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NBA FINALS: HEAT v SPURS


June 12, 2014


Tim Duncan


MIAMI, FLORIDA: Game Four

San Antonio Spurs - 107
Miami Heat - 86


Q.  When the series moved to Miami, you thought you guys were going to win these two games as easy as you've been winning?
TIM DUNCAN:  No, we didn't plan on that, but we thought that we could come in here and win these games.  We've won games on the road in the playoffs, and we thought we could win here.  We hoped to win two, obviously, but we were happy to win one.
Then came the second game we didn't want to rest and say, hey, we've got one and let's just rest on that.  We came in here tonight and had great focus, put a great game together, and came out with two.

Q.  Talk about putting them in the position that they're in.  You guys have beaten them twice and they haven't lost twice in a row, and being put in a closeout situation.
TIM DUNCAN:  Yeah, great position for us, obviously, going back home with a closeout game.  They're a very, very good ballclub.  Obviously, they're the champions, and they're going to come out and show a lot of fire and come with a lot of energy.  We're going to use our homecourt and we're going to come with the same focus that we did in these last two games, and hopefully close it out at home.

Q.  How important was it to build a wall around the paint against LeBron and Wade tonight?  And was there focus on that coming into the game?
TIM DUNCAN:  It's not a focus on building a wall in the paint, but making their shots as tough as possible.  They're both unbelievable players.  They're both very good at getting to the rim, very good at finishing around the rim, and we just wanted to stay in front of them and make their shots tough.  Whatever that turned into, that's what we needed it to be.
So we're sending more than one defender against them.  We're asking Kawhi and Danny and the rest of our perimeter guys to do a very tough job in pressuring them and making their life difficult, and we're using our team defense to make everything as tough as possible.

Q.  I know you're not an individual achievement guy, but you passed Kareem for the all‑time playoff minutes record, and then you broke Magic's double‑double record for the playoffs tonight.  Is that something you can at least appreciate a little bit, given that you've won tonight?
TIM DUNCAN:  I can appreciate you saying the names and having passed them in anything.  It's an honor to be in that position.  Having won helps, obviously, but the focus is winning one more, and once that one more is done, I can look back and say, hey, it's truly an honor.

Q.  You guys know what it's like to have this Heat team on the brink.  You had them there in Game 6 last year.  How much do you still draw from that?  And how much might that come up again in terms of remaining focused and closing out the job?
TIM DUNCAN:  It will definitely come up.  It will definitely come up.  As I said, we know the caliber team they are, and we have a lot of respect for what they're able to do.  They're able to throw it into another gear, and they're going to do just that.  They don't want this to be done.  They feel they can‑‑ they've already won on our homecourt, so they feel they can do it again, and we don't want to give them any life.  So we're going to use these two days to really get rested up, come out on Sunday and lay it on the line.

Q.  This was the first time in the playoffs you guys have won consecutive games on the road in a series.  Was there a different focus from the group tonight after the Game 3 win?
TIM DUNCAN:  Yeah, there was, there was.  We won big in that first game, and we knew that they were going to come back with a kind of energy and kind of really attack the rim and make us play a different way.  I thought our game plan pretty much remained the same.
I thought we executed very effectively, shot the ball really well and got some play, great play from Tony, and Kawhi and Boris.  Guys stepped up and made plays when we had to.  At the same time, we continued to move the ball, share the ball, and just find a way to get it done.

Q.  Can you comment on Boris' performance and how he's emerged as a focal point of the offense at times on the court.
TIM DUNCAN:  Yeah, he's been amazing, especially this series.  I think he's really found his rhythm.  He's always been effective with what he's done using his body, using his ability to pass and his ability to attack the basket and smaller players, and it's really showing in this series.  He's been the key for us early, catching and driving, making the right plays, finding open people.  He's really changed the game for us, along with rebounding, defending as well as he has.
He hasn't really even scored that much, but he's found a way to be really effective getting in the paint and finding people and making plays for us.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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