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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SUNS v MAVERICKS

June 1, 2006

Dirk Nowitzki

DALLAS, TEXAS: Game Five

Q. Dirk, didn't seem like it was a night, even though you end up with 50, that everything came easy to you. Did you feel like you just had to work yourself into it?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Yeah, absolutely. You know, after last game, you know, I never really found my rhythm. And today, I just wanted to be aggressive no matter what happens.
You know, I took the first two shots right away to the basket. I missed them. But just I was just aggressive trying to make some stuff happen.
And the second quarter I got called there, missed a couple of jump shots. Next thing you know they're right back in the game. And, you know, in the third quarter, when we were down 7, I just saw the whole season swimming away. And they just kept making shots, and, you know, this was a great season, great playoff run so far. Just kept swimming away.
So at that point I just said, you know, let's go. Whatever. We need to do, we need to get some stops. I'll shoot the ball, drive the ball, really. We need to get this win. And we got some good stops. Made some adjustments in that one timeout and we were able to get some stops and run away with it. So obviously a great win.
Q. Dirk, how hard did you take your performance personally in Game 4 and what did you consciously do to put it behind you?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Well, nothing really. I mean, like I said, I was never really able to find my rhythm in that game. You gotta give them credit. They made me take tough shots and I just never had it the whole night.
So, you know, the best thing or the good thing in the NBA, there's always the next night. Obviously in the playoffs it's a little -- if you have a bad game it hurts a little more than in the regular season. But came in yesterday, got some shots up and really didn't do anything different. Just had an aggressive mind set today, and I thought as a team we just kept -- came out swinging today.
I thought in Game 4, you know, they were the aggressors, and we were just back-pedaling all game. And today was us. We really came out firing. We were up 10 early. But you gotta give them credit, they kept coming, and coming and making shots, and that's a tough team.
Q. Dirk, what exactly happened between you and Tim Thomas and did that have any effect you the rest of the game?
DIRK NOWITZKI: It's a regular playoff play. You know, there really wasn't much said. We were bumping each other a little bit. Exchanged a couple of words. But that happens a ton in the regular season. In the playoffs every possession means so much more, and their emotions run high. So I don't think that was a big deal.
Q. Dirk, Avery, when he was in here, hinted there was a something the last couple of days that went on behind the scenes about you in the aftermath of that last game. Can you shed some light on that and also in the fourth quarter was it a conscious effort for you to take over or did it just evolve?
DIRK NOWITZKI: I can let out that Avery got on me pretty good yesterday. We watched the film session, and, you know, he let me have it. So that's really about all that happened.
And, like I said, Avery is a great coach. He can be tough on his players, but he's always pushing us forward and trying to get the best out of his team, and he's been doing a great job all season long and obviously whatever he did yesterday in the film session worked and we got the win.
Q. Dirk, how important is it for DeSagana Diop to set that game presence in the first quarter defensive-wise with the blocks and everything?
DIRK NOWITZKI: We need him. He's big. You know, before the season -- series started, we weren't quite sure if we were able to use our centers, you know, a whole lot in this series.
But with his activity and the way he runs back and fast break, he's making it work. He's been active on the glass. He's protecting the paint for us, and that's really what he's been doing all season long, him and Damp. So he's big. He's been big in all our wins and we expect more of the same on the Saturday.
Q. Dirk, Coach talked about the mental toughness of this team. Has that been the best display of the mental toughness this game?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Yeah, I just think we've been through a lot all season long. We fought through some injuries. We had some step backs here and there. We lost -- we were up 3 at San Antonio, next thing you know we had to go into Game 7.
So we had to fight through a lot this season. We had to stick together as a team, and, you know, when we're down seven, I think everybody just realized we don't want this to be over yet. Let's just step it up defensively a little bit and leave it all out on the court and worry about the next game tomorrow.
So I think that's what we did. We came together as a team and played some good defense there in the fourth and just kept attacking.
Q. Dirk, you went to the line 18 times, hit 17 of them. Is it in your mind set the more you're able to go to the line that the better you play the better the team plays?
DIRK NOWITZKI: Yeah, I haven't really been doing a great job this series getting to the line. I had some good free throw games against San Antonio. Was able to get there a lot more.
And, you know, you gotta give Phoenix credit. They play with a smaller guy like six-eight, six-nine. They're taking the drive away and making me take tough fade-aways and tonight I didn't really want to settle for anything. If the shot was there, I want to take it. If not, just keep attacking. If they double-team me, swing at an open teammate and let him make the play and just not force a whole lot, as I did I thought in Game 4. I forced a couple turn arounds against a double-team, which weren't great.
So, you know, just try to take whatever they give me, and obviously it worked a lot better today than it did in Game 4.
Q. Dirk, just talk about you played a hell of a game, talk about the play of Josh Howard. Every time he plays well, you do well. Talk about Josh?
DIRK NOWITZKI: We need him to play at a high level. Obviously we missed him a lot in Game 1 and he's been toughing it out. His ankle has been really sore. But he's stepped it up for us. He's probably our best perimeter defender out there. We need his athleticism on the perimeter on both ends of the floor. He can drive the ball, put it on the floor. He worked in his in-between shot. I think he's big for us, and all season long and all playoffs long and we need more of the same, you know.

End of FastScripts...

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