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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v PACERSMay 25, 2014Lance StephensonMIAMI, FLORIDA: Practice Day LANCE STEPHENSON: Just need to prepare for it, watch film, just get ready for the game tomorrow. Q. Any changes? Any adjustments? LANCE STEPHENSON: We just feel like turnovers mess us up. We've just got to be more sharp and take care of the ball more. That's the only thing we need to do right now. We just need to be more aggressive. Q. How frustrating is it that you guys were in control for most of the game, and then turnover after turnover and you guys just lost that control? LANCE STEPHENSON: Yeah, they got a run, and they fed off of that. We just never responded after that. We've got to respond. We've got to show our will and play our basketball and not let them get the best of us. Q. Do you agree that you need more of a star level, elite level performance from Paul George? Some of the people that have been evaluating the game since last night say that he needs to step it up, to kind of equalize the performance that you're getting from LeBron and from Wade. LANCE STEPHENSON: No, he's doing a good job. Paul got in foul trouble, and it took us off rhythm. It just messed up our rotation. I think Paul's going to be all right. It's a long series, and we've just got to get this game tomorrow so we can have home court advantage back. Q. How detrimental was it that he was only able to play 32 minutes? LANCE STEPHENSON: I mean, it hurt us a lot. He usually plays about like 43, and we just need him in the game, and we've got to make sure he don't get in foul trouble, and we've got to be disciplined. Q. Even beyond the foul trouble was the efficiency with the field goal percentage, which is lower than‑‑ that's what I think they were pointing out, not just the fact that he couldn't play the 32 minutes, but the efficiency needs to go up. LANCE STEPHENSON: You're going to have days when you can't hit a shot. Last night was my day. I felt like I didn't go forward, I had to attack more, and they just picked up the pressure on us. We're pros. We go through tough stretches, and we've just got to keep getting our shots up and keep having confidence in what we could do. Q. Lance, when you're facing LeBron James, what kind of message are you trying to show? LANCE STEPHENSON: Never back down. He's the best player in the league. I will refuse to back down to him. I'm just going to keep going after him. Just got to do it as a unit and have each other's back. Q. Hibbert's been playing better, but he still only had a couple of rebounds. Do you feel like he needs to play with more force in the interior? LANCE STEPHENSON: We all have a tough stretch‑‑ Q. Well, Hibbert specifically, do you think? LANCE STEPHENSON: Hibbert's doing a good job.  He's got to step up a little bit more, but I think he's doing a good job. He's containing the rim, and he's been there for us the whole playoffs. He's going to step it up. You can't judge someone off of one bad game in a series. I think we all had a bad game. We've just got to step it up as a unit and have each other's back and bring each other's belief up. Q. How much do you gain emotionally in those moments where you and LeBron try to maybe show each other up or jawing at each other or saying anything to each other? You're an emotional guy. Do you need that fuel as well? LANCE STEPHENSON: I love it. I love it when someone challenges me. It's really not about me and him, though. It's about the team. We got to have our players step up and have each other's back. It's not just me against him. If he score, I'm trying to score. It's more of a team. It's the playoffs. We'll have stretches like that, but you've got to stay more engaged with your team. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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