LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

May 22, 2021

Paul George

Postgame Press Conference

Dallas Mavericks - 113, Los Angeles Clippers - 103

Q. What did you see down the stretch offensively from you guys in terms of shots you were getting and the inability to execute?

PAUL GEORGE: I thought we got some good shots. I thought they were just making baskets. We were fouling, which was tough at that time, because we were rolling when we were able it get stops, get out, run, play with a faster pace. Once they made shots and we, or we put them to the line, it kind of messed with our flow at that point.

Q. Ty mentioned that there was a lot of miscommunication and missed defensive assignments out there. I'm curious, I know it's Game 1, but you guys had a couple days to review this, and I know Ty has mentioned that every team knows every team pretty well. Why do you think that was the case out there tonight?

PAUL GEORGE: I mean, it's just part of the game, part of the game. We had a week off. We just, we had great intentions. We were just a little off on a couple possessions.

Q. What's the vibe in the locker room after a game like this?

PAUL GEORGE: It's great. I mean, give Dallas credit. They're a good team. Give them all the credit. They're a good team. This is a 4-5 matchup. So it's -- we got to do better. We had to play better today. But give them credit. They came in, they executed. We know we got to do better for Game 2.

Q. There's a lot of pressure from the outside on this team and Ty has been pretty outspoken about keeping you guys cool and not feeling that. But how do you guys keep from not feeling overwhelmed between now and Game 2 and the specter of going down 2-0?

PAUL GEORGE: I mean, we expect to play better. We expect to be more dialed in Game 2. We're not looking at it as just because of who we have, we are expected to win. We got the same pressure as every team that's in this. It all comes down to who is the last team standing and that's just the pressure every team goes through. It's no different than how we're approaching this. We want to be the last team standing regardless of however many games it takes or how tough the road is. The fact of the matter is we want to be the last one standing. So we got to be better for Game 2 and I plan on this team bouncing back.

Q. This Dallas team, beyond just today, it felt like all season they have done a really good job of making shooters uncomfortable. Even down the stretch in this game the team missed their last seven 3s. Is there, is it just a matter of you guys making shots or what do you feel Dallas is doing to take away the comfort level of the shots outside the paint and how do you combat that part of it?

PAUL GEORGE: We just got to just do a better job of, for one, shooting it with confidence. But just creating better opportunities for each other. I think that's really what it comes down to.

Q. You talked about just communication, but what are some of the things positively that you guys can take from Game 1 and to enable you to get a win in Game 2?

PAUL GEORGE: I thought we had a lot of bad plays, a lot of breakdowns. But when we were dialed in, when we were focused, we had a great stretch where we took over the game. So that's just got to be us. That's got to be us. I think defensively we had great stretches where we were locked in, shrinking the floor, flying around, that's just got to be us the whole 48 minutes.