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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SPURS v LAKERSMay 21, 2008Kobe BryantPau GasolLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game One Q. Kobe, what were your thoughts when you were down by 20 with 5:54 to go? KOBE BRYANT: We got to pick up the energy, we got to get something going. That was my thinking. Q. Did it feel daunting because you hadn't got on track offensively and you hadn't asserted yourself in the game that way? KOBE BRYANT: I know I can make that push and I knew once I did, I could get the game back under control, get it under 10 where we knew we could be in striking distance. Q. Kobe, you took three shots first half. Obviously you were trying to make plays for other people. Did you take it too far? KOBE BRYANT: No, you know, just tried to read the flow of the game. Tried to manage the game. I can get it off any time, and in the second half, I did that. Q. Kobe, what was the difference between the way you guys played in the first half and the first part of the third quarter and after that when you came back and won the game? KOBE BRYANT: I think we made some adjustments, I think we picked up our energy. In the first half we were a little rusty, a little sluggish and a little tentative. Second half, it wasn't there. Q. Pau, can you talk about -- Kobe Bryant has been through a number of battles at this level, but this is your first time in the conference finals and to be down 20 and to come back. Bryant has done something like that before. Can you talk about your experience tonight. PAU GASOL: Obviously it was a great, great experience because we ended up winning and I think we have to be happy the way we battled because we weren't playing well, we weren't sharp. We were loose out there. The way we just kept battling, just gave us a chance and put us in the position to win the game. It was definitely a fun experience and a learning experience and hopefully the second game will come out a little more ready. Q. Kobe, you had some incredible come-backs in the play-offs. Can you put this one in perspective coming back? 20 points. KOBE BRYANT: It didn't feel like it. I have been in games where we have been down that much and it felt like we were down 20 and coming back felt like a big hill. This game didn't really feel like that. It felt like once we got into 10 we had the energy necessary to take the lead. But it is a big win for us, nonetheless. Western Conference Finals, a lot of us haven't been here before. It is big for a young team to come back from 20 against the defending champs. Q. Pau, (question in Spanish)? KOBE BRYANT: Wait, let everybody get their Spanish dictionaries out, first. (Laughter). PAU GASOL: (Answer in Spanish.) Q. (Question in Spanish.) PAU GASOL: (Answer in Spanish.) Q. Kobe, 27 points, nine assists. Seemingly, you could pick them apart almost at will at the second half. The reason you got off to a slow start, was it to get the collective, into the flow of the game? KOBE BRYANT: Just managing the game. I think, you know, defensively is really where we slipped. I mean, I've had games or halves where I have done that and we had a 15-point lead. Tonight obviously was a little different. They picked us apart. Second half, despite -- I go off like that offensively if we don't play defensively, we still don't win and everybody would be talking about I shot us out of the game. Defense is where it gets done. Q. Tonight -- well, in the past two series, the Lakers have been scoring 100, 110 easily. Even in losing efforts, you put up a lot of points. Tonight was more of an Eastern Conference-type battle. Can you talk about adjusting to that with the Spurs and the way they play defense. KOBE BRYANT: I don't know. We go either way. We think we can play both styles. We are adept at doing it. We can score 110. We can play games in the 80s. We feel we have the versatility to be able to play both styles. Q. Pau, last time you played against the Spurs, Duncan had a tough shooting night. Tonight he had a different night. What was the difference tonight? PAU GASOL: Definitely, had a really good game. He was consistent during the game and he was able to feel a little too comfortable, I think. Hopefully next time I will give him a little more trouble, make him put the ball on the floor a little more. Don't let him take that easy jumper. So had a good game. Like I said, hopefully next time hopefully I will be able to make him a little more uncomfortable and ineffective. Q. (Question in Spanish.) PAU GASOL: (Answer in Spanish.) Q. This team's a little bit older team. They just came off a grueling series, hadn't had much sleep. How much was it in your mind that they might be tired in the fourth quarter and may not shoot as well? KOBE BRYANT: Not really. I think we got hands up on shots. I think that was really a big key for us. They seemed very efficient, very effective. They played hard. They ran hard through cuts for 48 minutes. They crashed the glass. I mean, they seem like they played with pretty good energy. So I don't know how much that affected them. Q. (Question in Spanish.) PAU GASOL: (Answer in Spanish.) Q. Kobe, you got a lot of fans back in China. I don't know, have you ever heard or watched the earthquake in China and what do you want to say to the people there? KOBE BRYANT: Well, you know, our thoughts and prayers go out to them. Obviously, I think, you know, when tragedies like that occur, and there has been a couple of them that have took place in the last month, I think it puts things in perspective for everybody. I think the important thing for us is to continue to say our prayers for them and for them to stay strong or as strong as they possibly can through these difficult times. End of FastScripts |
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