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NBA FINALS: SPURS v HEATJune 11, 2013Tim DuncanSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Game Three Miami Heat - 77 Q.  First of all, I was wondering if you can talk about how you feel being part of Gary Neal and Danny Green's supporting cast. TIM DUNCAN: Huge for us. Those guys shot incredibly. Gave us the breathing room when we needed it. But defensively all around, I thought our team was really good. I thought we defended real well and moved the ball real well. And then those guys just hit shots and really opened the game up for us. It was just an all‑around great team effort. Q. Tim, the NBA Finals is usually reserved for superstars stepping up. How great of a story is it to see an undrafted guy in Neal and a guy who has been cut three times in Danny Green just step up on this stage? TIM DUNCAN: Danny Green and Gary Neal, both of them. Danny has been solid all season long. Obviously he's one of our best shooters on our team. Gary has been up and down. Those guys stepping up on this stage in this game is huge for us. We talked about it before the series started, how we're going to have to have guys step up and guys play well in certain games. And we don't expect a performance like this from those kind of guys, but they were great.  They did it. They found their spots and knocked them out. We moved the ball and guys were taking advantage of the situation. Miami was running all over the place, and those guys were getting some open looks. Q. Is it a great story of perseverance those two guys? TIM DUNCAN: Absolutely. It's an unbelievable story. To see where they come from. Gary came, played overseas and gets picked up from there. And Danny is with us a couple of times, gets cut, sticks with it, and Pop stayed on him hard. He has developed into a great one for us. Q. Tim, outside of Game 1, it seems these last two games have been played to the opposing extremes. Are you so surprised by that considering how evenly matched the two teams are? TIM DUNCAN: Yeah. Yeah. You don't expect it to go the way it did. But loving our home court after getting blown out to have that kind of effort and energy from the building, and to feed off of that and our team to respond the right way. We get our butts handed to us last game. And they played really well, and we come back here and change it up and just put together a great game all around. Q. What does it say about both teams that they've been able to have an answer, have an adjustment? TIM DUNCAN: Yeah, we both answered the losses very well. We both have not answered to wins very well. That's one thing Pop always points out, you have to be able to bring that same energy with wins and not be satisfied with yourself. So hopefully we can respond even better to this win, and I know they're going to be fueled off the energy of how this game went. So hopefully we can do the same and play better. Q. Tim, you were talking about energy and effort a lot, was your mindset to lead through effort tonight? You were chasing down balls on the sidelines and second‑effort rebounding tips. Were you trying to set an example through energy? TIM DUNCAN: I'm just trying to do whatever I can. I don't feel like I have a great rhythm right now. I got some shots to fall, a couple of shots, but I'm missing a lot of easy stuff. But the one thing I can do is go out there and try to make some hustle plays, try to get us some second possessions and just try to find a way to help the team however I can. Q. Tim, can you speak about the importance of your team attacking the Miami Heat on the boards. You got 19 rebounds today. That was with also part of the three‑point shooting, one of the keys of the game. TIM DUNCAN: Yeah. Getting second shots in there, continue to rebound that ball and ending their possessions. They get a lot from Andersen and a couple of the other guys on the board, getting those second shots. Controlling that glass is big for us. We've done a pretty good job of staying up into them and defending their shots. But until we get that board and able to push it right back at them, obviously the possession is not over. Q. Tim, is it possible for you guys to play any better defense than you have on LeBron collectively? And why has it worked so well for you guys?  Especially from a scoring standpoint, keeping him down? TIM DUNCAN: I don't know. I give a lot of credit to Kawhi and Danny. We're obviously playing defense as a team, but those guys as the front men have done a great job of staying up into him, making his life difficult. Trying to keep in front of him as much as possible. We understand that he thrives in that open court and his athleticism really shows in that open court. If we can keep him in front of us and make his life as difficult as possible, we'll live with the results. Q. When you see the young players we talked about, do you think the Spurs have a bright future with these young players? TIM DUNCAN: The Spurs continue to develop players, no matter what kind of team we have together. They always do a great job of that, and it's showing. It's showing in guys like Danny and Cory Joseph and obviously Gary. We're continuing to develop guys. In a situation like this, where we can get a game where those guys really pull out a game for us here in The Finals, that says a tremendous amount. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Tim. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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