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NBA FINALS: HEAT v SPURSJune 8, 2014LeBron JamesSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Game Two Miami Heat - 98 Q.  LeBron, for all the heat that you've taken at times for the "right basketball play", how rewarding was it that C.B. knocked down that three? And how did you see that play develop? LeBRON JAMES: It was rewarding in that it was a huge play to help us win. I just seen it develop the whole time, and I wanted to try to put some pressure towards the rim, and I caught Tim Duncan peeking at me a little bit. And I was able to find C.B. in the corner in one of his favorite spots on the floor and he knocked it down. Q. LeBron, because you beat the Spurs in The Finals last year and won two in a row, do you think seeds of doubt creep into their minds, especially late in the game and in the fourth quarter? LeBRON JAMES: That's not our concern. All we worry about is what we can control and that's just how we play the game, how we approach the game both physically and mentally. And we live with the results. Q. What made you decide to take on the scoring duties in the third quarter and what made you not try to win it on your own in the fourth? LeBRON JAMES: Just play the game, try to play the game the right way. However the flow of the game is going, I just try to impose my will in some kind of way, either scoring or rebounding or assisting or defending. Put myself and my teammates in a position to succeed, and I was happy in the fact that I was able to make some plays to help us get the victory tonight. Q. You dressed a little differently tonight than you did in Game No. 1. Can you talk about the decision process and how that affected you on the court? LeBRON JAMES: Didn't affect me at all. I've been going with the longer tights throughout the playoffs; decided to go with the shorter ones today. I don't know, I was watching Game 2 of our Finals appearance versus OKC in 2012, and I didn't have long tights on in that game, so that's why I didn't wear them tonight. Just a little crazy on my part. Q. How big did the basket look to you? You hadn't taken a jumpshot until the third quarter. How big did the basket seem once you started putting that up? LeBRON JAMES: For me once I get into a good groove, I feel like everything is going to go in. Obviously it didn't. I made a couple of shots in a row, and then missed the elbow jumpshot over Tim, and they made a run after that. But for me I just try to make plays out there on the floor, and like I continue to say, put myself and my teammates in a position to succeed and live with the results after that. Q. LeBron, what got you going in the second quarter after your slow start in the first quarter? LeBRON JAMES: I just continued to attack. I had a slow start, but all my misses was in the paint. My first miss was a shot over Tim and Tiago; I missed it. I missed a spinning layup in the lane. I missed a banker over Tony Parker. I just got off to a slow start. Then I drove the lane and got my foot tangled up a little bit and threw up a wild shot I started 1‑for‑5. I was confident in where I was getting on the floor and I had to stick with it. Q. After those two offensive rebounds in the second quarter how physically drained were you? It looked like you asked to come out of the game. LeBRON JAMES: For me, at that point in the game, yeah, I was tired. I got two offensive rebounds. Was able to go back up with them. Put some pressure on their defense. So Spo was very, very consistent and great with his adjustments today as far as the personnel, in and out guys, in and out. And when I asked to come out, he took me out and I was able to go back in. Q. LeBron, after what you were dealing with the last 48 hours, at what point in the game did you know that your legs were there for you and were going to respond? And did you do anything else differently to try to make sure you could get through this game? LeBRON JAMES: You know, I didn't really try to think about it too much. One thing I did do differently this morning, I took an 8 a.m. yoga class at our resort that we stayed at outside. Me, and three other people and also a little kid but he didn't want no parts of it. So that's probably the only thing that I did differently today. Q. I assume that was not hot yoga. LeBRON JAMES: Nah, it started to rain a little bit this morning, actually. About 8:35 it started to rain. Q. When you were able to come out of the game tonight, how did it feel to have air conditioning? LeBRON JAMES: Well, I mean, mentally I didn't want to even think about it too much. What happened on Thursday was Thursday. My whole focus was how was it going to help this team even the series up and just try to make some plays. Q. You dominated from the perimeter in the second half.  Was that an adjustment you made at halftime from what you saw or did you just take what the defense gave you essentially? LeBRON JAMES: It wasn't an adjustment. In the first half, you know, I got into the paint, made some shots, got some rebounds, put pressure on their defense. In the second half they backed up off me and I shot it. It was that easy for me in the sense of don't overthink it. They give me space, I shoot it. They get up on me, I try to drive and make plays for me and my teammates. They're going to make adjustments going into Game 3, and I have to do it as well. But I don't want to cloud my mind too much with what they're doing defensively. I want their defense to react to what I'm doing. Q. In the last couple of days have you had any fans send any remedies, things to avoid cramps, things of that nature? LeBRON JAMES: I've heard it all. I've heard it all. I just stay with my plan. Our training staff and our medical team, we do a great job of just doing what we usually do.  We didn't want to complicate things. I think the two and a half bags after a game of IV helped me out a lot. Like I said, I didn't try to think about it too much tonight. Q. After Tim and Tony missed those four free throws, you score five straight.  In a situation like that when a team misses an opportunity, do you smell blood a little bit there? What were you thinking? LeBRON JAMES: I thought it was a tough call to start it off, with Rio getting the flagrant one. I thought it was an inadvertent elbow. I didn't think it was intentional. So Tony missed two and Tim went up and missed two as well. Just wanted to capitalize off their mistakes and just try to put some pressure on their defense. We got some great looks, we made 'em tonight. And the biggest thing for us, we got stops as well when we needed it. That helped us win this game. Q. You talked the other day about how scrutinized you are and living in this fishbowl that you've lived in for a long time. What has helped you cope with that, deal with that and live with this altered reality that you have? LeBRON JAMES: I've got a great supporting cast around me that allows me to vent at times. Try not to hold it in. I also understand at this point in my life what's important and what's not important and what's important is my teammates, what's important is my two kids at home, my wife, my family and my friends. That's what I can control and that's what's important to me. Obviously the game of basketball has brought me so much, and I love to play this game at a high level. And without this game, I wouldn't be who I am today. But I also know what's important. Everything else kind of just fall by the wayside. Q. A lot of your teammates said they have had to learn just not to care what's said about them or criticism or anything like that. Do you also have to push all that to the side? LeBRON JAMES: You have to. It's very difficult at times, very challenging, but for me, I'm here and I know who I'm playing for and what I'm playing for and what I stand for, not only as a basketball player but as man and as a role model. I know what I stand for. To be able to put an NBA uniform on every single night with my name on the back, knowing where I come from, let's me know that I've done something special. I just try to give back to the game as much as I can while I'm here. Q. Can you just talk about how big Rashard Lewis was for you guys tonight. He's a player that hasn't played a lot of minutes this season but he's been stepping up big for you guys. LeBRON JAMES: Rashard has been huge for us ever since he's been inserted into our starting lineup, from the Indiana series. He's been in this position before. He's been to the Finals with Orlando Magic. He's been in huge playoff games, and his experience and ability to knock down shots helps us out a lot. It spreads the floor for us, and every time he catches the ball, we tell him just to shoot it. Don't think about nothing else besides shooting the ball, and we live with his results. Q. Talk about the importance of keeping them out of the paint down the stretch of the game, not only tonight but for the games going forward. LeBRON JAMES: I think that's a key going into any game. When a team lives in the paint, it puts so much pressure on your defense and it allows paint points obviously. But when guys get into the paint it shrinks the defense, and they get to kick out for their threes, which they did a couple times tonight. Danny Green had one, Tony hit one, Patty Mills had a couple. We got to do a better job of shrinking the floor and not allowing them to get in the paint. They will, they will get into the paint some, but as much as we can limit the penetration, it will help us out a lot. Q. What has to continue as a whole offensively and defensively so you can have more success the rest of the way? LeBRON JAMES: Offensively we want to share the ball and not turn the ball over. We're a team that shoots the ball extremely high from the field, very efficient offensively. We get ourselves in trouble when we turn the ball over. It doesn't allow us to set our defense. We're a really good half‑court defense, we're a solid pick‑and‑roll defense. And when we're solid offensively, we don't turn the ball over, we're going to get an opportunity to make something happen. Q. LeBron, Chris missed the corner three on the shot before he made one. Do you ever let stuff like that influence your decision and why or why not? LeBRON JAMES: Not at all. If you're on the floor at that point in time, you can make a play. You can make a shot, a steal, a rebound. You can do whatever it takes to help us win. For me, when the ball is in my hands, I'm going to make the right play. To have that trust from my teammates, they know when I got the ball, I'm going to make the right play. Doesn't mean it's going to go in. Doesn't mean it's going to result in a win, but they believe in my ability to do that. You know, C.B. had just missed one, got a great look, but if I draw two and his man leave him again, I went right back to him and he knocked it down. I got a lot of confidence in my teammates and they got a lot of confidence in me and we live with the results no matter what happens. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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