Byron Scott | Richard Jefferson | Jason Kidd | Kerry Kittles | Kenyon Martin | Dikembe Mutombo | Aaron Williams

BYRON SCOTT

Q: Talk about the focus of RJ, he got some hoops, Kenyon got some hoops.
Scott: Yeah, we got a lot of contributions from a lot of guys. I thought Aaron Williams was fantastic. I thought Dikembe in the second half defensively was fantastic. RJ, he came to life. Jason took over down the stretch. We got some big stops, especially when we had a lead. All of a sudden, you knew that team was not just going to fold the tent. They just keep playing and keep coming. This was a big-time game, big-time win, it ties the series, a series a lot of people thought wasn't going to be a series. Now it's just the best two-out-of-three.

Q: You go seven minutes without a point, they have an 18-0 run, seems like it's falling apart, how do you recover from that?
Scott: We just continue to keep our poise. We know it's a long game, and this game has always been played in spurts. We had a heck of a spurt in the third quarter, just like champions do, they came right back. We just kept our composure, just continued to try to play on the offensive end as well as the defensive end, try to get stops. Tonight for the first time this series, we really got our running game going a little bit where we got up and down the floor.

But our halfcourt defense tonight was fantastic.

Q: What did you see from Richard tonight that maybe you hadn't seen the first three games of the series?
Scott: He was just patient. The thing that I talked to him about the other day was just being patient and letting the game come to you. And the last thing was just on the defensive end, be a contributor on the defensive end and I think he did that for the most part. He got a couple of quick pass baskets, easy baskets and got to the free throw line a little bit and got it going. Hopefully he can continue to play that way.

Q: As a guy who has taken part in championships before, can you recognize what it took to win this game, as opposed to teams you've played in the past?
Scott: It took a lot of heart tonight. We had a big lead and let it get away. I think they went up by as many as four or six points, whatever it was. We just continued to play, the heart of a champion.

Like I said, you've got two great teams that are playing, battling. We were able to on the defensive end tonight do some very, very good things. The one thing that we were a little disappointed in is the fact that we just gave up a ton of offensive rebounds. Other than that, we did a pretty good job tonight.

Q: Can you talk about, did this feel like survival, that you guys were fighting for everything you could get, and now that it's 2-2, do you feel like the series is up for grabs?
Scott: Well, like I said we feel we've got as good a chance as any. It's the best two-out-of-three now.

I don't know if we felt like it was survival. I think just the fact that both teams were very, very good on the defensive end, both teams keep their poise no matter what the situation is, and that's probably because of the leaders that we have. Jason Kidd, he doesn't get rattled. You could look at Tim Duncan over there, he doesn't get rattled.

You always know that you're in the game until the buzzer rings and there's zeros on the clock.

Q: Can you talk about the shot-making of both teams?
Scott: It wasn't very pretty. The first half, we made shots. We were making some shots the second half; we struggled offensively, but the good thing is, so did they, for the whole game.

This series is going to be played like this pretty much the whole series. Might as well get used to it. It's going to be a defensive battle, it's going to be low scoring and you're not talking about teams that can't score. You're just talking about two teams that just compete on the defensive end.

Q: Did the free throw line bail you out at the end?
Scott: I wouldn't say bailed us out. We finally got some offensive rebounds. Dikembe did a heck of a job of getting that rebound and calling time-out and we got a tip-out right back into Jason's hands. Just staying aggressive and going after it I think is the thing that saved us.

Q: You made a lot of adjustments tonight, putting Kerry on Tony Parker for a while, playing with Kidd's minutes, what was your thinking, and how do you feel they worked?
Scott: I thought Kerry did a wonderful job. I think the thing that it allows us to do is J-Kidd doesn't have to chase it around all over the place so he doesn't expend a lot of energy on the defensive end doing that, trying to guard Tony. Kerry is longer and it gives him a different look. But I thought Kerry, he was great defensively.

As far as J-Kidd's minutes, that's the reason I felt I could play him longer. When I took him out the first time he was like, "Coach, I'm fine, I want to go." I knew that taking him out the second half, I wasn't going to be able to do that.

Other than that, I thought the only other adjustment was Dikembe just guarded Tim. He did a real good job. Our rotations were better. We challenged shots. Like I said, the only knock about tonight's game is we just got beat on the offensive boards. That's about it.

Q: Speedy Claxton provided a spark to the Spurs in the second half, were you surprised he didn't come back in late in the game?
Scott: No, not really. As a coach, Tony Parker is your starter. He's had a wonderful series. I wasn't surprised to see him the last four or five minutes of the game. I mean, I would have done the same thing. This guy has done a heck of a job all series long and I know Speedy gave them a big-time lift and that's what our guys, the role players coming off the bench are supposed to do. That's what they supply. I would have done the same thing as Pop, brought Tony back.

Q: When Kenyon gets blocked, gets the rebound, gets blocked, gets the rebound and gets the two free throws, can you talk about that sequence and what that says about Kenyon?
Scott: That was sheer determination. He was not going to be denied. Every time he got blocked, he just outmuscled and outhustled people to get back, pretty much indicative of how we played tonight. Guys were just giving up everything we had tonight and that's what we've got to do.

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RICHARD JEFFERSON

Q: You had a little more success operating in the halfcourt tonight, why was that?
Jefferson: I think, again, we are adjusting to their size. We are getting used to it and understanding the plays that we can run. We have some plays now that you kind of bring one of their big men up, so you only really have to contest with one and we are getting better at adjusting to it.

Q: You also got a little bit of back-door cuts, stuff like that.
Jefferson: You can only deny us for so long. We will get back to our cuts. And again we are starting to learn the offense that we can run that's going to make us more effective.

Q: How does it feel to finally have the kind of game that everybody was sort of expecting you would have?
Jefferson: It feels good. Again, I don't put too much pressure on myself. The way I look at it is Game 1, I had a solid game. I could have played a little bit better.

The last two games I struggled but we won one of them. I don't think we are so much living and dying by me but I understand that in order for this team to be successful and win a championship, I have to play well.

Q: The big thing for you is they wanted you to relax, Coach said and same with Kenyon. Talk about relaxing and talk about how big Game 5 is going to be.
Jefferson: Game 5 is going to be huge. For me, I'm the youngest player on this team, age-wise, but I have a lot of experience. And I respect a lot of the guys out there, Kenyon Martin, Jason Kidd, Byron Scott. I respect all of them. So when they tell me to relax, I listen.

Tonight I just said I'm going to focus on rebounding, I'm not going to worry about scoring and then I had six or seven early and my offense started coming, as I focused on rebounding, and my offense started coming and I didn't pay attention to it.

Game 5 is going to be big. Again, we haven't been given that much credit. Even when we win, people are not giving us much credit. It's more about what the Spurs are not doing. People are not talking about what the Nets are doing. You don't shoot 28 percent just because you're playing bad; the other team is doing things well.

For Game 5 we want to put pressure on them to go up to their place and win both.

Q: We noticed that you were rebounding quite a bit when the game first started but when you had that dunk, how did that feel?
Jefferson: It felt good. Again, we understand this is the NBA Finals and a lot of people are hanging on a lot of words that are said, but Malik Rose talked a lot about Mutombo's dunk. We are not a team to talk trash and we follow our leader Jason Kidd to be very humble, but if you want to talk about dunks, we have some guys out there that can get some dunks of our own.

Q: Does a play like that get you juiced up and your teammates as well?
Jefferson: It gets them excited. They call me "Young Fellow" because like I said, I'm the youngest guy on the team. When they see me doing things and getting out there and being active, it makes everything else ignite. It's the same thing with Kenyon Martin. When Kenyon Martin and Jason Kidd get going, it makes everybody else pick it up a notch.

Q: You said you wanted to concentrate on rebounding, why rebounding?
Jefferson: That's just something that you can concentrate on defense. That's one thing that's very easy to concentrate on. If you go out and just try to get to the defensive glass, I got a tip in early in the game, also got a goaltend but you just go out there and try to find another way to impact the game. If I'm going to shoot 3 for 10, I'm going to pull down 14 rebounds. I'm going to find a way to be effective. That's one thing I learned from Jason Kidd; he might not have a great scoring night but he will have 9 rebounds and 15 assists, he will finds a way to impact the game, and tonight that's what I did.

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JASON KIDD

Q: Richard Jefferson told us a few minutes ago that he learned from you in one aspect of your game: When it isn't going how you would be like, there are other ways to contribute. Is that something that you guys have talked about and do you think that he has learned that from you?
Kidd: Well, I hope so. The big thing about the game of basketball is that you don't always have to put up big numbers offensively, and I thought he did a great job of getting going to the basket, but also getting his hands on the ball defensively and rebounding. And so, I thought that helped Tim open up his offensive game, which we needed tonight.

Q: It seemed like you guys might have been a little bit out of sync when Tim got into foul trouble and then that sort of seemed to, pardon the pun, but spur you guys; is that how you saw it, too?
Kidd: I think we kind of got going there in the second quarter. We got out, we started running and no matter, we didn't probably get as many fast-break points that we really wanted to get, but we drew fouls going to the basket and that kind of opened up the game and that really got us going.

But the third quarter is kind of the opposite because they went on a run and we found ourselves down, but we kept our composure. We got stops when we had to and we made some free throws down the stretch.

Q: David Robinson has criticized Tony Parker for taking some ill-advised shots. Did you play him any differently than previously, No. 1, and No. 2, when they pulled him and you're leading by 15, did you guys relax a little bit?
Kidd: Well, I did play him a little bit different; I was over on the sideline. I was guarding Ginobili or Bowen, so I guarded him a little bit differently in that sense. (Laughter).

Q: That was at the end, wasn't it?
Kidd: That was during the whole game. That allowed me to play 47 minutes tonight. To chase Tony around, it wears on you offensively and defensively. So we made a little adjustment in that sense to give me a chance to play off the ball.

So in that sense, Kerry was the reason for him maybe taking some tough shots. I thought Kerry did a wonderful job. We talked about making that change and we did it on the run right there, three minutes left in the first quarter and we kind of stayed with it.

Q: There's sort of a sense that your crowd here is -- this is a new thing, they are learning this with your team. Is that something that you're aware of? I know you're preoccupied, but are you aware of that?
Kidd: I think they had a crash course the other night with the Devils. They learned pretty much what it means to cheer on a champion. The Devils have won a championship and now the basketball aspect, we are all going through this together, and that's what makes it really special. If we can go through this and win a championship together, and understand that they stuck through the bad times and we'll now enjoy the good times.

Q: For some flashes tonight, you also rediscovered your running game. In this series, that's never going to be an extended thing but how great did that feel?
Kidd: It felt great to get out and run. The big thing is, we got out and ran, and we might not have gotten -- we got fouled on a lot of penetrations or layups that guys had and we made free throws. But to get on the run, that's when we are at our best. They have gone a great job of trying to slow us down, but tonight I thought we made a conscious effort to get the rebound and try to push it.

Q: It's 2-2 now, two-out-of-three, the rest of the way, just your overall thoughts on where your ballclub is as you head into this crucial stretch?
Kidd: Well, this was a big game for us tonight and so we understand that. If this was a big game tonight, then Game 5 is going to be even bigger, because whatever team wins that is in control of the series. So it's kind of reflective of what Game 3 was, because a team can control the series.

So for us, Game 5 is just as big as Game 4 because now we put ourselves in a position to maybe take the lead going down to San Antonio.

Q: Aaron Williams came in at the first quarter and you seemed to find him really well, why do you guys connect so well? Tell me what he brings to the table and should we be seeing more of him when you struggle on offense?
Kidd: Well, Train is a true professional. He doesn't say too much. That's probably why I can find him a lot of times because he doesn't let the defense know where he's at.

You know, Train is a true professional. He just goes out there, whatever you ask him to do, guard Duncan, Rose, he'll do it. I thought he gave us a spark coming off the bench. If we are going to have any success, we need somebody to come off the bench, not just Lucious, but a big guy to come off the bench and give us a spark and he did that this evening.

Q: Just the thoughts on the things you did in the final minutes, the offensive rebounds, the defense and things like that?
Kidd: Well, again, I think we got shots that we wanted down the stretch. We got stops when we had to. You know, we made free throws. You're not going to shoot over -- it used to be 50 percent, but if you're not going to shoot over 40 percent, then you've got to be able to get stops.

Down the stretch, again, we did this in Game 2 and then we did it in Game 4. This group has been through a lot, but, you know, when it's time to get a stop or make a basket, we have always been able to do that.

Q: Deke's rebound?
Kidd: Deke's rebound was huge. I didn't even see Deke. He called a time-out, which was great, but Deke has been at the right place at the right time. He made a little jump-hook over David and Tim and then he had -- I gave him a little pass for a layup and he had a great look, unfortunately it didn't go in. But we need those type of plays if we are going to be successful and he's just at the right place at the right time, so we have to be leery of where he is at on the floor. He snaps back and got his hands on some balls that caused some turnovers. That will be something that we have to look at on tape. The big thing, you worry about Duncan and Robinson, the big guys, but he got his hands on some balls and then also made a 3 to tie the game up. He's a competitor so we can't overlook him defensively.

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KERRY KITTLES

Q: Talk about the determination this team has.
Kittles: This team definitely has perseverance. We’ve shown that ... we’ve been tested in the playoffs and every time this team is really resilient and responding and doing whatever it takes to win. We’ve had so many victories in the postseason where we were just able to gut them out. I really don’t know how you win the game, but you just do whatever it takes to win. That’s the kind of game it was tonight.

Q: Tonight was a total team effort.
Kittles: Richard Jefferson came with a good rhythm about himself, attacking the basket and really scoring in the paint. It was a great team once again.

Q: Do you have more confidence knowing you are going back to San Antonio where you have won?
Kittles: We’ve proven that we can win on the road. It doesn’t bother us going on the road and competing in a different environment. We’ve proven it doesn’t matter.

Q: Talk about this team’s defensive effort.
Kittles: A lot of work. I think the coaches did a good job of letting us know certain things that we were able to do defensively to be a little more successful than we had been. We forced a lot of turnovers. We were contesting shots and made it a little more difficult for them. Overall, we just limited those guys from getting into their groove offensively. And it allowed us to play a little bit more freely offensively.

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KENYON MARTIN

Q: You guys did what you needed to do to tie up the series, talk about how big this was.
Martin: This was a must-win. We knew that coming into the game. We knew we had to give a maximum effort and we did on both ends. We kind of relaxed a little bit when we got up 15 and let them back in the game. We just had to get that focus back and continue to play and we did. It was huge for us to get this thing 2-2.

Q: Could you talk about that sequence where Duncan blocked two of your shots and how that went for you?
Martin: Just tried to get a call and I got it. Just keep being aggressive. Got his hand on the first one, his hand on the second one, and the third one, I got the call. So that was my main thing. It's either a bucket or a call. I got one of the two, so that ain't bad. I was able to make two free throws.

Q: Did you have a sense that Richard was going to have that kind of game that he did beforehand?
Martin: I was saying to him right before the game, just relax, just relax. I just kept telling him the whole game, just relax and he did. He was kind of pressing at first and then he got going when he got a couple layups and that made things easier for him. I don't think he made the jumpshot, but, hey, we'll take it.

Q: To follow up on that sequence when you got the rebound, was that just showing the determination of both the Nets and also yourself because knowing how precarious the situation was?
Martin: Like I said, we're not satisfied. I wasn't satisfied when he blocked the first one and got it back and blocked the second one, got it back. I was going to make something happen. I was in that mode all game. I was in attack mode, getting to the rim, attacking guys and I did a decent job of it. That's the attitude of our team; we are never going to quit until it's over.

Q: Can one dunk like the one Richard had in the first half get a guy like him going, who kind of needs to get that energy going?
Martin: Yeah, that was huge for him. I guess it's the same type that Malik had on Deke, but I think RJ was a little higher. It got him going. He made a few layups after that. I found him on the back door to just get him started. I think it will -- I hope it will, because he had 18 points and ten rebounds tonight. That was huge for us. We needed that effort from him.

Q: The scoring was low again tonight, but do you remember being part of such a battle, such a big battle with all of the pushing and shoving and the technicals at the end?
Martin: We were just trying to be aggressive, man. Just banging, running, no matter what we want to do, we're going to be aggressive doing it, no matter if it's just being aggressive. That's just that fire. A tech is good sometimes. Jason got one early and that got us going. A Tech is good sometimes. All of the banging and stuff, that's great. I don't mind at all.

Q: When you guys have a 15-point lead and they pulled Parker and then you lose the lead when you think everything is going your way, how tough is it to hang in there after that, especially after falling behind?
Martin: It's easy. It's easy to hang in. The game wasn't over, not by any means. We realized that. Basketball is a game of runs. They made their run, we sustained, we staggered a little bit, we didn't fall. That's the makeup of our team each and every day. We don't quit no matter what the situation is. When they made their run, we bounced back from it and were able to get a win and tie this thing up at two.

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DIKEMBE MUTOMBO

Q: Did this a team had its back against the wall tonight?
Mutombo: We didn’t feel like we had our back against the wall. The situation was going to be bad even if we lose the game tonight, make the series 3-1, it was not going to be good. I’m glad that we were able to come out and respond the way Coach asked us and that was just to play defense. Our defense showed that we were a better team and that we wanted to win.

Q: How proud are you of the way the team played defense?
Mutombo: We are so proud of just the result, not just the win to be part of history by holding them to almost 29 percent. That is something that you will talk about for a long time.

Q: Do you think now it’s anybody’s series again?
Mutombo: Yeah, now we’re going to come out again on Friday, win a game again. And then we’re going to play with a lot of determination as we did tonight and go to San Antonio.

Q: How important was it to you personally to come out and play physical?
Mutombo: It was very important after all this trash talking and all this harping the past three days about Mutombo getting dunked on by Malik Rose. I was looking for who was going to come in the paint and dunk on me again. I don’t think I really appreciated everything they were saying about me. And I came out today and I fired myself up – you guys helped me fire myself up. Hopefully, you all can write more about me so I can be fired up again.

Q: It looked like Richard Jefferson took it upon himself to give a payback?
Mutombo: Oh, Richard was very calm this morning and he tried to be by himself yesterday in practice. He rode a bike and he didn’t want to be part of everything that was going on. We knew that he was down a little bit, but he was going to come up. And we are glad that he was able to come up and give us all the best he had.

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AARON WILLIAMS

Q: Talk about tonight’s game.
Williams: It was a big-time battle. It came right down to the final seconds and we were fortunate enough to hold them off.

Q: Are you surprised by how you were able to establish an inside presence?
Williams: Not really. We have some guys who can score inside a little bit. That’s what we have to do against them, make their big guys play defense. They have some great players down there, but if we can make them work a little harder on defense it helps us.

Q: And you were able to get them in foul trouble.
Williams: I think we were just a little more aggressive. It was a big game for us. You definitely don’t want to go down 3-1. We just put it all on the line.

Q: You were down three times in the fourth, but managed to come back each time.
Williams: We had a lot of confidence and a lot of great players on the team who are willing to take the challenge.

Q: Were you disheartened at losing a 15-point lead?
Williams: We were playing the way we like to play for a while and then we got the lead and maybe got a little complacent. They picked it up a notch and the next thing you know it’s a tied game.

Q: Talk about your contributions.
Williams: I was just trying to be aggressive when I was in the game. That’s about it.

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