NBA Finals Game 2: Spurs Quotes

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Gregg Popovich Tim Duncan Tony Parker Manu Ginobili Robert Horry Bruce Bowen

Q. Talk about the hustle points and the hustle plays from Robert Horry, and 15 points from Bruce Bowen.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Robert, he had a great first half. He looked like he was 26 or 27. I mean, he's playing defense, going to the opposite side of the floor to block shots, he's rebounding, moving the ball, shooting the ball, driving it, he had a couple of drives that was really impressive to me. He summons the energy up for that once in a while. His floor game and his experience in the first half was really important for us.

Q. And about Bruce's contribution tonight.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Well, Bruce, you know, he did what he always does. He takes great pride in trying to make somebody on the other team work harder and tonight he combined it with knocking down some threes. He didn't have a whole lot of luck the first game with the threes but tonight he found it, and so, you know, all the way around, he was also valuable.

You know, having said that, those two guys played great, but the guy that won't get credit will be Tony Parker because he didn't score a lot of points but he was really efficient tonight. I thought he played great defense. I thought he really set the tone for us, picking up off the floor and trying to get a little spread out. His shooting was real efficient and scoring, and that really does help us when he plays that kind of a game. So he really was important to start the first half.

Q. Has this been a little bit easier so far than you expected?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: No, not at all. Nothing's easy. I mean, I think they had a poor night shooting tonight. I don't know what they ended up with, but at least in the first half, they had a tough time making shots. I think we played pretty good D, but they also missed some shots.
I don't think anything is easy. Everybody is out there working very hard. It's very physical, bodies are knocking and we made shots tonight. Obviously Manu made, you know, a lot of threes and Bruce made his threes, that really helps us offensively. So that made tonight's game look easy, but the guys are banging pretty hard out there. When it got down to eight, it could easily go from eight to two. It went back up to 15 because we made a shot or two. It's a lot closer than the score looks, I think.

Q. Brent Barry told us the other day that you preach that it's more important how your team responds after a victory than how the opponent responds after a loss, was this a case of that tonight?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: I was really pleased with the way they reacted to the win. I think it's easier to react well after a loss, and I think good teams do that. You know, all of us have done that all year long, the top six, eight, ten teams in the league. But even teams that aren't that good will always come back with a little bit more energy after a loss, but it gets more difficult after a win to come back and understand how that subconscious sort of complacency can set in, even if you say all the right words and think you're doing the right thing, just a little bit of a pleasant feeling about yourself after a win, especially in the playoffs, and you can't allow that to happen. You have to keep an appropriate fear of your opponent so that complacency will dissipate as soon as possible.

Q. Tony Parker got his fifth foul with 7:26 left in the fourth, and you had to go with Beno, how vital was it for Beno to control the pace of the game and run things at that point in the game?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: He did a good job. He started out a little bit shaky on the court, and when you have Chauncey Billups and Lindsey Hunter on you, that can happen when you're a rookie. I thought he got stronger and a little bit more confident as he went along, at the seven, at the six, at the five, we're thinking we're getting Tony back, we're getting Tony back and the score went back up to 15 and we thought this was a great opportunity to give him some minutes and let him continue to play. So I thought he did well.

Q. I think I counted 11 threes made in the game. Was that a part of the game plan to jump out and go long distance on these guys?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: No. No. I hate jumpshots. I like layups. (Laughter) But Manu doesn't listen to me. Bruce doesn't listen to me. Timmy's out there, and we've got to space the floor, and he allows us to do that. And if teams move the basketball, somebody is going to get open at some point. I think that if you've got a three, you've got to shoot it. Our guys are shooting pretty well in the playoffs so far, and we need to continue to do it.

Q. You guys had a lot of layups in the first half, are you surprised to get that many against Larry Brown's defense?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Are you trying to get me in trouble? (Laughter).
I honestly didn't notice how many were layups and how many were jumpshots.

Q. Lots.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: We were very concerned about trying to make stop and trying to get the boards, and really what we concentrated on the first half was talking to our players about how we were getting beat on the board. I think we did, it was 11 4 on the offensive board the first half, and that was one of our goals in the first half. We did not accomplish it in any way, shape or form, so so much for coaching.

Q. You went to the zone defense there briefly, the thought behind that and how it worked?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: With all due respect, we didn't play zone. Sorry. (Laughter).

Maybe you were listening because we talked about it, that's what you meant, and you're right we did talk about zone.

Q. It looked like some confusion when you called a time out.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: I'm sure there's confusion, but we didn't play zone. (Laughter).

Q. Can you just talk about the versatility you've shown in the last four or five years of the playoffs now you come here and play halfcourt and defense, the way you can do both styles?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Well, it's true, we've been at both ends of the spectrum, so I just have to say that the guys are pretty flexible, pretty balanced. It's a pretty balanced team in that sense. We can score points and we're trying to run and I think everybody's always got us figured as a halfcourt team for some reason. I've never really understood that, but I guess we all need a label. It makes things neater.

But with Manu and with Tony, with Bruce running the floor, we're able to score. And against Phoenix, if you don't score, you're not going to win because as you all know, we held Stoudemire to 40 a game and Nash got his, we needed to score or we weren't going to win.

This is a different series, this is more of a defensive series. We could very easily go to Detroit, not make shots and they start knocking them down and the whole thing changes very quickly.

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Q. Again, another complete game for you guys, but how much easier does if make it when the guys are raining in threes like that?
TIM DUNCAN: Yeah, it makes it that much easier. We just moved the ball so well early, and on top of that, we knock out shots and we really spread the floor. So when we're playing on that level and hitting shots like that, we're really tough to beat.

Q. Is this the most successful you guys have been in some time compressing a really good defensive team, really stretching them and getting the ball to open shooters?
TIM DUNCAN: Yeah, it has been. We've played in so many kind of different series throughout these playoffs, different types of teams, and we knew coming in here that they would be the best defensive team that we would face.

But we really have done a great job of moving the ball, I think in that third quarter, we really kind of held on to it a little bit, kind of stacked it a little bit but got back away from that. Manu has been awesome, of course. But Tony and the rest of the guys did a really great job and even Bruce has done a great job, if they are too close, getting on the side of them and making them pay on the inside.

Q. Would you talk a little bit about that transition, you started off in the Western Conference playoffs trying to stop other teams from running and now you're playing a team where you're the faster team. How much of an adjustment has it been from series to series?
TIM DUNCAN: It's been a great adjustment, it's been a tough adjustment but it's been great for us. Because with other teams' personalities, we've kind of built our own, kind of taken a little bit with Denver, we were able to run back at them a little bit. With Phoenix it was run back at them, Seattle was kind of a bang 'em up series with a lot of shooters. So we took a little bit from every series and now we can apply it to this one, because a lot of the same is going on. They have great shooters coming off of screens which we've faced with a couple of teams and with the ability to get stops and push up the floor.
We are going to take what's there. We don't have to run. We don't have to be on the open floor to score points. But we're comfortable doing it, and that's kind of a change in our team this year.

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Q: You guys were able to get off to a good start, it looked like you were able to put them on their heels. Can you talk about that?
Parker: I thought it was important because in Game 1 we had a very slow start because of the eight days off. We just wanted to make sure we started with a lot of energy tonight and I thought we did a great job doing that.

Q: What about your defense?
Parker: I think it’s just being focused and energy. That’s what it is. We played great D overall, everybody – the guards, and the big guys controlled the boards, and that’s when it happens, when everybody is ready and focused.

Q: Talk about the way you guys were moving the ball and your offense.
Parker: That’s the key against Detroit when you play against their defense. Very good defense is going play physical and aggressive. You have to make sure you share the ball and ball movement is huge. Pop is always [grilling] us if somebody is taking a bad shot or contest a shot. So I thought the mentality of the team was great tonight. Everybody shared the ball and everybody had some shots. And the scoring, the balance was great tonight.

Q: They’ll say you did what you were supposed to do, win two, but you won two pretty convincing victories here.
Parker: Definitely. They can say whatever they want but we’re up 2-0 and we know in Detroit it’s going to be hard. They’re going to play with a lot more confidence and they’re going to make more shots so we just have to be ready to match that.

Q: You guys win the rebounding margin by 14 in Game 1, you lose it by nine tonight and win, do you guys feel like you have their number a little bit?
Parker: It’s hard to say because we’re playing at home and when you’re playing at home you always make a little more shots and play with a lot more energy. We know when we’re over there, they’re going to play with a lot more confidence.

Q: Do you think you guys got them back on their heels a little bit coming out so aggressive in that first quarter?
Parker: Maybe a little bit. Maybe they didn’t expect that our energy was going to be that good. So I’m sure they’re going to watch film and try to come back stronger next game. And they have three games at home now so everybody knows that they play better at home.

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Q. It seemed like you were more of a playmaker to start the game tonight, was that your thought coming in?
MANU GINOBILI: Yes, I knew it was going to be harder for me to finish at the rim. So I tried to because I knew they were going to be worried about it, so I thought a little more on trying to find the open guys, move the ball and be patient.

Q. What is the feeling to hear your crowd calling you "MVP, MVP" when you are shooting free throws?
MANU GINOBILI: Of course you appreciate it, it's beautiful. But it's something that none of us are thinking and got to be thinking. It's something that can take you out of the main goal; that is, making your teammates better, play well. You just don't have to care about that.
Once we win the Championship, in those ten minutes you are going to think about it, but it's not something that I'm really thinking about.

Q. Has this been a little bit easier so far than you expected it to be?
MANU GINOBILI: Well, this game, it has been easier. We played really well. We passed the ball extremely well. If you see the stats, out of those 29 field goals, 23 came from assists, and that's huge for us. That's what we've been talking the last two days.
So we had a great game, but I don't think it's been easy. We are working really hard and it's been tough. They came back from a 22 point lead pretty quick.
So we've got to be concentrated for 48 minutes, because they are a great team, very professional. They have been in this situation, so you've got to be smart.

Q. I know you've seen Bruce have complete games many times, but at this level against and while he's guarding Rip Hamilton how important was that tonight that he came up big on both ends for you?
MANU GINOBILI: It was very important for us. He wasn't able to find his shot in the first game, and we need that. When he's wide open in the corner, we're going to look for him, because he's very reliable. Today, he just forgot about Game 1, keep doing the same job on Rip, and make himself available there in the conner. He did a great job on penetrating, passing the ball, so overall he would have a great game.

Q. Does it bother you at all that a lot of the Detroit players still are not giving you much credit in this series for what you're doing? And B, can you comment on what these two lopsided victories do psyche wise, they are the champions, but you struck the first blow.
MANU GINOBILI: About the first question, no, we really don't care. Even though a lot of people have been talking about us, saying that we were going to get here or win the Championship, we usually didn't get much credit since I'm here. So we know who we are, we know how we play, how good we are. So we've just got to stay humble. If people don't give us credit, we just don't care. We have to keep working really hard.

And the second question, I forgot already. (Laughter).

Q. Basically striking the first blow so emphatically what you think it might do to their psyche?
MANU GINOBILI: If we were in their situation right now, we would be very upset and not want to make any more mistakes. We bet that Game 3 is going to be so tough with their crowd on their side, they are going to be very pumped up for them and they are going to play even tougher defensively. We just have to be aware of that, knowing it's going to happen. Winning in their arena is very hard. So we've just got to be patient and try to get to the last quarter tied, two points down or two points up and put the pressure on them.

Q. Obviously Game 3 is going to be huge for Detroit, for you guys how do you maintain that sense of urgency, and is that difficult?
MANU GINOBILI: Yeah, sometimes it is. So far, this season, we did it pretty well. We lost the first one against Denver and then we reacted after every win very well.

Against Seattle, similar. We made one mistake against Phoenix. In Game 4, we relaxed a little bit so. We really hope that that doesn't happen again. It's going to be tough, because it's not that it depends only on us. They are a very good team, too. So we are going to try to be very talkative with each other, try to help and if you see somebody that is being a little flat, try to lift them up.

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Q: You came out slow in Game 1, just the opposite tonight you guys came out on fire.
Horry: We were very fortunate tonight. We came out with a little bit more aggressiveness and we were able to attack and get some easy buckets, and we were very lucky.

Q: The team, especially you, seemed very active defensively. Steals, you were on the floor all over the place. Is that crafty veteran stuff?
Horry: Taking advantage of the opportunities, in the Playoffs, you got to be on the floor, even though I don’t like diving on the floor (laughter). You got to get down there, you’ve got to enjoy what you’re doing, you’ve got be aggressive in every way possible.

Q: Are you guys surprised you were able to handle the Pistons like this in the first two game?
Horry: I am very surprised, and I think that’s a credit to our defense. Keeping them off the boards, staying in front and contesting every shot.

Q: Talk about your outside shooting tonight, and how well you guys did.
Horry: As a team we did well. I sucked (laughter). But, we did a good job. Bruce Bowen came though, Beno Udrih came through, and Manu (Ginobili) of course is always doing his thing. We hit them with a bunch of threes and put us up 20 and I think that kind of sucked a little wind out. And then they made their run again and we hit them with a bunch of threes again. We were very fortunate. <
P>Q: You outscored them from behind the arc 33-0. Is that almost impossible?
Horry: It’s hard. They really don’t have that many three-point shooters. Chauncey (Billups) is one. Lindsey is one and Rasheed is one, and hopefully they can’t get that going. We predicate our game on shooting a lot of threes lately, especially playing Phoenix we kind of got into that rhythm. Especially when you got a great guy like Tim on the post, he sucks everybody in and kicks it out and we kick it to someone else and he gets a shot.

Q: Will Manu ever miss a shot?
Horry: I hope not. I hope he just keeps going really good. And carries over this rhythm he has up to Detroit.

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Q. How fun is it to play this game when you guys are hitting 3 pointers like that?
BRUCE BOWEN: It's always fun when shots are going in for you. But just being in this Finals right now and being able to have a game like this tonight where, you know, we did a great job shooting the 3 ball, and it's The Finals, what else could you ask for.

Q. You're guarding Rip on one end, how do you still have legs down on the other?
BRUCE BOWEN: It's a situation of I've had many obstacles in my life, and I have no time to cry for myself or worry or complain. I'm on the court. I'm an NBA player. That's enough incentive for me. I appreciate the time that I'm out there and I really appreciate the time that I'm here.
So to take all of that into account, I'm giving one 110 percent. I can rest later.

Q. Do you sense Rip getting a little frustrated with your defense sort of like Carmelo and Ray (Allen)?
BRUCE BOWEN: I really don't pay attention to what they are doing. I really try to focus in on doing a good job of getting a hand up on each and every shot. Now, if that player happens to take a quick shot, you know, so be it. I want to make sure I get a hand out, because once they make one shot, that just sets them up for their next shot and the next shot after that. They are so accustomed to getting in rhythms, I try to make sure I can keep them from getting into a rhythm.

Q. Did you do any extra shooting after Game 1? Did you get in the gym?
BRUCE BOWEN: No extra than I normally do. I always shoot early in the morning game day, and no, I have the same routine. I did it tonight, or this morning, and that's what I do. It's a matter of, you know, I had a bad night the other night, and I think the true character of anybody is shown, you know, the way they come back from situations like that.

Q. the Pistons got it within eight and you guys just blew it open, it was like a 16 2 run or something. Can you talk about your team's ability to close games out and make it easy at the end.
BRUCE BOWEN: Well, it's not making it easy. It's definitely far from easy. In those situations, you have to fall back on all of the things you have preached throughout the whole season, and that's playing the game for the full 48 minutes. We understand that and we went through a spell there where we handled their run a little bit and we knew we had another one, another one in us. It's a matter of fighting through those situations and hoping it passes a lot quicker than it may have tonight.

Q. You guys are playing at such a high level right now, how big of a challenge is it to continue in Detroit playing to the degree that you are right now?
BRUCE BOWEN: It's a challenge but I think you have to really focus in on the fact that you have to be more cautious there. You can't afford to go one on three in certain situations or take quick shots on the road, because you don't have your fans to give you that energy, if you get down a little bit. You have to really value each possession and pay attention to everything that you guys have prepared for.

Q. Tell us about how big the win was tonight in terms of heading into Detroit. But Pop says that the defense, it goes through you, it starts with you, and when you see everybody else doing extra hustle and stuff, how does it make you feel?
BRUCE BOWEN: I understand that. It's been that way this whole year. I understand that I'm the anchor of our D, and it's kind of weird, but you know, pretty much everyone accepts that. They kind of feed off of me. Sometimes, you know, you watch some of those old games where Magic Johnson made an incredible pass and next thing you know Cooper is making an incredible pass and Worthy and so forth. That's part of this game. It's contagious. Going there, it's going to be difficult, we understand that. We really have to many come out with the mindset that, hey, we can't cut steps, we have to pay attention to detail and really execute the game plan the coaches have for us.

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