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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v SPURSMay 29, 2014Manu GinobiliSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Game Five San Antonio – 117 Q. In the second quarter you were with a familiar lineup with you, Tony and Tim, Boris, Kawhi. Why did that group work better tonight than it did the last couple games? MANU GINOBILI: Every night is different. We reacted better to the loss than they reacted to the win. We were upset. We were disappointed at what we did in Oklahoma City. We came with more fire. We made a lot of shots: 13 for 26 on threes. Basically, what we did over there, they did here. I don't think it was a matter of lineups. Today we just played well. Whoever was on the court, that was the key. Q. You somewhat struggled against Portland in the last series, but you've been just very aggressive and very successful in this series. Has anything been different in this series? MANU GINOBILI: I think I don't have the feeling that I played that bad against Portland, I just shot bad. And it happens. I mean, your percentages basically don't lie, and if you're way below in a series, you know, likely you're going to get back there. Yeah, I couldn't make a shot against Portland, and now they are falling. So that's what happens. In a season of 82 games, for 20 games you may shoot way below average. Then you're going to go back up, regression to the mean, basically. Q. In Game 4, their athleticism and their ability to steal and block shots and turn you guys over and get in transition was basically the catalyst for the victory. What was different tonight? MANU GINOBILI: Probably they were not as aggressive, and we were. We stepped up. We were very flat. We were slow. Rotations were always late. We fouled too much. It was basically opposite games. As I said, what they did there, we did here. Today we were just sharp. We were smart, and that's what we were talking about. We tried to do that. It's the only way we have a shot. If we just want to play crazy and take quick shots, they're going to beat us. They are more athletic, they are more talented. So we've really got to be sharp, and today we were. Q. Do you feel fresher, healthier, this postseason run than you did a year ago? MANU GINOBILI: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I started last postseason after missing three weeks, so I got to the Conference Finals and Finals in good shape. First two were a little harder, but not a huge difference at this point. Maybe the first round or second. Q. Boris seems to spread the floor. Kevin and Russell even said you spread the floor tonight. What does he do to get Ibaka out of the paint and open things up for you guys? MANU GINOBILI: Well, we did try to get the other big out of the paint. In Oklahoma City, we struggled to finish at the rim, so we sent‑‑ well, Matt, of course, and Boris to the three‑point line. The fact that he made the two that he took, it's not six three‑pointers, but those two were significant because it makes the defense think about it. It was a good adjustment, and it helped us to get to the rim a little more. But again, going back to it, I'm pretty sure it's not about Xs and Os. It's about how hard we play, how strong we drove, how smart we play. Sometimes Xs and Os are not that important when the difference is the toughness or aggressiveness. Q. You said that you did not want to go to seven games with this team the other day. Is it still that same feeling? MANU GINOBILI: I never want to go to seven games with anybody. I wish we could win 4‑0 every time. But we are playing one of the best teams in the league against the MVP, a very talented, athletic group of players. Of course we're going to go there and try to play our best game and try to finish the series. But if it gets back here, and we have to play a Game 7, we'll do it. And we know to beat a team like them, we're going to have to work very hard. If there's a seven, there's a seven. Q. Tim earlier said this was the craziest series he's ever been a part of in terms of the five winning teams winning by a margin of 20 points, all at home. Can you echo that? Is this something strange that you've seen? MANU GINOBILI: Yeah, it is pretty strange. I remember The Finals in '05 against Detroit. We won both games here by 20, and we lost the first two over there by 20. Then Game 5 went to overtime, and it was very tight. But all five games‑‑ yeah, I can't recall something like that. Q. Why do you and Boris seem to play so well together, screen and rolls, you seem to find each other for passes? A.We were part of the second unit for most of the season, and I think everybody enjoys playing with him. He's smart, he knows how to pass, and he has a great combination of being a good shooter without shooting too much, and a driver, and can post‑up more as a player. He's very versatile and you can change things up with him a lot, and looking at each other, we can make decisions on the fly. He's a smart player. He knows how to play. Q. How much of this performance do you think was your team understanding the moment, and what is at stake in terms of how long you've been together and wanting a chance to keep this going, and after five blowouts, do you wonder now what happens when both teams play their best on the same night? MANU GINOBILI: Yeah, of course it is going to be a very tough game over there. So far teams have been reacting well to losses. We started really well. We played great here, and they got upset or disappointed and they stepped up and they were way more aggressive than us in Oklahoma City. And after those two games, we took it well and we wanted to do better, move the ball faster and sharper and attack the rim stronger. So they are going to probably do the same over there. The fact is that we just can't allow them to be that aggressive, and we just wait to see what happens. They're going to be upset, and they are great competitors. They are very talented, stronger, faster, taller than us, so we are going to have to, again, play a very, very smart game. Q. They got off to a great start offensively the first quarter, then after that didn't do a whole lot. I know reserves played in the fourth. What did you guys change? What happened to slow up their offense? MANU GINOBILI: We didn't change much. We tried to do the same thing, but of course, yeah, they scored 32 in the first quarter, and then always around 20. So, of course, we improved. But we didn't change anything strategically. We tried to do the same thing. It's just that, again, they are so gifted and talented offensively that at any given point they can start making contested shots and they will score 30, 35 in a quarter. Today it didn't happen. We were just very attentive, and those shots that sometimes they make, they didn't. We were very good at the boards. That was another key. We beat them by 13, and that's something we talked about because in Oklahoma, they really out‑rebounded us bad. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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