Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol Sáezis a Spanish professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. He is a six-time NBA All-Star, and a four-time All-NBA selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. He has won two NBA championships, both with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2002 with the Memphis Grizzlies, one of only two non-American NBA players to win that award. He is the...
NationalitySpanish
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth6 July 1980
CityBarcelona, Spain
CountrySpain
We turned the ball over down the stretch and they came down and took the lead there. It was a little bit of everything, execution was definitely a factor. We need to execute in the fourth quarter.
I ain't gonna lie, I was aware of it. I know I needed the assists and I was hoping that Mike Miller was going to make one of those shots (in the fourth quarter). I had a good game sharing the ball and making the right decisions.
I knew they were not very fast off their feet and that they are very foul-prone - they put you on the line a lot. I knew if I tried to take them off the dribble and attacked early, it would open up for me and my teammates.
It was just overall, a game that felt really good. I was very aware of it, I'm not going to lie. I knew that I needed the assist.
It was just a bad game. We were unable to win when we needed to. It was frustrating the way we started game. We weren't being aggressive. And we gave them life. We let them believe they could win and the crowd carried them. We have to start playing with a better effort.
It's really painful for the team to lose Damon. He's been a great leader for us and we'll miss his great finishes down the stretch.
It wasn't anything. I shot the ball (poorly) tonight. I wasn't shooting the ball well. Ruben tried to front me. Tried to front me and not allow me to get the ball. Reggie was on me. Marcus was on me. They all tried to guard me.
I've got to be a little more aggressive, bring it from the beginning. We can't afford to have a first half like we did the first game.
It's great. It says that things have been going well for me and this franchise. I've been healthy for the most part and consistent.
It's better. I just needed a few days of rest. A lot of things were bothering me. My knees and my foot started hurting (April 15) in Houston. It's gone away. I haven't felt it, and that's what we were looking for.
The last few games were tough because I didn't produce in the last five minutes. Tonight it was time to step up, be a little more aggressive and produce. Luckily I was aggressive and things worked out well.
The last couple of years we thought we had a better chance going against San Antonio and going against Phoenix because we were 3-1 against them (in the regular season). We lost to both teams 4-0. The playoffs are different.
The turnovers cause you to lose control of the game. It was frustrating. We were turning the ball over and giving them the ball back without making them work for it.
We just got out of the game for a few minutes and that really cost us. It was frustrating the way we were turning the ball over and giving it back to them without making them work.