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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v WARRIORSMay 18, 2016Stephen CurryFestus EzeliOakland, California: Game Two Golden State 118 - Oklahoma City 91 Q. Steph, in the third quarter you really went off. When you go off like that, why does it happen? And I know you're going to say the shots begin to fall. So I'm asking, why did the shots begin to fall? FESTUS EZELI: Steph is going to Steph, all right? He's going to Steph. Q. Is it you're feeling it, you're going into another zone? What happens at that time? STEPHEN CURRY: We just, it's all about our ball movement. And the way that they've been defending, you know, it's hard to kind of get a rhythm if you don't move the ball and don't play with aggression and decisiveness, and I think we were able to do that. We set great screens. We moved the ball from side to side. When I get open shots, that's the game plan, obviously, I'm going to have to make them. But we didn't have to force anything, so that was our brand of basketball. Q. Can you describe exactly what the elbow looks like right now and also whether as you're leaping over the row of people at what point did you think maybe this isn't such a good idea? STEPHEN CURRY: Yeah, only reason I dove is because I saw, I don't know if it was Shaun or Andre, I can't remember which one it was at the top of the key, so if I get my hand on it and sling it to him, he'd have a wide open lay-up. Obviously, one step too many and went over. But I came out of it all right. Elbow's fine. It looks like it has a tennis ball on top of it, but it doesn't affect range of motion or anything. It's just some pain, so I'll be all right. Q. Did they say whether you'd have to get it drained? STEPHEN CURRY: Something I'll have to pay attention to the next 48 hours until we leave for OKC. If the swelling goes down, then I should be all right. But I think that's not as invasive a procedure, if necessary. So either way I'll be fine. Q. You gave Serge Ibaka quick head fake as he came running by and hit the three. What did you say to him after? STEPHEN CURRY: Absolutely nothing. Q. What did you hit with your elbow? Do you know? Did you hit a person? Did you hit the ground? STEPHEN CURRY: I think there is that kind of metal, first row kind of platform. I missed the first row and then didn't get quite all the way to the next row. So thankfully -- I haven't seen any video or anything, so I don't know how much the fans helped me have a soft landing. Not at all? (Laughing). Q. Right before the big flurry in the third quarter you fell down, you looked like you wanted a foul called, didn't get it, were pretty upset. Is that kind of what led over to what happened next? Did you get a little fired up? STEPHEN CURRY: I actually hit my elbow again, so I was just frustrated about that. Obviously I wanted a foul call, but I slid and did the same thing. So it was kind of -- you know, as a player, when you get an injury or something, it's usually a magnet for another hit, another bang, and that was very true tonight. Q. Festus, the bench, I think contributed just 16 points on Monday and you guys had 50 tonight. Can you talk about sort of how motivated you guys were to support the starters a little bit more than a couple nights ago, what got into you? Also, Steph, can you talk about what the bench did for you guys tonight? FESTUS EZELI: Game 1 was definitely not our best game. We came in with a better focus tonight, the bench did. Andre was big for us tonight defensively, especially on KD. Mo Speights is going to do what he does, Mo Buckets. The bench was huge for us, Barbosa, Shaun, everybody came in and contributed. Even when I got in foul trouble, Boges was in foul trouble as well, Varejao came in in the first quarter. So everybody contributed tonight. It was a whole total team effort, better focus than we had in Game 1, and we hope to just continue that focus. Q. This bleeds into a little bit to your last answer which was about the bench. This one was about the match-up of bigs. It seems like it went a lot better for the Warriors than it did in Game 1. How focused were you guys on stepping up the intensity and kind of turning around that match-up inside? FESTUS EZELI: Their bigs, that's a big part of their game is they rebound very well, they're very athletic, they're long on the defensive end. They double-team him and they move their feet pretty well. So we had to do a better job tonight of moving the ball, making them play defense, you know. I think in Game 1 we did a lot of iso when saw a big man and that's not our game, that's not our brand of basketball. We're kind of playing into their hands that way. So we just had a better focus tonight in playing our brand of basketball. Q. To kind of hit on some of that. What about the rebounding? You outrebounded them by nine. No one was great individually but a bunch of you guys got rebounds tonight. Was that the fact you were down in the series or the fact that -- FESTUS EZELI: No, that's what we have to do. We have to team rebound. Like I said, they're great on the boards. That's their strong point and a great emphasis for the series. So we have to do a good job of rebounding as a team. We just have to hit bodies and go get the ball as a team. So that's something that we have to focus on every game. Q. Festus, Coach Kerr said you guys probably needed a little fear coming into this game. How did you and the rest of the team perceive this coming in? Was it just, we need to get the win and not worry about the fear? FESTUS EZELI: I mean, there's always appropriate fear with this team. They are the third best team in the West in the regular season and they have two of the best players in the league and some of the best players in the league. So there is appropriate fear. I don't think that was the problem. I think that we just lost focus on what it is that we do. Our mantra is "just us". That's what we do every night. We focus on what we have to do every night. So we lost focus in Game 1. I think we came with better focus. We know they're a very tough team. It's going to be a battle of the rest of the series, that's for sure. We just have to keep focusing on what we do and playing the right way, and hopefully it works out in our favor. Q. Your first game back after your injury, was tonight the night that you felt most in rhythm the entire night? How do you sort of feel that coming back now that there's been a few games getting your legs back? STEPHEN CURRY: I think my rhythm's fine. It's just obviously last game started off pretty well. Just like Festus said, we had (inaudible) ourselves individually. We rushed a little bit and lost our composure in Game 1. Tonight started off with a nice punch, and we were able to sustain it throughout the course of the game. Whether I was scoring or not, just being able to move from side to side and be a threat and do what I need to do to try to create space for my teammates and try to make plays. When I get open shots, it's obviously the calm is there to knock them down, and it's been like that since I've been back. My body's obviously catching up, and I think I'm there. Q. Talk about your defense. Did you feel like it was more active tonight? They didn't have anyone in double figures besides KD and Russ, and created a lot of turnovers. STEPHEN CURRY: I think Draymond talked about it last game, and everybody not named KD and Russ had a pretty solid impact on the game in Game 1, which was the difference. We know our schemes and how we're going to face those two guys with how much they have the ball in their hands and how much we have to make those reads and those decisions. But we were just on a string, I think, the entire game. We had one slip-up in the second quarter where we gave too many transition points off turnovers and not communicating in transition in those situations. But in the half-court offense our defense was pretty good to try to force them into tough shots, staying in front of them. Festus, the big guys, Shaun at the rim, and getting rebounds, which you don't give them second-chance opportunities. We hope that we can control that end of the floor. Q. After Game 1 you said you gave them an opportunity to come back. How did you do that because you scored 17 points in the third quarter? STEPHEN CURRY: The only challenge and opportunity we have is the one right in front of us. After Game 1 we were obviously disappointed, but we knew the chance for us to leave Oracle and go to Oklahoma City with a 1-1 split was right there. We had to go out and take the game. We were able to execute that tonight. The same mentality like it is every playoff series every year, every game is different. So Game 3 is going to be another dogfight that we have to be ready for from the jump, especially in an environment like they had down in OKC. So we'll be ready. I like where our focus is, and we just have to go out and play hard, play with that same kind of spirit we did tonight. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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