Dylan Harper spoke after one of the San Antonio Spurs' toughest losses in these NBA Finals. After squandering a nearly 30-point lead and falling to the New York Knicks 107-106 in Game 4, the young wing discussed shock, pain, and anger, but also response. With the series at 3-1 for the Knicks, Harper made clear the Spurs have no room for regret: only to rise up, respond, and prepare for Game 5.
Q. The coach said he told you to experience whatever emotions you have today before letting them go in two days. How do you process a loss like this? What's happening in the locker room?
DYLAN HARPER: I mean, we just lost about 20 minutes ago. It's hit me, but it's probably shock. You know what I'm saying? There's still a lot of basketball to be played.
I'm never going to… when this is over, I'll go shower, get it off me, and prepare for Game 5. The most important game. You just have to focus on the next 48 minutes.
Q. What's the feeling in the locker room?
DYLAN HARPER: We're definitely all hurting. Somehow we gave that game away. We were up, what, by 30. It hurts. I mean, we're angry.
I feel like all of this is fuel for the fire for us. I think we're going to come out to the next game with a sense of fire and we're going to focus on Game 5. We can't do anything about this anymore.
Q. You also had a tough loss in Game 2. You were able to respond. How can you respond to this? How do the next 48 hours look?
DYLAN HARPER: You just have to realize that the most important thing is the next game. I think we're against the wall. We've answered the call every time. This is no different for us.
It's not time to complain, it's not time to point fingers. It's time for us to step up. It's time for us to, if we believe we are who we think we are, show it.
Q. On OG's tip-back, did you feel the ball was almost in your hands? Was that a great play by him or was there something you could have done differently?
DYLAN HARPER: Yeah, it bounced off the rim the right way. He tipped it the right way. It went in.
I could play the "I wish I had done this, I wish I had done that" game. But at the end of the day, he touched the ball and the ball went in the basket.
I definitely thought I had a hand on it. I definitely think I helped put the ball in the basket. But you just have to secure the rebound.
Q. Losing a game like this for a group of players like you, how do you think it's going to affect the mental side of the game for the rest of the series?
DYLAN HARPER: I feel like as a group, we really don't go into that mental space. For me, I feel like a completely new fire has been lit, in the sense that we gave that game away. If we're going to lose, we're not going out like that. We're going to fight. We're going to keep punching.
For me personally, I feel like this loss… man, I mean, I'm going to respond. We're all going to respond. We're going to show the world what we're made of.
Q. We've seen that the San Antonio Spurs are perhaps young. Looking ahead to the future, what can we expect from this talented roster?
DYLAN HARPER: I feel like it will be whatever the coaching staff thinks is best to put on the floor. It's the same lineup we finished the last game with. Obviously we all wish we could do things differently.
You just have to respond, really. I think at the end of games we need to control the game more. We can't let big leads slip away like that.
Q. It seemed like in the second half there were a lot of jump shots, a lot of quick shots. What did you think of the offensive approach?
DYLAN HARPER: Yeah, we got away from everything we were doing. I think in the first half a lot of shots were falling. A lot of difficult shots were going in.
But it was really because we were playing the right way. I think we got away from that in the second half because of the lead. We just can't take our foot off the gas. It's one thing for me to sit here and say it; it's another thing for us to go out there and do it.