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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PACERS v HEATMay 30, 2013Erik SpoelstraMIAMI, FLORIDA: Game Five Indiana Pacers - 79 COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, that's playoff competition at its best. The second half we played much more aggressively and committed to our identity and able to take that through to the end. We've already talked about leaving that behind. This is so highly competitive, this series. Now we have to get ready for Game 6. Q. Erik, on a night when Dwyane and Chris are off to a degree, what LeBron did in that third quarter, how essential was that? Was that anything you set him up to do or was that just LeBron being LeBron? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: That's LeBron showing his greatness and making it look easy. What talked about was just doing whatever it takes and competing for each other without leaving anything out there. His engine in that third quarter was incredible. He was tireless. He was making plays on both ends of the court, rebounding, covering so much ground defensively, and then making virtually every play for us offensively. It's really remarkable and a testament to his conditioning and obviously his greatness, his ability to make big plays when you need it. Q. Erik, Udonis's first shot hit the corner of the backboard. I think he went 8‑for‑8 the rest of the way. How important was he for you guys? I know what he means internally inside this building. Would you have expected anything less than an effort like that? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: We've seen it so many times. You take this all the way back to our other championship run; the deeper you went, the more of an impact he had. But he really set the physical tone for us defensively, taking the challenge. And in the third quarter he was everywhere, on traps, covering ground, covering up for our guys, helping out, charges, rebounds. He was tireless as well. Q. Erik, the adjustments in this series have been very good game to game. Were you specifically targeting their guards tonight to take them out of it? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I mean, look, we're trying to commit and play our game, our style. There's certain specifics to it, but that's not the deal. It's getting to our identity and applying pressure, covering ground, hopefully forcing them into some mistakes, or at least getting them to play faster than they would typically like. That was the more important key to the second half, as our guys were flying around. Q. Erik, their turnovers were pretty down in the game back in Indianapolis. How much did you focus on the guard play there? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: We talked about getting to our game. That's the whole deal. That's why this series is compelling; it's two contrasting styles. If our pressure, speed, quickness doesn't get to their size, their size will get to us. We learned that the hard way. But they're very good. So there's not a large margin for error either way. And we have to be absolutely committed and on top of our game, and yet they still can make plays. And vice versa. We don't make it easier for them either. But that's what this series is about. Q. Erik, from the beginning of this series, but especially the last two games, Mario has attacked the basket pretty consistently. Is that something you've talked to him about? Seems like he's doing it even more than we saw in the regular season. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: We needed it really starting last series, but our point guards having been progressively getting more aggressive. We need them to make plays for us and loosen up the defense. Mario is playing with great confidence. He's a gamer, as we know. And we're going to need another one from him. Q. Erik, other than their turnovers, what was it that opened the game and changed the game for LeBron from his first half tonight to the third quarter? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: We're a team that gets energized by defensive plays and a sense of urgency. It gets us in the open court, and that loosens things up for us. And from there the momentum just shifted. It can be a very fragile game. The tempo and the pressure wasn't where we needed it to be in the first half. And a large part of that was because of Indiana. They were pounding us and they were controlling the tempo. That was more of their game. Q. Erik, going back to the second quarter, what did you see that happened there with Hansbrough and Andersen? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I didn't see it, so I'm going to have to see the film on it. It's a physical series. But nobody wants to take it over the top. I don't think anybody on either side feels that this is a series that needs to be taken control of. It's just very competitive. Good, clean, physical basketball. And it's really not anything like last year. Q. Erik, it seemed like your guys were committed to holding down Lance tonight. That seemed like something they were motivated to do. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, he's one of those out‑of‑the‑box players that he can break your defense down, he can do it at the end of the clock, he can do it in transition, he can do it in some ways that aren't necessarily scripted. So that takes great concentration and focus to be able to contain a guy like that because he can be very unpredictable, and that's part of his strength. Q. He's also an emotional player. It seemed like your guys matched his emotion tonight. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, no, we're not matching anyone's emotion. We're trying to play with great passion. That's when we're at our best. Q. Erik, there wasn't a big scoring night from Dwyane Wade again. What are you seeing out there from him that is encouraging? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: A warrior. I know that I'll go back and see a lot of the defensive plays that he made. Even if he's not turning the corner and making plays for necessarily himself, he's getting things going for us. And we're able to run our offense through him and get the ball moving. He was good and active on his cuts. I was actually encouraged tonight. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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