LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 8, 2021

Kawhi Leonard

Postgame Press Conference

Utah Jazz 112, Los Angeles Clippers 109

Q. Did the defense of the Jazz put you off your spots or get in the way of doing what you guys wanted to do?

KAWHI LEONARD: I think we had a pretty good rhythm in the first half. You know, I think we came in that third quarter pretty flat. But they are a good defensive team. They played hard tonight. They fought the whole game and they got the win.

Q. How is the challenge trying to slow down Donovan Mitchell different or maybe in some ways kind of similar to facing Doncic?

KAWHI LEONARD: I mean, two different players. Two different teams. But I mean obviously All-Star calibre player. You know, skilled and same ways, one-on-one, pick-and-roll. Yeah, you know, he's just very aggressive. He's going to keep shooting the ball and get his teammates involved. We all just have to take the challenge and try to slow him down.

Q. I know this was a quick turnaround after the seven-game series. How much of that played into the challenges of keeping up and playing a full 48 in Game 1 against Utah and how can that improve in Game 2?

KAWHI LEONARD: There's no excuses. Like I said, we had a 10-point lead at halftime. We just have to keep being aggressive. I felt like we came out flat. We've just got to all watch film and see what we can do better overall.

Q. Ty has preached attacking the paint and getting your offense through attacking the paint. How much different is it going against a guy like Gobert from last round?

KAWHI LEONARD: Very different, seven-foot guy, could move very well, slide his feet, wants to play defense, wants to make a presence out there on both ends of the floor. Yeah, I mean, that's the difference.

Q. Before tip-off, when Ty was talking about the tight turnaround you guys had, he felt like you playing back-to-backs this year had factored into why you had been so successful during quick turnarounds in the last half of the first round, being as effective as you were. How physically different does this postseason feel for you in terms of the way you can bounce back from big-minute nights and how was the challenge tonight 48 hours after Game 7?

KAWHI LEONARD: I mean, this is playoff basketball. So you just have to be prepared to do whatever it takes to win. You know, that's what my mindset is. You've just got to get your rest and recovery, make sure I'm ready to go, I think that's Thursday, and I mean, there's no complaints here. I'm having fun and playing basketball, and it's a challenge that you just have to overcome and you can just face and have fun with.