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NBA FINALS: SPURS v HEATJune 6, 2013Gregg PopovichMIAMI, FLORIDA: Game One San Antonio Spurs - 92 Q.  Pop, can you describe in as much detail as you remember what was happening in that final possession with Tony? All the opportunities he had to lose the basketball at various times, and then how he was able to put that ball in the hoop with LeBron James right in his face and the shot clock expiring? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: We were very fortunate. It looked like he lost it two or three times, as you mentioned. But he stuck with it. He kept competing. He gained control of it again. He got it up there on the rim. Great effort by Tony, and as I said, we were fortunate. Q. Pop, how do you guys manage to stay in the game, even with Miami shooting so high percentage in the first half? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Well, I think that we don't really worry too much about what's going on in the game except the things that we can control. And they shot it well. We made some mistakes and gave them some open shots and made some other tough shots. But people are either going to make shots or miss them. What one can do is continue to play D, continue to rebound and just hang and hang and hang. It's a 48‑minute game. In the NBA things go back and forth many, many times. The ability to move on to the next play is what's really important, if a team wants to be really good. Q. You guys always do a nice job not turning the ball over, but tonight was exceptional. What was behind it? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: I have no clue. Sometimes you have turnovers, sometimes you don't. We don't do no‑turnover drills. I don't know what those are. The guys did do a good job of taking care of the ball. Q. How difficult is it to stay with the plan when you collapse on LeBron and the other guys are making their shots? I'm wondering about the discipline when it's working out for them most of the game. COACH GREGG POPOVICH: It's difficult. One second‑guesses oneself often in the meat of these games, whether you stick with a certain strategy or change it. We adjusted it a little bit, but we stuck with the basics and found some ways to score. Timmy and Kawhi were great on the boards down the stretch and got us a couple of buckets. So it worked out. Q. Coach, with LeBron James it's always more than just the numbers; he had a triple‑double tonight. How would you characterize the defensive job that Kawhi did on him this evening? COACH GREGG POPOVICH: He made him work. Nobody is going to stop LeBron James for all the reasons that we all know, but to try to make him work and maybe deny a catch here and there is important. Kawhi did the best job he could. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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