWYANE WADE: Yeah, I wouldn't like the odds of that at all. Mario Chalmers was huge. Mario Chalmers was big tonight for us. It took just a total group effort. LeBron was hurting but he still came back in and that three he hit was huge, getting to the foul line was big. He was hurting. But that's what it's about this time of the year. It would hurt more if we lose the ballgame, so it feels a little better if you can win it. This is a battle, man. OKC played amazing. Obviously Durant and Westbrook was phenomenal tonight. But our will just pulled us through, and we made enough plays to win the ballgame. Q. A lot of your season sort of has been what they got tonight, where LeBron would be the Westbrook and get the 43 and carry you. How important is it to show people we're a team, it's you, it's Mario, it's Chris getting close to another double‑double, and how satisfying is it when you do it, when LeBron can't be there for a moment you guys can hold on and help him through, also? Talk about the team nature of the victory. DWYANE WADE: That's the reason that we all came here together, and I'm not just talking about Chris, LeBron and myself. I'm talking about Shane Battier, I'm talking about Mike Miller, I'm talking about all these guys. That's the reason we all wanted to play together. It's very hard in this league to win, to win it all. You've got to have guys that on any given night they can carry what you call your own weight, and nights that you've got to do it together. It's very important. It's very big. Obviously LeBron James is one of the most dominant players in the game, and he explodes many nights scoring‑wise. But we've always got his back, and certain nights like tonight when he wasn't feeling his greatest, you have guys like Mario Chalmers step up, big plays, big moments. That's what this team is built on, and that's the reason we're playing together. Q. Speaking of Mario, can you just explain how difficult it is to be the point guard on this team. It's just a different style of point guard. And when he is able to pick his spots and have the type of game that he had tonight. And also, are those Dwayne Wayne glasses? DWYANE WADE: You know, Mario, it's not easy for most people to come in and whatever role that they're supposed to be in, to not have the role. A lot of times Mario Chalmers don't bring the ball up, and he's the point guard. And then there's other times we depend on him to do it so much, and we want him to make plays for us. I'm sure it's confusing at times. He's out of rhythm a lot, but he's a big‑game kind of player. When he got drafted here, we knew that he was a big‑game player. Yeah, paying a little homage to Dwayne Wayne tonight. Q. Oklahoma City was playing at warp speed early. How did you slow them down? How did you change the pace of the game? DWYANE WADE: Ball going through the basket for us changed it. We was missing shots early, a lot of in and outs. Russell Westbrook came out on another level tonight. From the first play he came out so fast, so athletic. But we was able to settle in, run the offense. The ball got a chance to go through the basket, and we was able to get back and set our defense, and make it tough on them. We are pretty good team when you can see our defense. But they still shot the ball phenomenal. Coming off last game to this game, both teams shooting 48. That's being on fire compared to the last game. Q. What was it that clicked in the second quarter that put that run together? DWYANE WADE: We just continued to play the game. We continued to work our game. The shots that we had early on, they was coming in and out. We was getting good shots. We just weren't making them. But we had to do more on the defensive end, more effort. They came out with more effort than us, and we just had to pick that up, and I thought we did that. There was one point, we cut it so fast, it was 31‑33. When you're down that much, you're like, okay, let's chip this thing back, let's chip it back. We came back, and big ups, and a lot of credit to Norris Cole coming in with the new haircut, playing very well, hitting two big threes for us.  To be a rookie, to come in when we needed something, and he came through big for us. Q. It also seemed like at the end when Durant made that basket to give them a 94‑92 lead you guys didn't even flinch there, and took off on that run to end the game.  Tell us about that. DWYANE WADE: Yeah, I mean, at this time there's going to be some back and forth. We've seen it, especially for the last three games. It's just about at the end who makes the most plays. As long as there's time on the clock for this team, we always feel that we have a chance. We know we've got to go down and execute, but we also know we've got to come down and we've got to get stops. This is a tough team to get stops on. You've just got to continue to keep wearing on them, and they're going to miss one, and hopefully when they miss one, we can capitalize on that and get one going, and that's what we were able to do. Q. Going to this game, most people thought the Thunder bench was better because of James Harden. He struggled really the last two games. What are you guys doing team‑wise to slow him up? DWYANE WADE: As I said, Harden is one of the best, obviously, sixth men for a reason. All we're trying to do is make sure he sees multiple bodies when he drives. He's one of the best penetrators, getting to many small gaps, getting to the lane, getting to the hole, getting to the foul line. Our job is when he's coming up, knowing the sets they like to run, knowing what he likes to do, try to take it away and make it as tough as possible for him. He's a player that can catch fire. I'm not saying we're doing an amazing job. We're doing enough just to try to keep his rhythm off a little bit. Q. Is there anything about Mario's personality or his character that allows him to not be much of a factor at all in this series, and then when you really need him, he's able to deliver? DWYANE WADE: Yeah, Mario has that thing, that thing called heart, and no matter what, no matter how tough we are on him, he actually thinks he's the best player on this team, and that's a gift and a curse. But tonight it was a gift for us because he never gets down on himself, he always believes, "find me, I can make a shot. I can make a play." He was huge for us. We don't win the game tonight without what he did in the fourth quarter making some baskets going to the hole. Q. Is that part of someone's character? Is it learned or just given? DWYANE WADE: It's part of your DNA. You're just born with it. What it says on his arm, "Mr.Clutch", that clutch gene, you've got to be born with it, and he has it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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