Tim Duncan Quotations

The time when there is no one there to feel sorry for you or to cheer for you is when a player is made.

I wish I could be involved in the high-flying off the glass stuff, but that's just not what I do, ... So I go out there, I play. I take my open shots and I try to move the ball around.

Nobody said this would be easy. Everybody said the opposite.

Now we've got the pressure on them, down two games. Now we've got to go into Arco and really get this first one. That puts the ultimate pressure -- elimination -- on people.

I don't even know how he got it off, honestly. I think he shot it with his left hand. I went after his right hand, thinking he was going to float it with the time going down like that, but somehow he got it up there and it stayed up there on the rim and went in. It was just a great shot, a great effort by those guys to turn a turnover into a fast-break that quickly and get it to the rim.

I don't ever do anything different. I just put them up there and hope they go in. Sometimes it goes good, and sometimes it goes bad, but I just want to give myself a chance.

I was looking before the game and I'm like 91/2 years older than him. That is just crazy. (Howard) is just so talented, so developed. He doesn't look like a 19-year-old. He has so much promise and I'm just glad that I will be out of the league when he is peaking.

He knows his role, and he's sticking to it.

I am the leader of this team, ... So, it starts with me, and I understand that.

I got a couple of shots to go down tonight, and that is good because they haven't been going down lately. It makes the game a lot easier.

I got a lot of (grief) for that, too. Trust me, I'm getting my share.

We have to attack down low, especially with Shaq out. That's got to be a big play for us.

He was great tonight. He made all of the shots down the stretch and made some great moves. His play down the stretch was the difference in the game tonight.

I am feeling pretty good right now. I am as healthy right now as I have been all season. I got a couple of shots to go down tonight and that is good because they haven't been going down lately.

He did what he usually does. He affects shots around the basket ... He came out and played with a lot of energy.

He did a great job on the offensive glass, made some big baskets for them and showed some great touch right around the basket.

Whatever happens, happens. We'll be ready for whoever we get.

Look at all their games. They've been right in the cusp of winning a lot of games. They always play us well. They did when they came to San Antonio.

I thought he had an excellent mentality in the second half. He came off screens, really got in the middle and really made them pay for playing halfway on me.

Paper doesn't mean anything to us. It's about going out there and playing together. It's about chemistry and people accepting roles. More talent doesn't always mean you're a better team.

I think Pop's still mad that we should have had 81 (victories) or something. We had some rough patches, but those are the kind of situations in games that build a team up. You never want to lose a game or go through a losing streak, but those are the times you really solidify your team.

I think he has a shot at winning three events at the state meet.

Just like the good, old days, when I used to make bank shots. Get his name for me. I need to consult with him.

It has been a long journey. We felt like we would prevail because we felt like the idea was such a good idea.

I think it's a great situation for everyone, especially myself. I felt good tonight. I felt like I was moving pretty well and not in a lot of pain, so it was good.

I thought we played well enough to win. When you penetrate and pump fake on shots like we did it moves the defense with you. Parker was great tonight like he has been all year.

I thought we really kept our composure, kept fighting. We just kind of found a way to get it done.

I think we're all feeling pretty healthy. I'm feeling pretty good. So, with that in mind, it's all coming together and I'm excited about hitting the playoffs.

The problem they have is convincing advertisers it's a viable medium. I think that's a big hurdle.

Those guys are playing the best basketball. This will be a great test for us at this time of the season.

That's a tough road right there, going from the first or second spot to the fourth spot and having to play the No. 1 seed in the earlier rounds. It's a tough situation, but it is what it is.

That's a tough situation, but it is how it is set up and people are going to have to play for it. We're going to try to play and play for that No. 1 spot and try to work it from there.

We are not worried about the hype. (The Mavericks) are a good team and we know that. We are going to be playing them on our home court and we know that. We are going to play hard and whatever happens, happens.

We don't sell anything to anybody. You either want to play with us or play against us.

We were turning the ball over and we were giving up offensive boards. We needed to stop giving the ball up and blocking out better.

We have to throw a lot of bodies out there on the back-to-backs. We have to have a lot of people perform. It was absolutely a big win, but this start looked like it was going the wrong way.

We have a lot of guys who are a little beat up and a little stressed out at this part of the season. It's great to have this break, let everybody get away and then come back refreshed.

We dont see that the lease was breached,

That's way above where we need to be. We need to get back down to our comfort zone.

We did it last year and it was fun. We got up and down. I think we had less turnovers than any other time in the game.

We're healthy, we're right where we want to be.

We're hitting a stride - I don't know if it's THE stride. We go through lulls. It's about recovery. It's about making adjustments on the fly.

We did what we always do. We stuck with it. We understand the amount of time and possessions left and we play each possession. It's all about getting stops. If we can get stops, we can make things happen.

What it's about for us is playing 48 minutes. Whether they got tired or not, I don't know. But we wanted to keep the pressure on them and keep pushing it back at them.

We learned a lesson here tonight. It was a cheap one because we still won, but we can learn.

We don't market. We just try to win.

We did a pretty solid job on defense. We got in the passing lanes, got some steals.

We put ourselves in a great position, but we gave up two in a row at home. We still have the lead in the West, and in the division and we're going to try and hold onto that.

When our guys are getting shots like that, we love 'em. ... But every once in a while, I tell them I'm still there.

When he gets into a rhythm like that where he starts going, it's like you want to sit there and watch him play. You get caught up in what he does and that's probably the worst thing that we can do is just sit there and watch him play, but you get mesmerized by what he's doing.

What they have done over the last two games is make us react to what they do, ... They have been aggressive defensively and they have got us back on our heels and they make us kind of counter what they are doing instead of them countering what we're doing.

We know what we have left, and we just have to kind of get it done. We still have a chance to end up with one of our best seasons yet, so we just have to turn that corner and get back on a roll before the playoffs come around.

Everything's not clicking yet, but we're heading that way. It was a great learning experience today being able to fight back and staying with each other.

Beno has been playing great for us. With Nick out right now, Beno is getting a lot of minutes and he has really responded well.

Unbelievable. It was great. We just stood around and kind of looked at him. He made big shots and got on a roll there.

They approached us with the problem, and we fixed it. We dont see any of that as a breach of contract.

We need to get some of that funk out. We have had some bad games, some losses at home and we got a very good team coming into our house tomorrow (Utah) and we're going to have to gear up and get that win.

We need to get some of that funk out. We've had some bad games and some losses at home.

It was a huge key. He really hurt us last time. We decided to come after him and make them change their game a little bit.

With home-court advantage, we are in a spot that we want to be in. We are going to do what we can with it. We had a good season. We had some rough patches, but those are the times that we come together and solidify ourselves as a team. Health is the most important thing for us. I am feeling good right now and with that in mind we are really coming together as we head into the playoffs.

We all didn't have that edge we needed. Offensively, they did kind of whatever they wanted to do. We can't win games like that.

We've got a bunch of unselfish guys that don't really care who gets it done.

Tonight was a good game for us because we were able to grind it out and find a way to get a win down the stretch. I was able to get some shots to go, and when they doubled me, I was able to find my teammates.

We had a great season, a franchise record. It's all gone now.

Bruce is always awesome, it doesn't matter who (he's defending), Kobe or anybody else in the league, ... He's going to make them work for every point that they get. ... He was in (Bryant's) face every shot he took.

We didn't have the edge we needed tonight. They shot 50 percent from the floor. We need to shore up our defense right now going into the final few games of the season.

We did a good job to fight back into it. We got the stops and jus made too many mistakes down the stretch.

Defensively, I thought we were pretty solid. Our game plan was there, but it?s just about putting some balls in the hole.

I've learned the following season is always tougher. We always get everybody's best game. But understanding that collectively is a whole different thing. It's not like we can go out there and say we are what we are and walk through the season.

There's no excuses to be made. We lost the game.

We attack the game in many different ways. Some nights it's interior, but a lot of it is our pick-and-roll and finding our shooters. If they're going to play the pick-and-roll a certain way or double team in the post, our shooters are going to have wide-open shots, and we have some of the best in the league.

We got into a flow in the third quarter. All in all it was a team effort.

I've already gotten a bunch, so I'm hoping it will clear up a bit.

I've got no choice but to (watch the standings). Every time I walk into the practice facility it's right there, so I know what's going on.

I made a shot or two early, and my confidence kind of blossomed from there. I just kind of held it throughout the game.

I haven't been around him in so long, not for anything other than our paths just haven't crossed. It was great to have some time ... and talk about old times.

I'm just trying to find ways to be more effective right now. I am trying to get a spring back in my step. I am trying to attack the offensive boards and do whatever it takes to get going.

I've just tried to do my part as best I can, and down at the end there, I was lucky enough to get that stop, rebound and seal it.

Not only does he have an impact directly, but I think it's filtered through the team.

On behalf of the Spurs organization and my teammates, I'd like to thank you for your continued support year in and year out. We've had some good times and we'd like to bring another championship back to San Antonio.

Absolutely, yes, definitely, ... He pulled me out of an incredible hole that I put myself in.

It's great to get (home-court) wrapped up. I'm feeling good right now -- feeling healthy.

It's gotten a little bit better. Same old, same old.

They did a great job double-teaming me. I got in foul trouble, my shots weren't going down, and things just weren't working my way. I tried to be as aggressive as I could, but they were defending me very well. I finally got some shots to go down late in the game when it seemed like it didn't matter anymore.

He's such a fun-loving guy and a good guy. He's one of great guys in the basketball, period. I don't think you could find anybody that would say a bad word about him and you love to root for a guy like that.

I didn't know if there was going to be enough time. I turned to shoot and then saw him at last second and tried to fire it to him real quick. I probably should have shot the ball.

It was great to have him back on the floor. It has been tough for him to not be out there. He is going to get back into it.

They hit some great shots. We did not have the game locked up, but we thought we had it in the bag. I went 1-for-6 (from the line) in the final (three) minutes and made some mental mistakes. But lesson learned, and it was a cheap one because we got the win.

It was just a long night. Things happen, the season happens. Those guys played well tonight; give them credit, ... We compounded them playing well with myself playing very, very badly.

They were solid all along. That's what killed us. Defensively, we tried to make them make some mistakes and get some turnovers, but they moved the ball well. Elton Brand was incredible. It seemed like he didn't miss a shot out there.

It was a great defensive effort overall. We had a solid night defensively and that helped keep their score down. We are starting to get things worked out.

It was a good night all around. We moved the ball very well and were able to get a lot of guys a lot of minutes. It was a good victory, and now we prepare for the next one.

It was a good night all around. We moved the ball well. We got a lot of guys a lot of minutes.

It was a play that Flip drew up with a lot of options to it, ... I was just one of the options. Shaq was the first one, Ray was the second and I was kind of the third.

Their offense doesn't change much, (although) they run it a little bit differently with him in it. I don't know if it's better or worse.

You could definitely see the game change when (the Pistons) were all out there together.

It started from horn to horn. We shot the ball well. We moved the ball well. Our defense was solid.

It (stinks) - especially because we really feel like we gave this one away. The last game we got beat pretty good. Tonight we come out and try to sure up a couple of things, and we still get a bunch of turnovers and missed free throws, and we still have a chance to win down the stretch and give it away.

The number one seed is important. Not only for the seed, but for the home-court advantage.

Everybody came on. I'm not surprised, but pleased with the focus. Even with the score, they didn't want a letdown. They came in and played hard. Everybody understands. From one (minute) to 48, they did it the right way. All-in-all it was a very solid game.