HEAT Head Coach Pat Riley

One question in two parts: How dire did it look to you with 10:56 left when Dwyane got number five and can you share a little bit of what you told them afterwards after pulling this out?
You know, it didn't look good. It didn't feel good. (Laughter).

We were stuck in mud. I think it was an absolute case of a team who wanted it so much, I mean, throughout the course of the game, making turnovers in the first half and missing layup after layup.

But I've seen Dwyane do that before. There's been 10, 12, 14 games this year where we've been down double digits in the fourth quarter, and we have come back.

And it comes down to one shot. You know, Gary Payton makes the shot, we trust, and we're on to another day.

At what point do you as a coach start thinking that this is, indeed, possible; that we could come all the way back from this thing during that run? I know it's kind of scrambled and you're just trying to get everything going there, but do you allow yourself to start believing at a point?
Yeah. I'm absolutely without a doubt a true believer. You know, that's it.

Even during the course of the fourth quarter. I know players, I've been around players 40 years, I know when they look around and they look up and they say, "this doesn't look very good." But you've just got to keep trying to get them to dig, to dig, to dig, you've got to get stops, we got three or four stops, we got some breaks, we got lucky a little bit. Playoffs are about that, too. But the important thing is that however we got there, I know we can play a lot better than we played. And it takes us on to another day, and a good practice tomorrow and to get ready for them and try to square this thing up Game 4.

Of all the things that Dwyane did tonight, what were the things that impressed you most?
Overcome fatigue and injury, and win. Incredible, just the heart that he has. The only trouble is that when we're down by 12, he's pacing himself waiting for the end. (Laughing) And you've got to give him a rest somewhere, but, you know, right now, he just rises to the occasion. We kept it very simple at the end and he kept making play after play after play. I thought that one of the crucial plays was coming out of a time out; he hit a 3 from the corner and Posey hit a 3 and Udonis with two offensive rebounds and just went from there. We just wouldn't stop.

He just said that Shaquille falling on him, that was a lot of weight; what was the discussion about the knee?
I really haven't talked to him, but he was very sore. We'll see about that tomorrow.

Can you talk about your team's energy and effort tonight, especially in comparison with Game 2?
Well, until we get the numbers, I thought we played real hard, but we also looked fatigued, sort of mentally. You know, somehow I've just got to get their minds, you know, fresh in the next couple of days.

But we played a lot harder than we did in Dallas. We outrebounded them by I think 14 or 15. What shot us in the foot was our turnovers and really, some shoddy offense, for about three or four minutes there when they went ahead by double digits.

Do you think those were mental errors from the mental fatigue?
I don't know. It's hard to sort of see or say what really went on. But we really were not executing and we were feeling it a little bit; had to win tonight.

So I hope that in Game 4, that we'll play a lot more relaxed and stop pressing.

You had to be surprised that Dirk missed that second free throw. If he had made it, to tie it up, would you have just ran a play or were you going to call a time out?
What was that now? I had one time out left. I had one time out left. So obviously we were going to call the time out. Yeah, I wasn't going to try to throw a home run from the backcourt, no. (Winking).

But we did have one, and he's a 94 percent shooter, so the basketball gods were good to us tonight, that's all you can say. And we'll come back in Game 4, so that's what it's all about.

HEAT Forward Udonis Haslem

How much pain were you in throughout the course of the game?
It’s just tough to get my arm over my head. Anytime I raise my arm I have to move my head forward. When I go up for a rebound and come back down it’s not as bad, but when I raise up to shoot or follow through, it kind of feels a little weak and a little sore.

Did the comeback help ease the pain a little bit?
Oh yeah. Most definitely. We needed this one, and were fortunate enough to get it. Now, we’ll just move on to the next game. We can’t get too high on our horse after winning just one game.

What was different in the latter part of the first quarter that allowed you guys to come back?
We just didn’t give up. No one in the whole arena thought we were going to come back and win that game. We were fortunate to win that game. We’ve got to play better than that.

Did you guys ever doubt yourselves for a moment?
No. We knew we could come back. We knew we had a chance to win that game, and we were fortunate to win it.

Was there a conscious effort to hit the boards harder this game?
Yeah, we talked about getting to the backboard. We got crushed on the boards last game. This game, we tried to give more effort in all the effort areas of the game, and rebounding is one of them.

What did you do against Dirk that made him work harder for his shots?
He’s a great player, so you try and get up on him and make him take tough shots. He’s going to make shots, especially in transition. You get sucked in the paint, then they throw it to him and you try to close up, but he gets it up, at seven feet, you really can’t contest. You really want to be there as soon as he catches it.

HEAT Forward Antoine Walker

How gut-wrenching was Game 3 towards the end for you guy?
It was great. It was tough. Obviously, we didn’t want to put ourselves in that position. Turning the basketball over really killed us in that third quarter. We didn’t get enough field goal attempts and they capitalized on it. They hit a ton of threes out in transition. When we were able to keep them in a halfcourt set, we were able to defend them. But when we turned it over and let them get out into the open court, they’re a great basketball team. That’s something that we definitely have to work on come Thursday.

Does it help your confidence knowing that you guys can come back from such a large deficit?
Not so much the deficit, we needed a win. I think we just needed to get a win to get our confidence up. Now we know we can beat this team playing bad. We have yet to play a good basketball game in this series. We need one Thursday if we’re going to have a chance to even this thing up. We‘ve got a lot of mistakes we’ve got to take care of. Besides taking care of the ball, we’ve got to start making foul shots, all of us. We’ve got to quit putting ourselves behind the eight ball.

How do you cut down on the turnovers?
We’ve just got to get to our spacing better. We’ve got to take our time. I think a lot of us were anxious tonight, a little frantic because we’re on our home floor. We’ve got to take our time and finish around the basket.

What was your guys’ state of mind when you were down 11 in the fourth quarter?
We just tried to stay positive, stay motivated. Obviously, we watched a great effort with one player keeping us in the game, scoring the ball down the stretch, which Dwyane’s done for us so many times during the season. More importantly, Shaq made two big free throws down the stretch, Gary hit the shot to give us the lead, and different guys stepped up to make big plays down the stretch.

HEAT Guard Dwyane Wade

So many things going against you, fatigue, injury, some calls didn't go your way; how do you overcome all that?
Well, you know, that's one thing about this team is, you know, we're very strong willed team. We all believe in each other. When we're down and out, you know, we always feel we can come back. We have done it plenty of times. But individually, just believing in God, believing that He will give me the strength to go out there and do it. That's the only thing.

Talk about the stretch that you went through offensively in the fourth quarter?
Well, just Coach was calling the plays to get the ball in my hand. At that moment, looking up at the score thinking, "No, I ain't going out like this." You know, we didn't want to go down 3 0, man. You just try to do what you can to help your team get over the hump. If you make some plays, it might energize some other guys. That's what I did. I was getting the ball so I was attacking. As I did, the other guys stepped up and made plays, also. This is a total team win, team comeback, and I think it's going to help us out for the next game.

Maybe one of the big lessons for you personally from this game is that you have to play at the very, very best of your game for your team to have an opportunity to win a game in these Finals.
No, I'm not going to say that. I would love to be at the top of my game every time we play, but you can't control that all the time. You know, this team, we've been doing it all year, whether I have a good game or whether Shaq has a good game, someone finds a way to step up. I'm not worried if I don't score or I don't play phenomenal, that we're going to win. As long as I'm on the court giving my teammates an opportunity to win, I think we can.

It seems like the team in general and you in particular were more particular about taking the ball to the basket tonight; is that something that you talked about?
Yeah, Shaq told us, don't settle for jumpshots, take the ball to the basket strong, especially if they are not coming off him. It's going to be just our man and the basket. I think our guys did a good job, Udonis did a good job, Antoine did a good job especially in the third quarter of attacking, something we haven't been doing. I think it was good for us tonight.

Do you think your health made you more able to do that tonight?
No question about it. I had legs to be able to, you know, no matter how many minutes I played, I had the legs at the end to be able to go down there and finish and make plays happen. I said going into this game that this is the best I was going to feel all series. You know, don't I sound better? My voice coming back, yeah. (Laughter) So I feel a little better.

Talk a little about Gary’s importance to the team in general and to you specifically?
Well, you know, first of all, Gary not taking a shot all game, stepping up and hitting the game winning shots shows what veteranism is all about. He stepped up. When he comes in, we're very confident defensively he's going to do a good job, you stick him on one, two, or three, he's going to get at the guys. We're really confident, he slows the pace down and doesn't turn the ball over too much. We have a good balance between J Will's explosiveness and Gary settling down and making the right plays.

The 3 that you hit in the corner to start the fourth, how much did that help you realize that you could get into a shooting rhythm and through the first three quarters, have you ever even seen you guys make so many mindless mistakes, one after the other after the other?
Well, with the mistakes that we made, you can just live with those mistakes because you know that guys wanted it. That was the main thing. When you talk to guys, man, we wanted it bad. There comes times when you want it too much. We were making the mistakes that we normally don't. So I'm sure that will change. Now that we found a way to win, I'm sure that will change in Game 4 and what was the other one? Oh, the 3 from the corner, I've been itching to shoot that one for a while. I was itching, and we were down so I was like, what the hell. I was in my rhythm and I was open, and I got into a flow that way.

What was going through your mind when you got that fifth foul?
Don't get the next one. (Laughter) I just looked over at Coach right away, I was like, "don't take me out." I just hit the 3, so I wanted to see what I could do after that. I was just thinking, "don't get one more, don't get another one."

How is your knee and what have they told you what you should do in the next 24 hours?
Only thing I can do now is ice it, wake up in the morning, come in, get my therapy and see what happens. A lot of weight fell back on me with Shaq's big head, I think his head did it. A lot of weight fell back on my knee, but I'll be fine.

Two things. Was the spacing any different in the fourth quarter that got you kind of angles towards the basket, and secondly, when Shaq goes to the line with, I don't know, a minute and whatever left, you're down five, having come back, what are you thinking?
With the spacing I think we did a good job at the end noticing, as you see, me and Shaq was in a lot of pick and rolls so it kind of took Dampier out of the paint. I beat him and it was just me and the basket. That was something that me and Shaq kind of told Coach we wanted to do. That worked for us. What was the other question?

Oh, he went to the line. That's Shaq. He was in there working on it last night. You've got confidence in him. You know, he stepped up and cut it within three, made both of them. After he did that, man, you just seen the level of our team rise to another level after that. So you know, we feed off our big man no matter what it is, if it's a dunk, free throws, his charge that he took, whatever it is.

We heard earlier this week that stat when you touch the ball 50 times
50 times.

50 times in a game, you lose. When you hear that, how do you balance that in a game like tonight where you knew you had to be aggressive and you wanted the ball?
Well, Coach just told me, I had to get it 49 times. Hopefully I did that tonight.

I don't know, I know I'm always trying to be aggressive, trying to do the right thing and sometimes it works for us and sometime it don't. We'll live with it. We'll see how many touches I had tonight through the game.

Did the Mavericks seem overconfident at all to you when they got up 13 points? Dirk said that he didn't know whether they got celebratory or whatnot to lose that lead to you guys.
I don't think so. This team is a pretty explosive offensive bunch. They did what they was doing all game. They kept taking shots and I think our defense rose to another level and made it a little tougher on them. I think that was the main thing. They did what they always do and that's take the shots that was there. They came out in the third quarter and hit 70 percent of their shots. Every time you turn around, it was like, oh my God, and then they finally missed them. Then we come and went down to the other end and we connected. That's what the game is about, they made their run and we made ours.

HEAT Guard Gary Payton

Tell us about that last play that you hit, the game winning hoop, it looked like you guys were down to the wire, scrambling a little bit and a veteran coming through.
Well, it's just a shot. J Will penetrated, they was rotating, I took one dribble, kept dribbling and shot the ball. You don't think about it, just go up and shoot the ball and whatever happens, happens. Fortunately it went in.

Obviously you're known as one of the greatest clutch shooters of our time. Can you compare this shot before which you didn't have a single point in the game and all of those other shots that you scored for Seattle and those other big games?
Well, you see why I don't get kind of hyper no more. It's not a hyper thing.

I mean, we've still got a lot of work to go. It's just fortunate that I made the shot and that we can win this basketball game. We've still got a lot of work to go. I'm not going to hooray and all that stuff right now. It's not the time. We saved a win, you know, not to go down 3 0, and now we've still got a lot of work to do on Thursday.

You know Dwyane is going to do his thing in the fourth quarter and you're going to run through everything in a game like, this but that used to be you. So in your career, how do you stay focused when it's not you, to hit a big shot like that?
Well, you've just got to stay ready. We know what happened. I've been playing with Dwyane for eight months now. So you know when he gets off the ball, you've got to be ready to shoot the ball.

So you stay focused for it. If you're eight months into it, you've got to get yourself into the mental state of doing that. And that's what we do. With J Will, I know when he penetrates, he's always going to be looking. So it's a little bit more, you're looking forward to getting the shot from him. D Wade we want him to get to the basket and score. So we're looking forward to that. Me and J Will got a nice little thing going on with each other, we look for each other and he did that for me.

Talk about the difference between being 2 1, as opposed to down 3 0?
Well, being 2 1, it's a lot different. Having one game to go and knowing that you're going to be eliminated and they'll be the champions; now we have one game to work with and we're still at home and have an opportunity to tie this series up. Being down 3 0 and having to win four straight is kind of a big task for us.

Right now, going into Thursday's game and knowing we can tie the series up and change the momentum and plus going into Sunday to have a game here and try to go up, it's a big difference.

How difficult is it, though, to take a shot in such a situation after not having shot the entire ballgame?
Well, you know, for a lot of young kids, it might be difficult. But for myself, you know, I've been in the league for 16 years, so you know, I'm accustomed, or now I'm getting accustomed to it. You've just got to stay focused. My mindset was focus. You know, anything was going to happen. Especially when J Will penetrated and all the guys was going to sink to him, you have to be ready. And that's what Pat tells us to do. He tells us be ready for anything and I was ready for the shot. Howard came and jumped and I dribbled and hit the shot.

What do you tell Dwyane in the fourth when he's carrying five fouls?
Well, I tell him don't foul each other. I tell him to foul no one. I said, "Just stay in front of him and if he beats you, then I'm going to try to help." And when the man was penetrating and I came over and help him, I always talk to him. I say, "Look, don't foul, don't foul. Just get back, x out." And that's what we call x out when he goes to my man. We just tell him to be cautious, don't go in there out of control so he can get an offensive foul. So we think on the defensive end, he's smart enough that he won't get a foul.

I know you've been in a lot of comeback situations over the years, but realistically, the way they were shooting the ball, third quarter and the fourth quarter, how much realistically did you think there was a chance for you to come back?
Our team, we're together. We wasn't worried about all that. Probably everybody in our stadium was thinking that we had lost this game, but you see what happened. We didn't have a lot of fourth quarter comebacks in this season, and that's what we're so accustomed to doing and we're in faith with each other. We didn't let no doubt in. When we went back to the huddle, we said, we've got a chance to get back into this game, all we've got to do is play defense. That's what we did, they missed a couple of shots, we got close, Shaq hit some free throws, Udonis hit some free throws and got a big steal, too, and we were right there and won the basketball game.

How important to you personally would a title be for your career?
Well, anybody is wanting to a win title. Anybody will say that. If I said it wasn't important to me, then I would just be lying to you.

But me being in the league this long, yeah, I would love to have a title. But if it doesn't happen, I'm always going to say I was fortunate to play in this league and have an opportunity to do the things I did. It was just I came up short not winning a championship, but if it comes, I'll be as happy as anybody would.

HEAT Center Shaquille O'Neal

Take us through the fourth quarter, and also, talk about the big free throws that you hit late in the game.
Well, you know, we got into sort of a hole. We still made a lot of silly mistakes. But, you know, we never gave up. We just kept playing, showed a lot of heart, a lot of intensity. D Wade played big. I hit a couple free throws. Gary hit a big shot and we were able to win this game tonight.

You were down 13 4 and a half to go, did you feel like the season was slipping away and what did you say to get the comeback going?
Well Pat just said to stop making silly mistakes and just hang in there and tighten that defense up a little bit, and that's what we did.

We had a nine, 10 point lead in the second, third quarter and we just basically made a lot, a lot of silly plays and they just got right back into the game.

The last six, seven minutes, we played pretty good basketball. So hopefully we can gain momentum and just try to win a game on Thursday.

What was going on with 1:48 left? You're down five, everybody knows foul shots have been an issue; what's going through your mind at that point?
Make'em.

Was there anything else other than that? You talked a little bit in the post game about how you changed your routine, technique a little bit?
I just went back to the way I used to shoot when I was a youngster, when I was a good player. (Laughter).

What impressed you most about what Dwyane did tonight and what did you say or he say to you during that run?
Just, you know, played good ball, kept everybody involved, took the higher percentage shots. Basically, you know, took over the game the last five, six minutes. That's what a great player of his caliber does.

What did you guys say to each other in that time? Did you offer him any encouragement? Did he say anything to you?
No. He's the type of player that, you know, you just let him go and let him do his thing.

Can you talk about, you bought some video apparently of free throws:
No. I just went back to the way I used to shoot it when I was in high school. I got in trouble, say, about '94, '95, just by listening to people. And I was just trying to, you know, do things different. There's a whole saying that if you do things different, then it won't be good.

So I just went back to the way I used to shoot it when I was little and a youngster. Believe it or not, I used to have a pretty good percentage when I was a good player.

Were you frustrated after the last game? Can you just talk about your feelings and what you brought into this game based on that performance?
I didn't talk and I got fined. I didn't deserve to talk. So I took the fine. You know, it was just one of those you know, one of those games that, you know, took it on myself. So came home, you know, did some thinking and played with the children and, you know, was really, really wanting to play well this game.

And now just go through the same routine tomorrow and try to have another good one on Thursday.

How do you guys take advantage of this momentum now that you've won this game in dramatic fashion?
We've just got to play a little bit smarter and, you know, just actually take care of the basketball. I felt we had way too many turnovers. I know I had seven turnovers myself. A couple of them was three second calls. We've just got to keep taking care of the ball and keep playing smart.

Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Avery Johnson

Talk about the third quarter for you guys where you guys came out in the second half.
Well, again, we weren't playing very well in the first half, and especially the first quarter. And we came back and got ourselves together in the third quarter, and made a heck of a run and got the lead.

But we just didn't finish well.

Can you explain how your team lost a 13 point lead with six and a half to go, does it reminds you at all of Phoenix when you were up nine with three minutes to go and lost that game?
Well, again, give them some credit. We're playing in The Finals. Like I've been saying all along, you have two teams that are pretty evenly matched. They stormed back. Wade had an incredible game. Shaq made a couple of important free throws.

We just couldn't get anything going offensively or defensively in the fourth quarter. So give them some credit.

Just as far as, can you talk about that last play with Dirk inbounding the ball, what were you looking for, what were you hoping to see?
Well, we were hoping to get a lob for Josh. Both of those guys read it pretty well. He was open there for a minute and Terry popped free there and he just didn't get it.

So, you know, that's a tough spot to be in. We've worked on a lot of different things because of those situations, and just unfortunately didn't go down. Josh made a good try on it, but Wade was down there.

What impressed you most about what Dwyane Wade did tonight?
Well, he had the whole game going tonight, inside and out. You know, he got to the free throw 18 times. He really hurt us with his penetration tonight. He was really persistent.

You know, even with Wade scoring like that, we still had a chance to win the game. But we just had a really bad fourth quarter, and that's what's really disappointing. They outhustled us; 16 offensive rebounds. This is the way we normally beat teams on the boards. And Haslem really hurt us on the offensive glass and just outhustled us and outworked us pretty much throughout the game.

When Dwyane Wade had five fouls, what did you tell your team?
We were looking for opportunities to attack him, but, you know, sometimes you don't always get the benefit in that situation. So we had opportunities to try to attack him, and he just kind of laid off pretty much and was not trying to foul.

Obviously, Coach, you had a lot of experience with tough losses before, both in your playing and now coaching career. How do you rebound from here? How do you rebound from this heartbreaker?
Well, this is a team that really detests losing. We just don't like losing, anything.

So we'll have to go back and take a look at some things. Wade really got away from us. Shaq's catches were too easy tonight. We really got hurt in a lot of different ways tonight.

So again, we don't like to lose, but again, give the Heat some credit. They made some nice adjustments. They played hard. They didn't quit. And like I've said all along, we've been down like that before, and we've come back. So give them some credit.

Could you take us through that last play where Gary Payton hit the winning shot?
Yes. We were pretty tough throughout that whole possession, and he hit us with a pump fake right there at the end and took a step in and made a shot. We were right there and unfortunately we couldn't get a stop in that situation.

We're doing a pretty good job with their bench, but that's the shot that you'll remember.

Mavericks Forward Dirk Nowitzki

Talk about the third quarter that you guys had and talk about the second free throw.
Well, I thought in the first half, we didn't play well. But the good thing was, we were in striking distance, you know, only down nine. I mean, that's nothing for us with our offensive capabilities.

In the third quarter, we finally started making some shots and moved the ball pretty well. Our defense picked up a little bit and got a nice little lead. And just at the end, the last couple minutes, we folded a little bit. Dwyane got to the basket a couple times; that didn't happen before.

So he made some tough shots, and offensively we didn't execute obviously the way we wanted the last couple minutes. So it was a tough loss, and we still had the chance to tie it, just missed the free throw. I was a little strong, so obviously this is going to be a tough one to swallow for us. But, you know, get back tomorrow, watch some film and be ready on Thursday.

Was this game reminiscent to you of Game 1 of the Conference Finals against Phoenix when you had a lead with three minutes to go and you could not close them out?
Well, I didn't even think of that, but obviously it's similar situation.

Yeah, we couldn't really get anything done down the stretch on both ends of the floor. Maybe we started to relax too early or celebrate; I don't know what it was. But we didn't defend them the way we did before and we couldn't get anything to drop. So it's obviously frustrating. But, you know, the only good thing; we're still up 2 1.

You guys have dominated the rebounds so much, what happened tonight that they had such an advantage over you guys?
Yeah, that was a big key, I thought. They really crashed the offensive glass. Haslem did a great job getting in there. Obviously usually when we rebound the ball well, we win games. That really puts us in transition and we're able to, you know, play a faster game if we dominate the boards. Obviously we've got to go back and look at some film, what happened.

They just wanted the rebounds a little more, so we've got to make sure we do a lot better in that area on Thursday.

What is the effect of tonight's result as you look towards game No. 4 confidence wise?
Well, obviously that gets them back in the series. You know, we wanted to keep the pedal to the medal and obviously go up 3 0, but it didn't happen. They executed well down the stretch and got a win.

So, obviously, now we've got a series. It's 2 1. They have got two more home games. Now we're in a dogfight for sure.

Pat Riley made the comment that for Shaquille's free throw, he thought the basketball gods were with them. You shoot 94 percent; do you think the basketball gods weren't with you?
I don't believe in that. Shaquille made big free throws down the stretch there. Those two were big. We're still up five and he made those two to only make it a three point game. And mine, like I said, it was just a free throw that I usually make. I don't know what happened. I just shot it a little strong.

Mavericks Guard Devin Harris

They outscored you 27-6 down the stretch. What happened offensively?
We just got a little stagnant. Shots weren’t falling. They were playing good defense.

This is a game of adjustments. What happens now for Game 4?
We’ll play the same way. We had a big lead going into the fourth quarter, and we lost it -- and that’s something that we’ll learn from, but obviously what we’re doing is working so we’ll continue to do it.

How tough of a loss is this, considering the way you guys lost it?
It’s tough. I mean, we say we’re going to win them all, but (tonight) we lost a tough one, and we just have to take a look at the mistakes we made and go from there.

There was a point where you came in the game for Jason Terry and you guys increased the lead from six to nine. He came back in the game and it seemed that the team got a little bit complacent. What happened?
I don’t know. It’s tough to say. We went to some plays that were working and we got the lead, and we came back in and shots weren’t the same. The game changes each and every minute, so it’s tough to say what one thing went wrong, but they played some good basketball tonight.

Mavericks Guard Jason Terry

The Heat had a comeback in the last fourth quarter in the last game, too; obviously it didn't turn out like this. What's happening from your guys' end in these two fourth quarters?
We have to give them a lot of credit. Tonight they came out with great energy. They got off to a great start. We made a run at them. As you know, basketball is a game of runs. We just didn't execute down the stretch defensively or offensively. They were the aggressor at the end of the game and they really took this game tonight.

How do you guys keep this from snowballing mentally, both for them and for you, and just make this a one game kind of collapse?
Well, we've been great through adversity all season long, and this is no different. We'll look at the film, go back and correct the mistakes that we made. I think that's what we've done a great job with all season. We're a very mentally tough team, and we knew Miami was going to come with everything they had tonight. You know, give them a lot of credit. They really came out and wanted the game on both ends of the floor.

Dirk talked about a possible overconfidence on your guys' part in the fourth quarter.
No, I mean, we're a very confident team. You know, our confidence is at an even keel. I just think we didn't execute. It's obvious. We don't score; they do. And that's what it is. These games come down to the fourth quarter. You have to execute. With five minutes left, they were the better team tonight.

Talk about guarding Dwyane Wade tonight, how tough was it?
Oh, it was very tough. You know, he's a tough matchup, any night. And tonight he really had it on his mind that he was going to be aggressive getting to the basket, especially in that fourth quarter, he really, really took over. So, you know, we'll watch the film, make adjustments and come back Thursday ready to go.

All through the night, Dirk Nowitzki had another wonderful night at the line, missed the last free throw at the very end obviously. How much do you think the extra exuberance that the crowd showed behind the basket affected his last free throw attempt?
We're all professionals. You know the crowd is going to be crazy. I don't think that had much of a factor if, any, on that last free throw. We all missed free throws throughout the game so, we're not looking at that one play as that cost us the game or anything. You have a big lead with five minutes left in the game, and we just didn't execute.

Mavericks Forward Josh Howard

When Dirk had those free throws to tie the game, were you thinking he’d tie it?
Yeah, for the most part. He’s like a 90 percent free throw shooter. I mean things happen, missed the free throw – move onto the next game.

Can you explain what happened on that final play. It looked like you almost had a great opportunity.
Just a lob to the basket, about the only high-percentage shot we can get at that time.

It looked like you had broken their will when you were up 13 points. What happened after that?
I just think we relaxed. I mean that’s the only thing I can say. They competed, they came back and fought hard, but for the most part we relaxed. There were a lot of shots they made that we should have been able to contest.

Talk about Dwyane Wade’s performance. Really put the team on his back in the fourth quarter.
About the same thing he did in Game 1, same percentage and all of that. I mean, we suspected he’d come out and play hard, and even said it. No different than Game 1.

What did Avery Johnson say in the locker room after this loss?
‘Get ready for the next game.’ I think he knew, as well as us, that we let one slip through our fingers.

Can you talk about their rebounding?
When they rebound well we don’t win, and when we don’t rebound well we know we don’t win. They came out and fought hard. Every time I saw a missed shot they were around it.

Mavericks Center Erick Dampier

Any idea of what caused the turnaround for the Heat?
They got a couple of fouls; they got a couple of offensive fouls that we thought were not. Like I said, we just got to learn how to close out games. We were up by 12.

Do you think you guys got a little conservative trying to run out the clock toward the end?
I think we were still in attack mode. We don’t stop playing until the game is over. It was an important game for us that we could have gotten under our belt, but it’s over now so we’ll just prepare for the next one and come ready to play.

Do you think you guys had problems rebounding tonight?
I wouldn’t necessarily say we had any problems. The ball can bounce either way; they just got their hands on a couple of loose balls and a couple of rebounds. If we’d had gotten our hands on those it would’ve been a different game.

You had one of your better games. Can you talk about that?
I just wanted to do whatever I can to help us be victorious. Picks when I can, roll to the basket and when I get the opportunity just make the most of it.

Up by 13, was there a feeling it was in the bag?
I feel like we should have won this game. Shot the ball well, pushed it up and down the floor, were able to get layups, get open shots. Games like this, it’s really important at this point in the season – we can’t let them slip away. Like I said we’ll learn from this game and we’ll definitely be prepared for the next one.

Mavericks Guard Jerry Stackhouse

What happened tonight down the stretch?
It was definitely different than the first three and one half quarters. Give them credit – they made plays down the stretch when they had to. They were fighting and clawing to get back in it. We had a pretty decent lead going into the fourth quarter.

Was there anything in particular that sticks out, for you?
I can’t really put my finger on it right now, it was going so fast. I haven’t had a chance to really think back on it.

Were you surprised that Shaquille O’Neal and Udonis Haslem, both hit both free throws?
They made the plays. Guys that had struggled from the line thus far this series stepped up and made plays. Shaq stepped up and made two big ones and then Haslem came back and did the same thing. You’ve got to give credit to those guys for coming through for their team.