Celtics game 6/17/10

Forced 24 turnovers and the number would have been higher had we not called off the dogs in the fourth but didn't guard the three well at all. Still, a point win is a point win. I do hope they bring a more consistent effort to Detroit tomorrow, though. Quote from: ozgod on December 14, , PM. Offense seems to coming along Tomorrow night should be a mini-test. The Pistons play up and down, but at home against the C's they should be up for it. What is he missing? That NBA ring.

John Wall has some very good numbers, but the third highest paid player in the NBA? Wall makes more than Westbrook, Durant, and LeBron, let that sink in. When he is not trying to force a trade, James Harden is one of the best NBA players out there, the beard got his move and immediately proved his worth for the Nets. Harden had close to career numbers in Brooklyn his first season. Still, that rollercoaster ride to leave Houston was a bit much.

The highest paid player in the league is very well deserving of his salary, a fantastic player, Curry is a highlight reel three-point shooter and dribbler. In a league that has some fantastic players, Curry is a star that transcends the court. California governor denies parole for Sirhan Sirhan, assassin of Robert Kennedy. Replay Video. Skip Ad. Ad Microsoft. Full screen.

Slideshow continues on the next slide. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. Kobe had you guys' backs so many nights this year, game winners, scoring big. What does it mean for you guys to pick him up like you did tonight? What you saw in Boston Kobe wanted to win. People said he wasn't passing, blah, blah, blah, but Kobe wanted to win and he didn't know if he could win playing with us at that time.

He wanted to win as a team, though, not going off on his own. Today he wanted to win, he didn't want to lose. Late in the second half he started to move the ball and attack and pass and still was Kobe Bryant, and he trusted us and made us feel so good and he passed me the ball.

He never passes me the ball, and he passed me the ball. Kobe passed me the ball, and I shot a three. He's a Zen master, so he can speak to you, and he doesn't need a microphone, you can hear him in your head, "Ron, don't shoot, don't shoot," whatever, pow, three. I love the Zen, though. Lakers' Guard Derek Fisher. You've been known to hit big shots. You hit the shot against Tim Duncan and the Spurs one year.

Was this shot that you hit in the fourth quarter sweeter than that shot? I've said before that that shot in , although it helped us win that game and that series, we didn't win a championship that year, and is still just a bad year to remember for me in terms of us not finishing the season as champions. To hit a shot and play a part in the game that helps win a championship means more to me than anything. How special has Pau Gasol been?

Can you talk about Pau. I know we obviously have a lot of other great players, but his skill sets and his ability to play the game, you know, all the way around, shooting, passing, ball handling, length, size, you know, he just settled himself down in that fourth quarter tonight and came up big for us. Two years ago after losing by 39, the mantra of the Lakers was defense, and that's how you got the title last year.

Can you talk about how specifically on display that was in a game against the Celtics tonight where the offense was really, really struggling, how defense has really become what the team is about? DEREK FISHER: Well, you know, we learned from the disappointment and the frustration and the anger that came from losing that series that year, and we knew and understood from that point forward if we wanted to be champions that we can talk about the triangle offense and talk about executing better all we want to, but if we don't defend and rebound, then we can forget winning championships.

You know, it's only fitting that in a game where we couldn't throw the ball in the ocean, no matter how big it is, that we figured out a way to get some stops when we had to. It's special. The shooting was at about 25 to 35 percent the whole game.

When the team is that tight offensively can Phil do anything to loosen you up? I mean, he kept telling us to relax and just play your game, but it's tough to put into words, I think, the feelings that you have about playing in a game like tonight and just what it means and what it represents. You know, you want it so badly, and when you want something so bad, sometimes you try too hard or you try to get there too fast.

You know, I think we kept trying to win the game before the end of the game, and finally in that fourth quarter, I just think because sometimes in life when you recognize that I can't do any worse than what I've done, especially like with the US Open going on right now, sometimes you hit a shot and it's just like, I can't hit the ball any worse than that, let me just relax and take a nice easy swing the next time. I think in the fourth quarter we just took it nice and easy and it started to come better for us.

It seemed like you hit a couple of key shots that loosened things up. Do you feel like that's what happened? DEREK FISHER: Yeah, I do feel like when you're on a team and you do certain things that maybe work out for you, it gives the team some confidence that, all right, we've seen the ball go through the basket, somebody can make one, so maybe I can make the next one.

We had a couple guys step up, make some free throws, then Pau was able to step up make his, Kobe made his, Sasha's free throws down the stretch. There are things that are contagious or infectious in terms of seeing that ball go through the basket. I'm glad I was able to knock down a couple for us in that second half.

Because I've been so fortunate to be on so many great teams that have been in this position before. You have to be in The Finals seven times before you can make big plays in The Finals. If you don't make it to The Finals, then there's no big plays to be made. I just feel very fortunate that I'm in the position to make something happen good for my team, and I don't think there is much that feels any better outside of just your family and your loved ones.

There's just nothing better as a pro to make big plays down the stretch to help your team win. Can you talk about how surprised you were about Kobe's struggles offensively in the first half and into the third quarter, and what you said to him when you had your arm around him between quarters?

DEREK FISHER: I mean, when you shoot the ball with the volume that Kobe does, there are going to be periods where everything is going in and maybe sometimes where it's not, and I don't remember a lot of necessarily easy shots that he was getting throughout the game, either. He was having to take some difficult shots with two guys hanging off of him. You know, not so much surprised by his struggles, but basically what I was just trying to talk to him about was just that he was playing a little too fast.

He was going and he was seeing things that he wanted to do, but it was like he was a step and a half too quick to get there, and he's so good at foot work and setting guys up and getting guys leaning one way and spinning out and going the other way, and he was going too fast before the guys could even go for the move.

Well, I'm wondering, how much did you guys talk about that and how much did you think about it on your way to these last two titles? I mean, I think great accomplishments come out of negativity, setbacks, adversity. You know, there are times where you have to be down in order to go back up, and that was a down, low moment for us. And I think since that moment, there's been a greater appreciation for what it takes to be the best and the sacrifice that is required, and the last two seasons there hasn't been anybody better at it than us.

From October to June 17th, we've been the best team in the NBA at doing whatever it takes to win a title. Although we never will, but winning two championships definitely helps. What does that mean? I think it speaks to the fact that life doesn't always go according to maybe what you think the way life is going to go. Growing up in Little Rock, I never envisioned being in this position five times.

I loved watching Magic, but I never saw myself being in Magic's shoes, being in his position. You know, to be sitting here now after five championships is quite humbling, it's surreal. I'm thankful. That's the best way to put it. We always ask Kobe certain questions about his greatness, his achievements.

You've been as close to him I think as any other player. I think he answered it best in an interview that he did I think last year.

I think Kobe kind of said it best where I think it does a disservice to the game when you try and single out one guy and say he was possibly the best ever. I know we like to say Michael Jordan for a lot of people was clearly the best player ever. A lot of people feel like Bill Russell is in that conversation. You know, Kobe, Magic, there are a lot of names that come up, and I think it just takes away from how difficult it was for every one of those guys at the stage in their lives and where they were.

But does he belong in the conversation? For sure. There's no hesitation there. He belongs in the conversation. The most interesting part about the conversation is that he's not really close to being done. You know, that's the interesting part about the conversation is that he's already in it and there's still some room before he gets to that ceiling. There will be a lot more to talk about there. We always talk about your daughter. Was she here tonight? Was she old enough to be aware of your accomplishments yet?

We anticipated it would be a little bit crazy in here tonight, and the last time we won a championship here, we were stuck in the building until, I think, or in the morning. Her bedtime is much earlier than that. But you know, she's not aware of the magnitude of what all this means, but she knows what daddy is up to. You know, she's really the reason why I'm sitting here, and I owe her a lot. She's going to definitely get some cake and cookies this weekend for sure.

Lakers' Forward Pau Gasol. Can you talk about that. We knew we had to do whatever it took out there and leave it all out there, just play with our hearts. Obviously it wasn't the prettiest game as far as shooting the ball and stuff like that. But we fought extremely hard. We kept our minds and our hearts into the game at all times, and we hustled.

We hustled. I think 53 rebounds, 23 offensive rebounds, just tells you how much this team fought to be able to become champions again. Since you guys weren't really making shots tonight, did you internally feel like rebounds would be the difference for you guys?

So we had to work extremely hard to get those boards, pursue them, to get opportunities, because we weren't shooting the ball well. We were rushing a little bit. It was a Game 7, there was a lot of pressure, a lot going on. So we just continued to hustle, continued to work. Now that it's all over, can you talk a little bit about the revenge factor and just how much sweeter it is that it was against the Celtics?

It definitely adds up when you beat Boston, especially the rivalry, the history of the franchises. Our individual and personal history, It feels definitely better. Again, we won the championship, and that's the ultimate goal, the ultimate satisfaction that we can accomplish as a team.

So just truly, truly happy and thankful to be in this position again and to have experienced something like this. Do you feel at all like this is kind of confirmation that you guys have grown in terms of toughness and grit, something that was questioned in ?

We've grown as a team, we've grown as individuals, and obviously it shows. It shows. How were you guys able to dominate the boards so completely tonight? We were just active. I guess they were shorthanded inside and they knew that. But we were just active. We knew we weren't shooting the ball well, so we had to be extra active and extra aggressive going to the boards and giving ourselves more opportunities to be able to score. In that last minute you got probably the biggest one of the game, 35 seconds left and set up Kobe for the foul shots.

What happened on that play? I was pretty proud of that play because those little plays, those little things make a huge difference, especially at that point of a game. I'm glad things turned out the way they did, and we're enjoying this incredible victory.

Talk about the composure factor of you guys being down by How did you guys maintain the composure in order to rebound? We knew there was a long time left. We knew we weren't playing our best. And we knew that we still had a chance, it was just about getting a few stops in a row and getting a few plays on offense together and just get ourselves going and just shake off all that tension, excitement that Game 7 of the NBA Finals carries.

So that's what we were just keeping telling ourselves, just settle down, make sure we're poised, we're loose out there, we execute, we continue to play defense, we rebound, and we'll be all right. Can you comment quickly on Ron Artest's great performance tonight. Defensively I think he did another great, great job on Paul Pierce tonight, so he's a huge part of our success.

I'm just happy that he was able to win his first championship, and you could see it in his face. He's like a little kid right now that got his dream come true, like we all did, I think. We all feel that way. The first half you and Kobe both struggled offensively, not just trying to score but even at the line, just hitting free throws. As the game seemed to be slipping away, was there any panic or was there just a feeling like at some point the two of you were going to get some offense going and there was some confidence there that it was going to happen if you just kept rebounding, defense, et cetera?

PAU GASOL: Yeah, I think we did a good job giving ourselves more opportunities and staying in the game defensively and rebounding well, and at some point you expect Kobe to get going and me to hit a few more shots than I did in the first half. So we just stayed with it pretty much, and we understood that we had to be more patient, just relax, breathe it out and just see what's out there, see what's going on.

Especially at the line? You feel the excitement, you feel the moment. You're shooting the same way you would shoot in any other game, but the shot goes off a little different, probably because of that excitement, that tension, I don't know, anxiety of wanting to do so well and wanting to make every shot.

You're not going to, you've just got to understand that and relax and just play your game. Talk about what it's been like for you these last three years coming from where you were to being where you are now. And also talk about the two big shots, the one that Fish hit and the one that Ron hit.

I mean, it's just like I'm living a different dimension. I mean, it is what it is. It's like really if I could get a genie and ask for a wish, this would be my wish as far as my basketball life and career.

So I'm so thankful, like I said, for having this opportunity, being here, and that's why I continue to work hard, and it's really paying off, and it's pretty unbelievable, right, the contrast from some situations. That's why you've got to be so appreciative of life and the present.

And Ron's and Derek's huge shots down the stretch were able to counter the big threes that Boston made down the stretch, too. It takes big guts, laughter right, to be able to hit those shots and be that confident at that particular time when it most matters.

I can't be any prouder of all my teammates, my coaching staff, the work that we've done tonight, what we've done throughout the playoffs, the season. I think it's remarkable. Kobe thanked you after the game. The Celtics and Heat can both make a statement by walking off of the parquet floor with a victory.

For the Heat, it would help them avoid the start of their summer. In his first game since May 13, Bosh totaled nine points and seven rebounds in just of playing time. Bosh used great energy and hustle to accumulate his stats Tuesday night. The Celtics will need to match that effort tonight, and for a much longer duration of time. On June 12 of , the Mavericks defeated the Heat in Game 6 of the Finals to end the season. James and Wade alone have combined for more than 57 points on several occasions during this postseason.

Additionally, none of those three players had big games in the rebounding or assisting categories during that elimination game.