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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PACERS v HEATMay 24, 2013LeBron JamesMIAMI, FLORIDA: Game Two Indiana Pacers    97 Q.  LeBron, can you take us through obviously the final two plays, those sequences, what you saw and what happened. LeBRON JAMES: First one, Ray came to set a pick‑and‑roll in the first one, and David West basically just put his hands up and he was able to get his hands on the ball. A little careless on my part obviously. And then the second go‑round, I was able to get in the lane, I spun and I seen Ray once again wide open and I was careless once again. I had the lane for Ray. I maybe should have jump‑passed it over the top. I tried to throw it through the lane, and they was able to get the hand on it again. Can't happen in that situation. Especially being down two in a big game. Q. How surprising was that to you? Maybe one, but not two. And what's the sort of disappointment feeling right now after two plays like that? LeBRON JAMES: Very disappointing, of course, for me. That's the first thing I always look at on the stat sheet is my turnovers. I had two key ones at a big point of the game. I am very disappointed in my judgment and my plays down the stretch. But I'll make up for them. Q. LeBron, emotionally, how do you sort of go from what happened in Game 1 with you winning it in the final seconds, to sort of stumbling in Game 2? LeBRON JAMES: I get ready for Game 3, like I did in Game 1 and Game 2. I didn't have any emotions after making the game‑winner in Game 1. We won one game and tonight we lost one. So emotionally I'm still at the same level I've been at. We had an opportunity, but they played well enough to win Game 2. Q. LeBron, you had what looked like a respectful exchange with Paul at the end of the third quarter. When you have a little back‑and‑forth with a guy and you're pushing a guy in a night like this, it seems to take your game to another level. LeBRON JAMES: We're just two guys trying to do what it takes to help our team win. He's really good. He's going to be a great one. His maturity and his game has definitely risen in just one year because of the opportunity Frank Vogel has given him. His teammates have a lot of confidence in him, and he has confidence in himself. I love competition. I try to step up to the challenge and try to be there for my team as well. Q. LeBron, you've lost home court, obviously. The outside shot just isn't there from guys who have been hitting it all year. What's the level of concern right now as you head up to Indy for Game 3? LeBRON JAMES: I think the outside shot isn't there for the guys who have been hitting all year for a couple of reasons; the rhythm. We have to figure out a way to get our shooters into the game more instead of trying to get them the ball and make them make a tough one late in the game for Ray or from Rio or from Shane. We have to figure out how to get them some shots early in the game, where they feel like they're part of the offense. That has to come from me, come from D‑Wade, come from CB. We're the three guys that have the ball in our hands a lot. Try to get our shooters in the game early. We know they've been there for us all year. We're going to continue to have confidence in them. We know it'll help us out a lot. I think having them a part of the flow offensively, they'll feel like they're part of the offense, they'll be there late for us. Q. I know you're right in the middle of a series right now, but you've been where Paul George was in terms of becoming whatever it is you're going to be. What's the next step for a young guy with talent, with the work ethic to take that next level to be an elite player? LeBRON JAMES: I mean, I know the answer to that. I'm not going to say it right now while I'm competing against the guy. He may try to use that during our match‑up right now. I know the answer to that. I'll answer it after the series. Q. Your team was in a similar position last year going up there 1‑1. I know the circumstances are different; Chris is healthy right now. Can you draw anything from going up to that building with the 1‑1 situation? LeBRON JAMES: Just our experiences over the years. We've had home court and we lost a game at home. But like I said, every game, every series is different. We will figure out ways what we could have did better. Tonight we had some opportunities. We had some really, really good opportunities tonight. One that sticks out in my head a couple of plays, I think we were up four, got a stop, CB got a good look at a three. We missed it. Then Lance Stephenson I think hit a three. If CB makes that, it may be a different ballgame. Also getting another stop and Rio having a clean look from the corner. But I mean, there are experiences over the year, we just stay even keeled. We don't get too high, we don't get too low in the series. We know we're going to go into a hostile environment against a very good team, and we look forward to the challenge. Q. LeBron, just when we thought there was nothing new to say about the way you've been playing lately, George Hill a minute ago said, quote, "There's only one person scarier than him and that was God." That's you. What do you think about that description? LeBRON JAMES: I'm nowhere near close. I made two mistakes tonight. That hurt our team. And that hurt more than anything. Let my teammates down. They expect me to make plays down the stretch, and I had the ballwith the opportunity to make a couple of plays and I came up short. That burns. But the best thing about it is this isn't college. It's not one loss and you're done. I have another opportunity to get better in Game 3, and if I'm put in that position again, to be able to learn from it. Q. LeBron, because you do take such pride in not turning the ball over, and to do it twice in such a key moment, how much more does this hurt than just other kinds of physical mistakes that you could possibly have made in a game this big? LeBRON JAMES: My turnovers hurt more than anything. I think the careless turnovers. My mind seen the right play in my head; two guys on the ball, Ray Allen is open. But if I could take it back, I would maybe throw the bounce pass on the first one, because David West had high hands. And on the second one I would still make the same play, but I would probably jump pass over the defense instead of going through the lane, the passing lane. When I took the spin on Paul George, I seen Ray wide open. So I tried to throw the ball through the lane, through the passing lane instead of doing the jump pass. And I would have been able to complete it. Me turning the ball over, no matter what point of the game, but especially like tonight, with us down to a one‑possession game, those hurt more than anything, more than missing a free throw, more than missing a shot, more than anything. Q. LeBron, you are focusing on the missed opportunities on offense. They also came in here and shot 50% in your building. How disappointing is that? LeBRON JAMES: It is disappointing. But at the end of the day, we had a chance to win. We still had a chance to win. I thought Hibbert was big tonight. Every time we kind of made a run, he was able to make some big shots. Especially in the fourth quarter. He had his jump‑hook going, he had his rolls going. I thought George Hill was the X factor tonight. 18 points, hit some big shots, some big free‑throws. Just kept them above water. We can't allow 50% on our floor. But at the end of the day, it was 40 points in the paint. It was 9‑8 second‑chance points, 8‑6 fast‑break points. We had 14 turnovers; they had 13. It was a pretty much even game. And they just made one more play, or two more plays than we made down the stretch. Q. Can you take us through those last few possessions, from the‑‑ LeBRON JAMES: Again? Q. From the perspective of where Roy Hibbert was, because Chris Bosh was on the perimeter. Was he able to successfully split between the basket and Bosh so he wasn't open? LeBRON JAMES: No. No. The first play, like I said, I was careless with it. I threw it back to Ray. He was open. I was still on the perimeter. Hibbert was not even around. The second play I drove and I spun away from Hibbert, and seen Ray and turned the ball over. So, no, he wasn't a distraction for me at all. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, LeBron. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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