LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 2, 2021

Tim Hardaway

Postgame Press Conference

Dallas Mavericks - 105, Los Angeles Clippers - 100

Q. I'll ask you the same question I asked Rick. I think a lot of people gave you guys up for dead after you lose, lost those two games at home. What is it about this team that gave you guys the belief that you were going to walk out of here with a win?

TIM HARDAWAY JR: I mean, last time I checked, it was first one to four. So, I mean, if you look at throughout the series the away team has won every single game, so it's going to come down to who is going to be the first team to win at home, and that's where we're shifting our focus to right now.

Q. I know you probably don't see it this way, but maybe you ought to be flattered that they had to put Kawhi on you defensively a lot of the times now. I'm just wondering how you have approached that and how you kind of adjusted or what you adjusted to have a little bit more success tonight?

TIM HARDAWAY JR: I mean, just trying to stay aggressive, picking my spots. I have to stay aggressive in order to feel like I'm doing something out there to help and benefit the team. I felt like the last couple games I wasn't taking shots, passing up a lot of shots, shots that I know I can make, know I can take, and I'm just trying to do my best to keep the defense honest. In order to do that, you got to take some shots, you got to contest, you got to be aggressive, drive to the basket, and see what happens and go on from there.

Q. Luka obviously wasn't himself the other night. What did you make of what he was able to do tonight?

TIM HARDAWAY JR: I mean, I guess his neck/collar area feels great now. (Laughing) that's our guy. We're going to do whatever we can to back him up in any situation, at any given moment. And the performance he had today, it would have, it would have sucked if we didn't come out with the victory, especially being up 10 with two minutes, two and a half minutes, left to go in the game. So just wanted to make sure we buckled down at the end of the stretch and pull out the victory.

Q. Just wondering what's different for you when you're off the bench versus starting, how your prep is different, and how you're sort of just making sure you're ready at the exact right time?

TIM HARDAWAY JR: I'm just trying to take the same mindset whether I'm starting or coming off the bench, and that's getting yourself involved in the game, whether that's taking a charge, getting a defensive rebound and pushing it on the break, get assists, making sure you knock down your open shots when they're available, and attacking, attacking the glass, attacking driving lanes and making something happen. So that's why I just try to stay keyed and locked in on whether I'm coming off the bench or not.

Q. I know that every situation has good things and bad things. What's some of the good things about coming off the bench in terms of what other kind of units you're facing or what kind of spark you can give the team or the crowd?

TIM HARDAWAY JR: When you're coming off the bench you see the game a lot more before -- I mean, rather than starting, you see how they're defending, the other team, how they're defending, the coverages they're in, who they're attacking. And coming off the bench you are already into the game. So when you're going in there, you're already warmed up, you're jacked up and the adrenaline is kicking, so it is a lot easier, I would say, but it's just something about starting, especially in moments like this, it's what you dream about, it's what you live for, and I'm grateful.

Q. From a confidence standpoint, all season you talked about how confident this team is. When you talk about this going four, obviously Friday night coming back home is you can close the series out.

TIM HARDAWAY JR: I mean, we got to keep that road mentality, coach says, when we're back at home. We already know that AAC is going to be live, it's going to be exciting, it's the weekend, so everybody's going to be there early, ready to get the juices flowing. But we know what we have to do and like I said it's going to come down to the first team with a home victory at this point. So we just got to make sure that we do a phenomenal job of staying poised, staying patient, attacking when the opportunities present themselves, and just like I said, keep your foot on the gas, man, keep your foot on the gas.

Q. What did you make of the big lineup and how it worked defensively because it just, it seemed like you were able to cut off a lot of the drives that had been hurting you in the first two games and they settled for more jump shots and 3-pointers and they made their share, but it seemed like your goal was achieved by changing up the lineup the way you did.

TIM HARDAWAY JR: Yeah, I mean, it's going to come down to adjustments, I mean, adjustments throughout the series. First couple games they keyed in and locked in to what we were doing, so they made their adjustment. They did a phenomenal job of countering and pulled out two victories, and so we had to do a great job of making our adjustments, and thankfully, we pulled out the victory. And I'm not going to say too much about it, but I think just us staying locked in, physical on both ends of the floor, and making sure when they go on their runs, just making sure that we stay poised and stay locked in and keyed in. We know it's going to be a long game.