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NBA PLAYOFFS ROUND TWO: TRAIL BLAZERS vs WARRIORS

May 3, 2016

Klay Thompson

Oakland, California: Game Two

Warriors - 110, Trail Blazers - 99

Q. Can you talk about how you played for three quarters and most important time of the game you scored ten points to put the Warriors ahead?
KLAY THOMPSON: I thought of how focused we were in that fourth. We'd been down and out before, and we weren't playing with that good of poise in the first three quarters, and in that fourth quarter we were hunting for shots and playing stingy defense, and we were just locked in on both sides of the ball. That's on me.

In the first three quarters I came out of the timeout and didn't run the right plays a couple times. I'll learn from it, but we can build on this game, and that effort there in the fourth quarter is what it's going to take to beat this team.

Q. Obviously they changed their defensive strategy against you. Put bigger guys on you and looked like they were rotating players. They did a pretty good job, and then it looked like in the third quarter you got a little frustrated. How did you get the technical?
KLAY THOMPSON: I just Harkless put his head on me and that along with it might have been a mix of missing a couple open looks and the physicality of the game and just the emotions got to me. It happens. I mean, I haven't had a technical in a while, so I guess it was good to break the seal.

But it's not something -- I responded well from it and I didn't let it affect the rest of the game. That's what you've got to do.

Q. Both Kerr and Stotts talked about Festus in that fourth quarter and what he was able to do defensively on the pick-and-roll. How much did that help you guard Lillard? Because he went off in the third quarter for 17 but had zero in the fourth?
KLAY THOMPSON: Oh, it's so big. I'm proud of Festus. He didn't play last game but he was ready tonight, and he's so athletically gifted, and has such a bright future in this league. You know, he just stayed ready. Just like in the final last year, he came in Game 6 and almost had a double-double off the bench. Same thing tonight.

He was so big around the ring, and he just stayed ready and impacted the game in several ways because he has that ability.

Q. What kind of affect did Harkless have going up against him on defense?
KLAY THOMPSON: I mean he had some of the similar shots last game obviously with C.J., so another guy that can just catch and shoot. You've got to be disciplined, work off screens and try to lose him. I give him credit though. He battled for 48 minutes. Yeah, I mean, give the guy credit. He didn't back down. Just because he didn't get open looks, he didn't get discouraged. So that's why it's great to have him out there.

Q. Damian makes that shot at the end of the third quarter and he comes out and you pretty much shut him down in the end of the fourth quarter. What did you do to try to deny him for 12 minutes?
KLAY THOMPSON: It wasn't all me. It was my bigs. They were getting up on the ball screen. He's one of the best in the league at those threes. He was getting to the three-point line and getting it up. He's such a talented scorer and getting going. And in the fourth he made the adjustment to try to get inside the three-point line to make the other guy beat us.

Our defense was so great there at the end, if we had that the rest of the playoffs, I think it's going to be great. I mean, I'm happy. It's tough, Game 2s. Went through it last year, last two of them. So it's going to be a natural letdown, but I'm just happy with the way we responded. Didn't really have a rhythm all game, and both sides of the ball were locked in, and that's what you have to do.

Q. What turned the offense around?
KLAY THOMPSON: I didn't stop moving. Just threw a couple pump fakes in there and that got me into rhythm. Never lost confidence. I'm out there shooting, and looking at my shots and they're effective. So I just learned -- I wasn't taking -- I took a lot of four or five bad shots in the first three quarters, and I think in the fourth I got aggressive and played my best.

Q. When you guys went on that little run, not little run, the big run in the fourth quarter, in the back of your mind were you thinking we're due for this? I mean, you've been in these situations before.
KLAY THOMPSON: Definitely. Basketball (No Microphone) runs and things like that, we knew that we were going to eventually make a run on defense (No Microphone). So all year you don't get here without going through some tough times. We learned tonight (No Microphone).

Q. Klay, Warriors come back in the fourth quarter, how much confidence does this give you?
KLAY THOMPSON: We have a very confident team. Building off of what we did last year in the regular season, we know what the formula is and what it takes to win. We're going to face some great opponents. We faced a really good team right now, but we really believe that it's going to be hard for a team to beat us four times if we're locked in and we're all playing selfless and just playing for each other.

We've got such a deep team and so many great play makers and guys that do different things and we've got great balance that we just come with that mental focus every night and we'll be in a great position to win.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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