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PLAYER OF THE GAME

Dwyane Wade Points: 35 FTM-A: 9-11 FGM-A: 13-17 Assists: 4 Minutes: 43

The layup situation seemed like your team was getting to the basket and then for whatever reason dishing the ball off. Where did that come from, and then 11 assists, obviously that's not typical.
Well, we had I guess they were trying to make what they considered the right play. I'll have to take a look more. There is a situation when you do penetrate a lot and they have either Shaq or Mourning in there, those guys are coming. Their philosophy is not to give up layups. Sometimes the best play might be the kick out as far as for open shots. We missed some of those. We missed some layups that they contested. We got in a situation the first half, a couple turnovers where we tried to almost force things inside when they were there. So like I said, I'll have to look at the film a little bit more and see.

Obviously playing at a very high level, two points, three rebounds, four turnovers; what do you attribute that to?
They definitely made a conscious effort to take some things away from him which opened some things up for Chauncey. Chauncey had a bigger game. Our guards had bigger games. He had some good looks. He probably wasn't as involved as he had been. I thought that he fell behind Chauncey as he tried to get us back in and didn't. We're usually at low assists a lot of times. The one person probably affected more than anybody is Tay because he plays off everybody so much.

Along those same lines, Tayshaun and Rasheed were so productive in Games 1 and 2. What did you see that they tried to do that consciously took them away from the game and what did you do to try to counteract that?
We tried to make a conscious effort to I think Sheed got taken out because he got in foul trouble early, made a conscious effort to get him the ball going into the third quarter when he got going a little bit. The guy that was somewhat hot was Chauncey, and we were trying to loosen him up and get him going a little bit and we were struggling somewhat.

Like I said, I think the biggest thing is their forwards were much more aggressive offensively, and our forwards had Tay back on his heels a little bit. Walker was extremely aggressive to the rim as far as on penetration. Tay had some good looks, missed some of the ones he's been very efficient as far as this time, but it's not where they were taking away a lot of his cuts and went in a different direction. Some guys came through and some guys missed some key shots.

What was the major adjustment that you made in the first half of the fourth quarter to spark that run, and how did the Heat counteract that?
Well, we went with both Dyess and with Sheed, random things and we spread the floor a little bit more. But again, when you fall behind, you come back, you exert a lot of energy. We had a situation after we got within one we turned it over a couple times in a row and they came down and made a couple big plays.

Considering how a win or loss can affect the series on Monday, how important is winning that game for you guys?
Very important. I mean, any time you're in a series, whoever wins the last game has momentum. We've got to find a way to take that momentum back. I didn't think we played I thought they played I thought Wade was great tonight. I mean, the play of the game was we're down one, we're making a run, Dyess has a dunk and Wade comes down and blocks it and they come down and get a three point play. Instead of us being up one we're down four, and then Tay missed the layup off his one play and they come down and score and it comes from us being one down to down six. That was probably the play of the game, and Dwyane had a lot of those. I thought he really, really took control for most of the game, and Shaq was extremely aggressive early in the game.

It's going to be important for us to come and compete, and somehow we've got to find a way to squeeze out a win down here. We're not taking care of business at all.

Just talking about Dwyane, when you look at different opponents and take into account what they do against you, where does he stand or rank in terms of just his will at the end of the game?
Well, you do. As I said, I thought he's the most dynamic player in the game right now, and his ability as far as just his pure speed, his speed with the ball, his ability to offensive rebound, defensive rebound and his size and just the plays that he can create, he can make something basically out of nothing.

He becomes the and what's happening right now is when he's knocking down pretty much every jump shot it's extremely difficult because when you have to push on him more it opens up the floor for him, so everybody has to be locked in.

Were they making Antoine Walker play maker tonight giving him the ability to create and dish?
What they did, off pick and rolls, they threw the ball back to him quicker and he was extremely aggressive with the ball off throw backs, getting to the paint, doing those things. Initially he was not the initial play maker, but it was Dwyane or Gary I thought made good decisions by getting rid of the ball quick off pick and rolls and letting Antoine be aggressive.

He was extremely especially the first half, he was extremely aggressive to the basket.

Chauncey, 11 assists, that's not normal for you guys. Was it a situation of falling behind and having to go desperate and try to catch up?
"You know, we fell behind early in the game. They had the momentum. At that point we just had to kind of just do what was working, and once we finally got something to work with, we just had to keep on with it. We tried to get those guys the pick and rolls, it worked for a while. It picked up in the first half we picked up our pressure defensively and I thought took them out of their rhythm, and they came back out the second half and kind of reestablished themselves in the game. Once again, we picked it back up and we cut it to one with seven minutes left. We had some good luck when we cut it to one with McDyess, had a dunk. It was a tough play, but it was a good game."

Can you just talk about the way Wade and Shaq combined to just be so strong offensively tonight?
"They had an unbelievable game today. Those are their two horses. That's who they're going to depend on to win the games, and today they came out and they were dominant, both of those guys, very dominant. We took a look at probably some ways to combat what they're doing because if they play that way the rest of the series, there's going to be some long nights for us."

Tayshaun in your locker room and Flip just now were talking about how the most aggressive team has won all three games. I guess my question to you is going into Game 4 how do you establish that and then add to it to be aggressive?
"That's pretty much what it's come down to every game is whoever is most aggressive from start to finish has come away with a victory. That's one thing that we've got to keep in mind, that we've got to try to attack early in the games, offensively and defensively. We've got to be very aggressive, and hopefully we can get a win here on Monday."

Coach Riley had mentioned taking away your aggressiveness with their defensive pressure. Did that seem to affect your game tonight?
"Did that affect me tonight? Not really, not really. I mean, it's the first game of the series that I really hit some shots I felt pretty good coming into the game. We got some things that we wanted offensively. But they did a great job. They did a great job of holding everybody else down.

Today I had it going, but all for naught, didn't come up with a win, so it really doesn't matter."

Where would you kind of rank them (Shaq and Wade) in terms of other duos that you've seen?
"We've played games with of course Kobe and Shaq in LA, and it's very similar. Shaq, of course, is dominant as always at stopping forcing the post, and like Kobe, Dwyane is a phenomenal athlete. He slashes and he's athletic in shooting at the basket and shoots the jumper, as well. Like Kobe, he's a nightmare to guard, too."

Considering how it could change in either direction, just talk about the importance for you guys of winning on Monday.
"It's a huge game. It's the biggest game of the series pretty much, Monday's game. I know they know that and we know that. We've got to come in and play with a sense of urgency early in the game, and hopefully it carries over throughout the game. We're down 2 1 right now, and we want to go home tied up. We want to go home 2-2."

You guys have been the best team in the league all season in terms of turnovers. What's causing all these high turnover games in the playoffs?
"You know what, I think we can get in a position sometimes just making bad reads, just making bad reads. When we get sometimes in transition, just making bad not attacking at the right times, and then attacking at the wrong times, too, attacking one on three and then come up with a turnover, trying to overpass sometimes and then come up with a turnover.

One thing about our team is I don't even have to watch our game, I can look at the stats sheet and I can look at turnovers and assists and know exactly what happens. When our turnovers are down, our assists are in the 20s, we've pretty much played a good game. Today you look at it and we've got 11 assists, 14 turnovers. We shouldn't even have a chance to win."

Speaking of bad reads or whatever, are you guys maybe being a little overconscious of Shaq at the basket because a lot of times you seem to have layups, you and the rest of the guys, and dished out for whatever reason? Are you a little bit too aware of him?
"I don't know if we're too aware, but he's a force down there. You get in there, and my whole thing is when I can get in there and it's me and him, and being on the backside, if I can draw him and get him to jump in the air and drop it off to Ben, that's what I want, give Ben an easy look and get him moving, get him off the floor. He's still a great shot blocker. He's a force in there, so you definitely have got to know where he's at."

Talk about the game:
We didn't do anything different. I wasn't in the position to be aggressive. We know what they're going to do as far as going to [Shaquille] O'Neal early. In the first three games of this series, the team that was more aggressive has won. That has been the story.

When Chauncey [Billups] and [Richard Hamilton] were making shots to start the game off, they were aggressive, and that's what we have to go with down the stretch. Chauncey had a hell of a game. Rip was making shots. We didn't do a good job of establishing Rasheed [Wallace] in the first quarter that we just kept going with it.

We're going to keep fighting. We cut it to one with Chauncey's heroics. We feel that we put ourselves in a great position. Then Wade got aggressive and got the crowd back into the game.

Of course, we're a better team than we showed, and we have to do a better job taking care of the basketball.

Talk about double-teaming Shaq:
It just depends on where he's at. If he catches the ball inside the paint area, then there's pretty much nothing you can do.

Talk about Monday's Game 4.
We definitely have to come out and be aggressive and try to get this game. If they go up 3-1, it's kind of hard to beat them three straight times. Obviously, this is a pivotal game.

Could you just talk about your team after having really played well for three quarters having a little slide and holding on to win this thing?
We opened up what I thought was a shaky 10 to 12 point lead, but we had it. I never feel good about it with this team because I've been against them so many times where in two minutes they're back, three point shots, to the basket, things of that nature, that make you turn it over.

You just keep trying to urge your team, you keep telling them, either it's going to go to 18 or 6. It went to 1. At that time at 74 73 and seven minutes to go and we had the lead the whole game, you're about ready to meet your basketball maker, okay, and that's what it's about. You've had this lead the whole game and all of a sudden you're going to let this thing get away from you.

I think our team responded extremely well coming out. Dwyane hit a real runner that got us a three point lead, then he took it to six and seven, and that was it.

Tayshaun Prince was not a factor in this game. How much was that a function of a change you may have made or his own fatigue or whatever?
Awareness. Once a player goes off on you in a game, the guy that's assigned to him is just more aware. I thought what he was doing more than anything else, and Detroit was really driving the ball, driving it hard and strong and getting second shots. So we did try to take that part of his game away from him. But some nights guys don't get looks like he got there. I thought we were more aware of him tonight.

Can you just talk about the combination of Wade and O'Neal offensively tonight?
That's why they're here. When Shaq came on the market, I knew he would change our franchise and change the way we looked at things, and we were fortunate enough to draft Dwyane prior to that, so we knew what we had in Dwyane. The two guys carried us tonight. We needed them.

Just seeing the two of them feed off of each other, does it remind you of any other duo in history, and when they're playing so well, shooting 75 percent between the two of them, is this such a powerful combination you're lucky to have?
Well, they played extremely well tonight. There's a bond there, there's no doubt. When Shaq came, he really did because of his experience in Los Angeles. He just wanted to make it right with a young kid, and I think there's just so much respect there for each other, and it also works on the court.

The one thing that I did the same with Kareem and Jamal Wilkes is I always put those guys on the same side of the court so they were rubbing against each other, sweating against each other, picking on each other, talking together. It was always 5 2 stacked, and we run pretty much all our offense that way. They have inside conversations out on the block that I would like to hear really what's being said most of the time, but they're a great combination obviously.

Can you talk about Antoine tonight, primarily as a play maker making decisions with the basketball?
He was big from that standpoint. Antoine has always been an attacker and a guy that goes to the basket and scores, and he was dishing and kicking and using his ability on secondary plays when the ball was kicked at him just to penetrate, get the ball up on the rim, throw lobs to Shaq, make little runners in the lane. I'm really happy the way he's playing.

Outside of a few brief minutes in the fourth quarter, Dwyane played really a steady game unlike the nine turnovers in Game 2. What did you think about that aspect of his game tonight?
Well, he responds to it. We talked about it yesterday. We don't make a big issue of it because he's in so many plays, involved in so many situations with the ball that there are times that he's going to make mistakes, and they're a very smart defensive team. You like to score on it and watch the tape and see all the things that he did, and he wasn't going to force the action. He didn't force it tonight, just made the plays that were there.

Could you just talk about a couple things real quick, one, taking Shaq out of the game with four minutes to go, and your strategy with Hack a Ben up by ten?
Well, I thought they would probably do it earlier when I saw Davis get up, I knew they were going to do it. I was really happy that Shaq made a second, a rebound. We got a ten point lead. He understands the situation. I would have put him back in the game in the last under two minutes if I felt that I needed to, but at that time I felt we just needed perimeter defense and getting the three point shooters. It's a strategy. I'll be real honest with you, I wish they would do away with it. I wish they'd get together next year and do away with the intentional away from the ball foul just because a guy can't make free throws. But it's part of the game, Flip is going to use it and I'll use it.

Considering you've come from a win, would it be too much to say that Monday could maybe be one of the most important games ever in franchise history?
We've had a lot of those, so I'm not going there. We'd like to win just to win. I don't want to make it bigger than what it is. We're ahead two to one. We're the first team in the playoffs with ten wins. We need six more wins, we're going to put it in that perspective. Our guys want to be good, relaxed, healthy, happy, humble and ready to play.

You seemed more determined than ever to dominate the paint tonight:
"Yeah, Game 2 I felt we went away from what we usually do, and today I just told the guys, bring it to me, get me going, keep me going, and they did. I was aggressive and I was getting the ball where I wanted it to go, and I just tried to do what I do."

The dunks were there for you tonight. Tell me why.
"Flash does a great job of getting to the hole. If they don't help, he's going to score; if they do help, I'll be right there. We just have to keep playing aggressive and keep playing our game. We're a power team, and that's how we should play every night."

So you wanted to step up to the challenge when they started the Hack a Shaq?
"I mean, I've been there before; it was nothing new to me for us to move on to the next level. I have to hit them, and I will."

Are you surprised how few plays they ran for Tayshaun tonight?
"I don't think they've been running plays for him at all. He's just an aggressive player, he's a great rebounder, he's a great slasher, he's a great player. Tonight we just wanted to focus on what we had to do, just get the ball on the side and run it a little bit more and just play hard."

Were you a little bit annoyed you didn't get the ball more in the paint?
"Yeah, very. I wasn't angry, it was just that we need to stick to our game plan. We're a power team, and we've got to go inside out. We've got to go inside when they're doubled and we kick it back out and shoot rather than just shooting jumpers.

Tonight we got back to our game, and we got this one and we know it's going to be tough on Monday, so we've got to do everything right on Monday."

Talk about how huge Monday looms now?
"Monday is a big game for both teams, a real big game for us. We've just got to continue to play well. Fans have been great. They're there for us. When we got in the dead spot, they got loud all of a sudden and just took us out of that. We're going to be ready."

Did he say anything to you guys about the lack of effort after the game tonight?
"No. Tonight was a little bit better effort. We knew that this was an important game, but Monday is a game that we must also play well."

What's your mindset as far as sitting the last four and a half in the fourth quarter?
"Nothing. Both coaches were playing numbers, playing percentages, and that was fine with me, as long as we win and as long as it was done right. I don't run away from that. They want to foul and play those games, I just have to step up and hit them, and most of the time I will. I'm not worried about that."

The last play in the first half, that just kind of shows how much fun you have with Dwyane. Kind of describe what you were feeling on that play.
"He's a great player, great surface player. We have that connection, and when he goes past these guys and my man steps up, I'll be there. It's a very, very high percentage play for us. Every now and then I'll try to cram it down real hard and it may go off the back of the rim like it did in Game 2, but we have a very, very high percentage on that play."

Just talk about how you and Shaq combined offensively tonight and one of your better performances together?
Yeah, especially in the playoffs. It was kind of like myself and Shaq early, we were going to see what they do, and Shaq got aggressive early, then I got kind of aggressive early. Things were working for us. Then other guys stepped up for a while until we took it upon ourselves to once again be the leaders of the team and find a way for us to get a win.

Dwyane, you cut down on turnovers. This evening Coach Riley said that you looked at some film and went to school on it and put it to work on the court. What did you see in Game 2 that changed your performance tonight?
Well, they dropped me some and I was just throwing the ball without really looking, and they was getting a hand on my passes. I made some sloppy, stupid turnovers. Even without film prior to the game, I knew for us to win I can't have nine turnovers in a game. So I decided to take it upon myself to be more aggressive, and then once they come, be strong passing the ball.

I understand that if we're going to beat this team because, they don't beat themselves, that we can't have too many turnovers. Me as a leader who has the ball 50 percent of the time, I can't have the majority of the turnovers.

What did you tell yourself when they pulled within one? What's going through your head?
You know what, that's their run. NBA is a game full of runs. They made their run, now we go to time out, we regroup and played excellent offense and took the game from there. We're a confident team, we understand that things are going to happen in ball games. We stuck together, came out and scored and took it from there.

Talk about Antoine initially when the game started. He was real aggressive and it carried on throughout the game, and talk about the two lobs to Shaq, also.
Well, Antoine is going to continue to be big in the series as they try to stop myself and Shaq. Antoine is going to be very big, especially shooting the three. Today he kind of got off the three some and penetrated and that's how we got the early dunks to Shaq because Antoine is a great passer. We got it to Shaq early, and you want that. You want to look for the big man, and that makes him happier than a lob, I'll tell you that. Antoine did the right thing.

The lob that you fed to Shaq, as you said, nothing makes him happier. Can you talk about that play to end the half and how that shows the connection that you guys really have and have established here?
Any time I drive to the rim and his man leaves him, he always tells me throw it up. I try to do it at least 75, 80 percent of the time. Just two of them a game from me and he's happy, so I do everything in my power to keep the big man happy. It's a high percentage shot for us. He's put most of them down, and we want them. If we can throw it, we'll throw it to the basket.

There was a couple minute span in the fourth quarter where I think the ball was out of bounds a couple times and then I think it was coming from a timeout, Rip was flailing his arms and it seemed to be normal contact. What does a player do to not get frustrated and continue playing the game when situations like that occur?
I mean, I've been through this for a little while now. I just understand that they're doing it to get under your skin and doing it for a reason. If you see me, when it happens, I just shake my head or smile. I'm not going to get into that body match. That's not the way I play. I use my quickness to get around guys. It's an advantage for me. It'll continue to happen, and I'll keep taking advantage of it.

Players talk about the couple guys on the court that have that will in the fourth quarter and I'm not going to lose that game. How much of that do you have?
I have a lot. My teammates depend on me, guys look at me and say, "it's your time." That's all you need. I go out there, they put the ball in my hands. When I'm getting doubled or not, they find a way to get me the ball. I find a way to make the right play. There's been times I've made the wrong play, but they trust me. I have faith in them, and hopefully that continues to work for us.

A lot of offensive players when they're going well, they say the game slows down. When you're on an offensive roll like you've been, what are you seeing out there? Are you seeing the defense before it even starts to break towards you?
I'm a student of the game so I understand how these guys are going to play me defensively. I kind of know when I'm going through my moves where they're going to be. It's just a matter of me getting off the ball at times and kind of attacking at times. I'm kind of reading it when I'm getting the ball already.

Hopefully our team will watch how they're playing me, and hopefully we'll stay one step ahead of them and have an advantage.