Media interview right after Nets lose championship series to Spurs

The New Jersey Nets just lost in the NBA finals to the San Antonio Spurs, in six games. It's the second year in a row that Byron Scott's Nets have lost in the championship round. After the game, Scott spoke with the media.

Q: Could you first talk about your level of disappointment and then, second, talk about that 19-0 run in the fourth quarter, how that happened, what went wrong?

Byron Scott: Could I first talk about that.

Well, you know, obviously you're disappointed. I thought for three quarters we played pretty well. We had, in the first half, a lot of defensive breakdowns that we talked about at halftime. Especially in the fourth quarter, those things seemed to reappear again.

But, you know, you have to give San Antonio a lot of credit. It's a great basketball team, great coaching staff. Pop is doing a fantastic job with those guys.

They have one of the best players in this league in Tim Duncan. I think he proved that tonight.

Q: Kenyon's performance, 3 for 23. How does that happen?

Byron Scott: I don't know. He just had one of those games where he just couldn't throw it in the ocean. It had nothing to do with him not being aggressive because I thought he was aggressive. He was playing hard, he just couldn't make a basket.

Q: Could you talk about Dave Robinson, what he did tonight, what you think his legacy will be?

Byron Scott: Well, you're talking about one of the greatest players that ever played the game, David Robinson, a guy I truly admire as a basketball player and person. I think he's a class act, one of the best people that's been in this league in a long time.

If anybody were gonna have a farewell, to go out on top, besides us winning it, you would want David Robinson to because of the type of person he is.

I'm just happy for him. I had a lot of battles when he was here, when he was in his younger days. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Q: Could you talk a little bit about what you sensed in the fourth quarter when all the momentum shifted and you called time-out? What did happen to your offense, or was it just sort of a massive offensive explosion from them that really took control of the game?

Byron Scott: I thought it all started on the defensive end with them. Like I said, they got aggressive, really started being a little bit more physical. We got out of our flow. We started rushing shots, we started taking bad shots. Then, you know, their defense, I thought, got them going offensively.

Q: Having been to the Finals two years in a row, how do you feel about this team's future and what do you think it's going to take to make the next step?

Byron Scott: I feel pretty good about this team's future. We still have, like I said, a relatively young team. I think we're going to continue to get better as a team. We've got two young forwards that are young, very, very talented. I think they're going to continue to grow and improve. So the future to me looks pretty bright in New Jersey.

Q: What do you think it is going to take for you to make the next step?

Byron Scott: We just have to continue to grow. I don't know if it's a certain player that you're trying to get me to say or what, I just think as a team, what we have right now, we just got to get better as a team. Experience is going to help us. The more we continue to play together, the better we're going to be. Like I said, I think the future is bright.

Q: What affect did Speedy Claxton have in the game?

Byron Scott: I thought Speedy played great. He was a guy that came off the bench, we didn't give him much respect at the beginning of this series as far as his outside shooting was concerned, but he was able to prove time and time again that he was able to knock down shots, especially open shots, on a consistent basis.

When he's doing that, it kind of changes your strategy as far as defense is concerned. But I thought Speedy was big for them. All series long he came up pretty big in games where Tony wasn't playing real well. He came in and it didn't seem like they missed a beat.

Q: Could you talk about how Jason played tonight, especially in the third quarter when you built a lead? Also, did you two say anything to each other after the game?

Byron Scott: I thought J-Kidd played well. I thought he was aggressive. He came here to win. That was the bottom line.

After the game, we didn't really speak. I went down and talked to Popovich for a minute, to express my feelings to David Robinson and the career that he had, and talked to Stevey Jackson and Tim Duncan and some of those other players. When we got in the locker room, we just said a few words and we came together as a team.

Q: Talk about the future of the team, how important Jason is going to be to the future of this team?

Byron Scott: Well, I think everybody knows how important he is. You know, he's the engine to this team. He makes us go.

So, obviously, this is going to be a big summer for us, and, you know, like I said, J-Kidd, he's a basketball player but he's also a business person also. So he's going to explore his options, he's going to see what's best for him and his family. Hopefully, when he comes to his conclusion, it will be New Jersey.


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