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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v WARRIORS

May 20, 2016

Kevin Durant

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Practice Day

Q. Another day in paradise?
KEVIN DURANT: Ain't nothing like it, man.

Q. I know you're in the middle of a tough series, fighting every possession, every game. Can you stop and develop a sense of appreciation of how big a deal it is to have you and Westbrook and Curry and all these historic players in the same series?
KEVIN DURANT: You think about that. You know, it's tough when you've got to worry about playing. But when you sit back and you get some time, you just think about where you are. It's not even one percent of the world can say they've played in this type of environment. So it's just a great opportunity for us. It's great for fans of basketball to be watching such great players on the court at once. Not just on our side but over the East as well. The league is in great hands right now with so many great players, so it was great to be a part of it.

Q. How much does it help you guys going forward into this game that you came back from that blowout against the Spurs and came back and won 4 out of 5? Does that experience help you going into this game?
KEVIN DURANT: Yeah, it helps a little bit with our confidence just knowing that we've been in this position before. It's not foreign land to us. But last series we can't really worry about that too much. We've got to focus on who we've got in front of us right now. We know it's easier said than done. Just because we did it last time, doesn't mean it's guaranteed to happen again.

We've got to make it happen. Today is a step in the right direction. We had a good practice. Guys putting in their work after practice. We've got to trust in what we do, go out there, play, have fun and follow the game plan.

Q. You said after Game 2 it was difficult to get into space, and sometimes they're throwing two, three guys at you. How do you combat that and what kind of adjustments can you make?
KEVIN DURANT: Me, just move around a little bit more. Free up my teammates by my movement and just by my presence. I think when I'm sitting at the perimeter spaced out they don't leave, so it's opening up lanes for Steven to get dunks and Russ to get drives and Serge to get open shots.

So sometimes I've got to be patient out there and wait for my shots to come to me instead of trying to force it in there sometimes. Just got to be strong with the ball and stop making those one-handed passes I've been making and just get back to the fundamentals of passing basketball.

But you know, I'll figure it out. It's always been that way for me as teams have played the same way since I've been in the league. So I'll just figure it out.

Q. (No microphone) when you played them the last couple years on their team and how they played?
KEVIN DURANT: Yeah, yeah, I could tell the little creative schemes that they throw out there. That's different from any other team. I know that's coming from Ron [Adams], and the rest of their staff and Ron is kind of the catalyst for it all. But you could see where they've been using his force to get locked in and his expertise on the defensive side of the ball.

Q. (No Microphone)?
KEVIN DURANT: [on Ron Adams] He was different for one. He wore his hammer pants every practice, and I knew he was a different guy. But he always preached, you know, keeping your hands up, not fouling, taking away threes. Even before threes were big in the league as they are now, he was preaching that. So he's done wonders for those guys defensively, and he's helped us out along the way as well. So I could tell he's been huge for them.

Q. Did he ever guard you in practice?
KEVIN DURANT: No, no. It was all talk for him. Telling other guys what to do. He can't guard me.

Q. We saw Steph go into the second row, first row of fans the other night. Obviously you never want to have to dive into the crowd like that. But have you had a situation like that where you've ended up in fans. Do you hope they grab you, do you hope they not grab you?
KEVIN DURANT: No, I went over before, but, no, I mean, no, it's kind of a weird thing because you don't want to fall on the fans, but you don't want to fall straight to the ground. So he did a good job protecting himself. I thought he didn't have to jump over. I thought he could have leaned into the fans in the front row. But it looks good when you jump over. I understand that.

Q. Got the air time?
KEVIN DURANT: Yeah.

Q. Steven's had some physical games in the playoffs, particularly in Game 2 he took some shots and there was a moment where you bent over with him with your hand on him. What have you thought of the way he's dealt with the physicality in the series?
KEVIN DURANT: I don't think it was overly physical. He just got hit in the family jewels, and anybody that gets hit there it's going to look like he's been battling all night. It's nothing different than when we played against the first two series, but he got hit in a sensitive spot last game. So we were just making sure he was all right. But he's endured all the physical play throughout the whole season, so it was nothing new to him.

Q. In the second quarter you had that play where you came down on the break and you were twirling around and caught the pass, and afterwards you all had sort of an exchange. What's that about?
KEVIN DURANT: We always have those exchanges, man. We were laughing. If you walked into the huddle, the camera was in the huddle, you'd have seen us laughing and joking about it. But we go at it all the time. That's my little brother, man. Like you see when we walk in here today, we're over there working out together. That's just a part of being around a guy for so long. I don't want to tell on him, but you should have seen he cursed me out before I said something to him.

But it's part of playing basketball. It's part of the brotherhood and having teammates that you really have fun playing with.

Q. Did you want the alley-oop on that play?
KEVIN DURANT: I thought he could have thrown the alley-oop, but as I think about it, it was a smarter pass for me to curl around. I was being a jerk at that point.

Q. Is that a sign of his progress? That he saw if you kept coming you'd be open on that side?
KEVIN DURANT: Yeah, yeah, he seen me running and he knew he was going to pass the ball when he got it, so he made a correct play. I probably wouldn't have caught that or the other guy tipped it or something, so he made the right play.

Q. Who was different in terms of rebounding in Game 2 versus Game 1? What did the Warriors do to step up in that regard?
KEVIN DURANT: I think they just got all the 50-50 balls on the offensive glass. It kind of surprises when guys are running in there because we're so good in transition. I thought the team always yell and get back. But they were in there and able to get their hands on some basketballs. So you have to give them credit. It's on us to make adjustments, boxing guys out and putting bodies on them and getting those rebounds. As simple as that. So we can't have that next game.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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