LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 17, 2020

Kawhi Leonard

Postgame Press Conference

Clippers 118, Mavericks 110

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Kawhi.

Q. Talk about Luka. He broke a record NBA Finals debut, 42 points. Talk about how you saw that.

KAWHI LEONARD: I mean, he's great. You know what I mean? He's very poised. He's very trusted on that team. He can get to his spots, find his teammates, gets them easy baskets. He makes tough baskets well. He's a great player.

Q. This was your first Playoff game with P.G. and this group. What do you think of how you played taking it to the next level?

KAWHI LEONARD: I'm happy we got the win tonight. Still think we trying to build our chemistry. Obviously still enjoying this journey. We got a lot to build from. We're going to look at the film and see what we can improve from.

Q. When it comes to your mindset or preparation, what are the differences between regular-season Kawhi and Playoff Kawhi?

KAWHI LEONARD: There's no difference, you know. I'm trying to just make sure we all on the same page pretty much, just getting everybody ready to basically just have fun out there, play hard, just enjoy what we're going through, don't be in a rush.

That's my mindset, just trying to get everybody on the same page as me or just having everybody just thinking the same. Obviously probably played more minutes in the Playoffs. That's pretty much it. I'm taking it one possession at a time.

Q. With Trez playing his first game since March, Doc said he didn't expect the world from him, but thought he played solid. What was your impression of Trez coming back? What was it like having him back with the team all day?

KAWHI LEONARD: I mean, it's hard to judge. He didn't play too many minutes. Obviously he was himself mentally. Went out there talking, wanted to play, play hard, wanted to win. He's still got to get his feet under him, you know what I mean, his timing. We all were able to play those pre-season games, regular-season games. That's what he's missing. As time goes on, he'll get back to himself.

Q. What do you think changed in the beginning where you had the 16-point lead that turned into a double-digit deficit?

KAWHI LEONARD: I think we just stopped making shots and they made shots. Pretty much we just got to stay levelheaded and just take it one possession at a time.

The Mavs are a tough team. They got a great culture over there, as well. They're not going to stop fighting. This is Playoff basketball. You see leads like that all the time. That's what this is about.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks so much, Kawhi.