LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 8, 2021

Rudy Gobert

Postgame Press Conference

Utah Jazz - 112, Los Angeles Clippers - 109

Q. Can you kind of just take us through what happened on that final play when you were able to block Morris's shot, just tell us from your perspective what happened there.

RUDY GOBERT: I mean, we are up three, so obviously they needed a three to tie the game. Kawhi had the ball and Joe got switched on Kawhi, so we did a great job trying to take away to force him to drive and I kind of faked helped and I knew that he was going to pass to Morris for a three, so I just tried to contest as much as I can.

Q. There has been lots of talk and writing about you adjusting to a small lineup and how do you feel about this and do you think the last play is like a photograph of what you can do in this situation?

RUDY GOBERT: Teams have been trying to do this to me, to us, for years now. I think I'm comfortable guarding any lineup. Whether I got to close out the three-point shooters and then make a play or rotate to the paint at the same time, I've been doing it, and yes, it's different than just guarding a traditional big like Zubac, but I've been doing both, and you might see a clip of me dancing on a pyramid once in a while, but the truth and the numbers back it up, you know, that I am comfortable guarding any lineup and it's their game plan. They're going to try to make me uncomfortable and I respect that, but I'm going to be out there on the court, so I'm comfortable.

Q. Talking about just guarding on the perimeter, were you surprised to see the Clippers start small and then go big or did you anticipate that?

RUDY GOBERT: We knew that they were going to go small, either from the start or to close the game. We didn't know if they was going to start Zubac or Batum, but I was prepared. We were prepared for both, and we know that it's going to, those guys are very good. They have a good coaching staff. They're going to try to mix things up to try to make me and make us uncomfortable and you got to respect that. For myself, I just got to be ready and for us as team we got to be ready to guard any kind of lineup and still play to our strength and don't play, don't change our defense. We got to play a different lineup.

Q. You guys obviously as a team struggled offensively in the first half. What's the feeling when Donovan comes out and hits three or four quick buckets? Is there a sense that you guys are about to go on a roll?

RUDY GOBERT: I mean, a hundred percent. I think we started the game, all of us started the game a little flat. We were kind of rushing into shots. We were kind of not connected like we have been later against the Grizzlies and we knew that, that was going to come back, obviously it starts with Donovan and with Joe and with our point guards being aggressive. And we knew that in the second half Donovan was going to come out aggressive and I think he did a, obviously he gave us a great lift and he did a great job not settling for the jump shots but attacking them and putting pressure on them for finishing at the rim, drawing fouls, or kicking out for the shooters. When we played that way, I think that's when we become really, really hard to guard.

Q. You did the key play of the game. You had a difficult night tonight. So what makes a difference in your mind, just the focus just until the last play of the game, even if you made the jump that was a bit difficult just before?

RUDY GOBERT: I mean, no matter what happens before, the most important is the moment, and I try to stay focused on the moment. I know that my team trusts me to do what I do and to make plays both defensively and offensively at the end of the game, and I tried to just stay focused. And personally I enjoy those moments. I embrace those moments because at the end of the day when you're in a close game at the end you know that you got an opportunity to do, to impact the game. You can't be worried about how many points you scored or if you had a bad game, good game. You got to stay with it, and I think that's what the best teams are able to do. Even on a night when things didn't go our way, we find ways to execute and to play our basketball and to stay, to keep trusting one another when it matters.

Q. This is the first time in about 15 months you guys have had a full-capacity crowd. I know last round it wasn't too far off but a little over 14,000, but how big of a difference is that? Is that something you notice, that extra four thousand, that it's a full house, the energy, the excitement that they're bringing?

RUDY GOBERT: Yeah, a hundred percent. Obviously last game we felt it, last series we felt it. We felt the difference between having eight thousand and 13,000, but this time we really felt it throughout the whole game. It wasn't just at the end or in the key moments, we really felt it throughout the whole game and I think when we are down 12 and we try to come back, try to grind to catch them, having that crowd behind us really gave us a big lift.

Q. There was that sequence with DeMarcus Cousins when the charge that was reversed after the review into a block and you got the and-one on that play. First of all, just your reaction to the review and what you thought about the foul when it happened and then, I mean, you guys, that's a three-point swing and you win by three points do you think back on plays like that and how important they are?

RUDY GOBERT: I mean it's the playoffs, every play matters, every momentum play matters and sometimes unfortunately every call matters. So I thought it was pretty obvious, maybe from his angle he thought it was a charge, but I'm glad that coach challenged it because there wasn't a doubt that it was a charge and I thought it was pretty obvious to me.