LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

May 22, 2021

Kawhi Leonard

Postgame Press Conference

Dallas Mavericks - 113, Los Angeles Clippers - 103

Q. I know the answer is probably a little bit of both, but in your mind, is it more critical to limit Dorian Finney-Smith and Tim Hardaway Jr. from going 9-14 from 3 or limiting what Luka does on those switches or against blitzes?

KAWHI LEONARD: They just did a good job. They made shots tonight. We need to limit everybody. Pretty much whoever is out on that floor we need to do the best job we can. You know, make them make tough shots. That's all I can really say. They played well tonight.

Q. Ty discussed multiple times that there were breakdowns defensively and we can see how some of those breakdowns might have happened while Luka was scoring, but he didn't score in the last six minutes and that's kind of where the game got away from y'all for good. So what were some of those breakdowns and how do you go about correcting them?

KAWHI LEONARD: Defensively? Well, I think they did a good job of getting to spots, making it hard for us to get out of those blitzes or double teams on Luka, and they got to the paint, they made big shots. It just, we got to look at the film to see what the communication factor was out there, see where the miscues were and just move forward from there.

Q. You guys didn't drop Game 1 last year in the post-season at all. I was wondering, what were you guys saying to each other after this game and what do you need to see as far as how you guys can respond in Game 2?

KAWHI LEONARD: Just play overall better basketball, make sure we play together. We didn't make no shots tonight, especially down the stretch. In the beginning of the game, it was a struggle for us to score as well. So just, kind of just being in the moment, making sure our defense is better at the start as well and just keep moving from there. But everybody is pretty positive and wants to get better.

Q. You guys did a great job of boxing these guys out. That seemed to be a weakness throughout the game for them. How can you guys continue to keep them off the boards on both sides of the floor?

KAWHI LEONARD: Just knowing when a shot goes up. When we're on defense just go to your man and try to box him out. Guys come in at those elbows. Try to get the long rebounds when they do miss. Just keep communicating and just making sure that everybody's doing their job, pretty much.

Q. You talked about the struggles offensively early, but overall on the night, I think you shot 44 percent. Were you happy with the shots that you got on the night?

KAWHI LEONARD: Yeah, I mean, I missed a few easy ones. I feel like we all did. We missed some shots tonight -- what were we, 28, 27 percent from 3? Hopefully, some of those will fall in the next game. We shot the ball eight more times than them, I believe. So hopefully we could get the same shots next time and they fall.

Q. Ty was pretty loose after the game as far as not letting the one loss get to you. How do you as a player keep the locker room from feeling too much pressure between now and Tuesday and the spectre of going down 2-0 with all the pressure and expectations you guys have headed into the playoffs this year?

KAWHI LEONARD: It's just based on us, what we want to do. This is the game of basketball. You're going to see this every night. Up one, down one, you got to come out, play the same basketball game, have fun with it, play extremely hard. But everybody was pretty up, nobody was really down on the game. Obviously nobody wants to lose, but our spirits are still high and we believe in ourselves. Nothing good comes easy.