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00:00 - Kyrie, how much fun did you guys have out there tonight
00:02 and how were you able to pull that one out?
00:05 - I think it was fun once the game ended.
00:07 (laughs)
00:09 You know, it was so many high emotions going out there
00:13 and I mean, being down 17 in a closeout game
00:17 isn't something, isn't a position you want to be in,
00:19 but that's where we found ourselves.
00:20 So we had to respond the way we've been responding
00:22 all season, just playing hard-nosed basketball
00:25 on defensive end and getting on transition
00:28 and just trusting that our pace
00:30 will get us back in the game.
00:31 So definitely feels good to get the series done
00:34 and now we can reflect on it and see
00:38 how we improved as players and as a team
00:40 and as coaching staff and as organization.
00:41 So I'm appreciative of it.
00:43 - What can you say about PJ?
00:44 He was scoreless through the first three quarters
00:46 and then nine points there in the fourth quarter.
00:48 - Yeah, I don't think it mattered to PJ too much.
00:51 I think he was just waiting for his moment
00:53 and he's played well majority of the series.
00:55 So we had some confidence in him
00:58 that eventually he would make some big time shots
01:00 and I'm grateful that he knocked them down, man.
01:02 That's just pure confidence and belief.
01:04 - This question is for both of you.
01:08 You guys have been down before in the Clippers series
01:10 and now tonight, just what makes this group so resilient
01:14 that you're able to come back and overcome a large deficit?
01:17 - I think we just stayed together.
01:19 We always talk on the bench, staying together,
01:22 positive energy and today was a pure, pure example of it.
01:26 - Yeah, I agree.
01:29 - Yeah, it's good.
01:31 Good answer.
01:32 - Question for Kyrie.
01:35 End of the game, you finish up your ESPN interview,
01:37 you give your shoes to the fan.
01:39 I think you got your dart and you're walking off.
01:42 All the fans are surrounding you, phones out,
01:43 cheering you on, I'm just curious.
01:45 How special are those moments for you in your career?
01:47 - I mean, just that whole walk off,
01:51 hugging my family and then going and hugging
01:53 some more of my family in the locker room,
01:55 everybody cheering for each other
01:56 and I had to make an impromptu speech
01:58 and I was doing my best not to let some tears
02:01 come down from my eyes because it feels
02:03 like it's been a long time coming,
02:05 just being back in this position,
02:06 getting back to the finals or the conference finals.
02:09 It was just a long way back and I look back
02:13 at parts of my career where I took it for granted,
02:16 just getting to the conference finals
02:18 for three years straight and then not getting back
02:21 for a little bit to weigh on you as a competitor.
02:24 So I'm grateful that I had these guys beside me
02:27 and kept feeding me confidence and kept doing
02:30 the little things for one another
02:31 and I think that's what made the celebration
02:35 feel that much better.
02:37 So when I get a chance to hug all my family
02:41 after the game and you just realize that it is just a game,
02:44 it means a lot to us, we all love it
02:46 and that's the connector but once the buzzer goes off
02:49 then we're back to regular life
02:52 and we can still celebrate the things
02:53 that we're accomplishing.
02:55 - For either or both of you guys,
02:57 but you guys have been talking about Derek Lively
03:00 all season, how impressed you are with him.
03:03 Has he ever stopped impressing you,
03:04 especially on a night like tonight?
03:07 - No, he was amazing.
03:08 I see here plus 25, 26 in a playoff game,
03:12 it's insane, man.
03:14 He's doing this while being a rookie.
03:17 He has an unbelievable potential.
03:19 I'm just glad the Mavs drafted him.
03:21 Very happy.
03:24 - The rebounding was awesome and generally speaking,
03:30 but in particular the one, the offensive rebound PJ got
03:33 and I think he kicked it out to you.
03:35 Just talk about hitting the 27 second chance points
03:40 and all, you know, there's the huge rebound.
03:43 - I mean, yeah, 27 is amazing.
03:46 It means our passion and our energy was at the high level.
03:50 Everybody was concentrated.
03:53 We know we said at the halftime,
03:55 we're not going back to OKC, so that's what we did.
03:58 We stayed together, as I always say,
04:00 and playing with energy.
04:03 That rebound, that PJ guy, I remember.
04:05 And then I draw and he hit the three.
04:07 It was a huge moment in the game.
04:09 It was a momentum change and it was very, very huge
04:13 at the end of the game.