"I told him 'Yo, Phil, put me back in there -- so I can sabotage us and hit the winning shot.' "

Kobe always looked up to his dad, especially on the basketball court. According to his mom, Kobe would have a little hoop set up in front of the television, and as he watched the games, he would play right along. He would have his towel and his sports drink, and he would try to emulate everything his dad was doing on the screen.
"I'd wipe the sweat from my brow, take a swig of my drink, and then get back to playing hard, slamming and jamming," Kobe told Athletes Direct.
Kobe's family is still a major part of his life. They serve as a support system for him. In fact, he recently bought the house next door to him in los Angeles for his mother. While many of today's superstars become over-whelmed with the fame and stardom, Kobe continues to remain humble and a family-oriented man. He always remembers where he came from and the importance of his family.
"My father always played with a great love for the game, and that's one of the things he always taught me, especially after I made the jump to the NBA. He told me not the pressure or the expectations take away from my love for the game and I think that's the best advice anyone's ever given me. He taught me that you have to be well rounded basketball player."
"I'm sure come Wednesday with Kobe playing, it will be a different game," Reggie Miller on what to expect ion Game 4
"When there's frustration, you try to keep it in the community. But when it seeps out, you have to do some damage control. And we're dealing with that now, here," Rick Fox on the Glen Rice situation.
"It feels a lot better than it did yesterday. Yesterday, I couldn't even walk on it. Today, I can put a little bit of pressure on it, so it feels a lot better.I'm going to be icing it, doing my therapy, making sure my flexibility is there. Pretty much, that's what I'm going to be doing all day long. Right now, I'm just taking it as it comes, focusing on my therapy. Tomorrow, I'll be able to tell better if I'll be able to play," Kobe said about his ankle.
"I can't play quiet. There's no way. I play on emotion and excitement, and it's always been that way," Reggie Miller said.
"This is my team. I've got to step up and I've got to do everything," Miller added.
"I think Reggie's been doing what he is supposed to. Others guys on the team have stepped up and made plays. Best has hit shots. Chroshere has played well. It really shows Reggie's unselfishness. Guys feel it allowsa them to come to the forefront," Brian Shaw said about Miller.
``We have three All-Stars,'' Rick Fox said, referring to Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice. ``We at times are left wide open, we at times make things happen. It's the bench that gets the criticism when we lose.''
``Every bench in the league outscored our bench. We don't worry about that, we're just doing our job. We just go out and play, Robert Horry said.
``We were just clicking today, on the offense end and on the defensive end. If we're hitting our shots like that, it's going to be easier for Shaq," Brian Shaw said, referring to the bench
``Their bench hurt us. They made some big shots, and stretched our defense with their 3-point shooting,'' Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy said.
``We're deeper than we thought. But the bench has been doing a nice job for us all playoffs long coming in and hitting some big shots for us and getting the momentum going, " Kobe Bryant said.
``They're the better bench. Their bench outplayed our bench. We've heard this talk before. I don't think we played any different than we have all year, " Fox explained.
``It's just one of those days where you're shooting the rock, it's falling, the guys are looking for you. Everybody's double-teaming Shaq, some times tripling him. A lot of teams like to sag off our (power forwards). I just took my shots when I had them. I wasn't being aggressive, I just took the shots they gave me. Once I make two shots, I'm going to take that third one, test that gun to make sure it's working," Horry said of his performance.
``Robert played very well. I think Robert likes it when they double me, he stepped up and shot the ball very well.," Shaq said
"She's my movie star, she's my star. She gives me balance, in the past, I've been pretty much all basketball," Kobe told reporters
"At first just a few people knew. But then he came to school and stuff, and it got really big. Everybody is talking about it now, that I kind of feel sorry for her," Amy Wheeler,a friend of Kobe's fiancee, told the Orange County Register
"She's in love and he's in love; and that's their business," Katie Kong told the Register
They outhustled us, they outworked us. They played like they had more at stake than us, and they did, Kobe said
They failed--not just 'jury's out,' they failed in their first test. But this team doesn't have to do anything but win their home games to win the championship. That's the reality. This is a game that Sacramento outplayed us right from tip to buzzer. They outplayed us basically for 48 minutes, Lakers' coach Phil Jackson said
Maybe they thought they were going to come up here and we were going to go away, but we didn't go away, Kings' coach Rick Adelman.
I didn't go very deep in the rotation, and that probably was a mistake, Phil Jackson said.
We have to give Vlade so much credit--and some massage therapy--because he's doing such a good job on Shaq, Chris Webber said
Everybody was playing cautious. Instead of being aggressive, we were all too worried about just doing the right thing. Now we have to be aggressive. We don't have any choice, said John Salley
Coach Jackson on the Lakers positon after their Game 2 victory: That had to be a disappointing game for Sacramento. Kobe bailed us out in the first half, Shaq controlled the boards, we found a rhythm in the second half to finish things up. This puts us now, on serve, going to Sacramento.
Kobe on the Lakers effectiveness on both ends of the court: They were sagging in on Shaq a lot, and on top of that I had a lot of gaps (in the open court). We started to turn it up. We saw that defensively we were doing a solid job, and offensively we could turn it up some. We were able to get a lot of easy baskets that came from our defense. Phil's goal was to hold them under 100 points. To hold them under 90 is a huge accomplishment. We should be proud of that. I felt we had a mental advantage at one point in the game. They dropped their edge. In transition, I was just going with the flow. With the three, I was going for the kill. You don't have to think during the game. You just go out there and let it happen. Most of the time, Shaq was on the blocks and Vlade Divac was afraid to leave him, which left me room to go.
Kobe on guarding Jason Williams: Jason came out and hit some good, tough shots. I took it upon myself to slow him up a little bit and not let him create for other players. If he is going to take shots like that all game long then we can live with that.
Chris Webber on what lies ahead for the Kings: Kobe and Shaq are two great players -- a great one-two punch. You never know which one is going to break out and do their thing. We can only win one game at a time, so we'll just be looking for a win in our next game or there won't be another game afterwards. We have to raise our level and now we get the home court.
Coach Adelman stuck between a rock and a hard place: We spent a lot of time talking about Shaq. We should have spent more time talking about Kobe. They took it to us.
Ron Harper on Kobe's Game 2 performance: Kobe had a great game. He's a player who has shown that he came along way from the first year that he played here. I think that the fans can see that he changed his game. He is doing a great job for our basketball team.
Kobe after Wednesday's practice, which was much better than the previous day: I think guys are a little antsy, agitated. PJ (Jackson) says it's important for us to take care of business. It's imperative we defend our homecourt. They have nothing to lose. They'll come back and play.'
Sacramento's Coach Rick Adelman on Thursday's up-coming game: We'll try to get that first win and go from there. They held homecourt. We're trying to get a split, then hold homecourt at our place.
Glen Rice on the up-coming Game 2: I think if we can win this one, it's going to put a tremendous amount of pressure on them. We definitely want to try and put this team away.
Jackson, who was a bit more calm today, compared to yesterday after practice: They're a fine, young team, they have the potential. I'd like to sweep the series, I'd like to sweep the championship, I'd like to go 15-0. The less you have to play in the playoffs, the better; the less chance of injury. We had a good practice today, short and right to the point of what we wanted to do. I think we're OK. Everybody seemed to respond.'
Shaq on what opponents can do to stop him: Nothing. I'm telling you, I've got 350 moves on each block. I'm a 7-footer who can play. I'm good enough to go around people, I don't have to go through them. I'll never have to go through (Kings center) Vlade Divac, period. If we got all the calls, how come they shot 35 free throws and we shot 14?'
Kobe on how the officiating will be in Game two: I think at first, the game might be called under a microscope, to an extent. As the game goes on, the calls will loosen up.
"He played the rest of the game, didn't realize it was broken until this morning and complained of pain," Lakers spokesman John Black said.
"See, the kids in America, they don't do the work that Kobe did. They don't have the fundamentals," Magic Johnson said.
"Phil is going to teach him how to let the game come to him instead of always forcing the issue," Scottie Pippen said.
"The sky is the limit for Kobe Bryant," AD's Kevin Garnett said.
"Kobe was unbelievable. It was just impossible for us to stop him. I thought a couple of times we were right under his chin and he made 3-point shots," Denver coach Dan Issel said.
Phil Jackson on the team's practice after their Game One victory: These guys were awful today, it was one of our worst practices. Our minds weren't here. Maybe we watched too much film. Maybe (the delay) had something to do with it. It's disappointing to the coaching staff when we put so much preparation into it. We're trying to keep our practices just diverse enough. We lost them today. They didn't practice well. Maybe we'll get them back tomorrow.
Jackson on what to expect for Game Two and in reagrds to defending Chris Webber: Some of them (players) have to do with not being in the right place, not getting back on defense. We just think we can play better team defense, make it tougher for him (Webber) without the ball.'
Shaquille O'Neal said he was certain the Lakers would have a better practice Wednesday: We sat in film for about an hour-and-a-half. Guys were kind of stiff. It wasn't terrible, it was just stiff. We'll be ready (for Game Two). The rest is good for me, I can get a lot of rest, chill out at the crib.
Kobe on the extended rest between games: I get a chance to recuperate. It's a little stiff (wrist), I just keep ice on it after practice. It hurts a little bit when I shoot.When I make a shot, it makes it feel better, loosens it up quite a bit.

"We were getting back in the second half. That's exactly what our game is all about. Sometimes I might get a little too hyped up. I think I did tonight, but I liked it."
"Rick gave us a big lift. He's a sparkplug."
"I think it can only make the team better. Why not have all of us crashing the boards? Why not just dominate the boards, and dominate the game?"
"It looked good, I said, `That looks pretty.' "
"Who else are they going to put on me. They had a small lineup, and I just took advantage."
"It was just like last year in the playoffs. Utah plays us differently than other teams do. They're not going to come down and double right away. They're going to dig in with Stockton, so we're just going to have to get some ball movement."
"It kind of reminded us how important execution is, not only on the offensive end, but the defensive end. If we want to get the championship, we've got to execute."
"He (Jerry West) doesn't sit back and wait to see what's going to happen. So far, what he's done for this team has been a good thing. He's won a lot of championships. I'm just going to follow his lead."
"That shouldn't be in his head. Kobe should just concentrate on being the first Kobe, rather than the next Michael. Guys like Mike only come around every 10 years."
"Not really. If you're afraid to fail, you're never going to achieve. He's not afraid. The thing that sets him apart is that he's just willing to try anything to get better."
"I'm going to have one of those big (hairdos). Just like Dr. J (Hall of Famer Julius Erving). It'll be blowin' in the wind."
"Playing (small forward) is fine with me. I'm just looking forward to playing. Learning the new position, you're making yourself a well-rounded basketball player, and this is going to make the team better, too. It's fine. It's a lot of fun."
"Again, Kobe is the kind of guy who's like (Scottie) Pippen or (Michael) Jordan, in the sense that you can just stick them out there and they can play. If they end up with the ball in their hands, they can simulate a point guard. Otherwise, they can play two (off guard) or three, and they're all strong enough that they can guard most of the twos or threes."
"No one ever questioned his one-on-one skills, or even his team skills. But he didn't have college as a transition, to (advance) from where he could dominate everybody he played and do virtually what he wanted without paying a price. There's almost no embarrassment factor for him against high school kids; he could make a mistake come out all right, because he's so good. He would have gotten into some situations in college where he would have gotten stopped and had to adjust. The good news is that he's consciously working at it, and he's making good progress."
"There's a lot of fake people out there(in LA), wherever you go. You just have to love your family, have your friends and that's basically it."
"I like to create things for my teammates. I love to pass the ball, but when it comes down to crunch time, I click it on. There's no doubt I want the ball."
"It was pretty difficult, because I had my mother there squeezing my thigh and my sister there squeezing my hands, and my father there winking at me all teary-eyed. It was very hard, and I am glad it is over with."
"I'm not afraid to fail. When I'm 40, if I sit back and I say, 'Man, I went to the NBA, I gave it my all and I failed,' it happens. But I couldn't accept not going to the NBA and giving my all. I can't accept that."
"From day one, I was dribbling."
"I'm very comfortable with my role coming off the bench and sparking this team, putting some points on the board and rebounding or whatever it may be."