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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v WARRIORS

May 26, 2016

Steve Kerr

Oakland, California: Game Five

Golden State 120 - Oklahoma City 111

Q. No Curry, Thompson and Green to start the fourth quarter. You go on an 8-0 run. Do you feel like that's where you won the game?
STEVE KERR: Well, I don't know if it was the stretch but it was a very important stretch. We had a lot of good contributions out of a lot of our players, but anytime we can get that out of our bench and start a quarter and buy our starters a couple more minutes rest, it's important.

Q. You said the other day that you guys really missed [Andrew] Bogut out there. He didn't get into foul trouble. He gave you almost 30 minutes. Could you talk about what his contribution was and how it changes having him out there and not having to go small?
STEVE KERR: I thought Boges was phenomenal. He rebounded, he scored, he was aggressive. We went into him on the post to try to get him as a passer with our cutters around him, and he was tremendous, 14 boards. Obviously, rebounding has been an issue. It's an issue for everybody against Oklahoma City. So when he can play that way and rebound the ball like that, it just gives us a much better chance to win the game.

Q. With those reports kind of circulating about Steph [Curry] being 70 percent prior to the game, what do you think his performance showed tonight, particularly on defense about how healthy he is?
STEVE KERR: I thought he looked like 91 percent. It's, you know, it's just talk. So there's always going to be speculation, but it's just talk. He came out and he played a really good game. That's all I can tell you. I mean, he's going to compete every night, and I thought he had an excellent night and helped us get it done.

Q. Your players showed a lot of emotion out on the court. Not just Draymond [Green], but obviously Draymond, Steph, some of the other guys. Did you like seeing that? Did this game come down to partly just your emotion for them?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, I liked our will, I liked our fight. We were embarrassed in OKC the last couple games. We fought hard tonight, and that's half the battle. It's just competing and fighting. I thought the Thunder played extremely hard and very well. We had to play a good game to fend them off, and we did. But it was a great fight, and we had contributions up and down the roster. That's kind of been our motto, as you know, for the last couple years, Strength in Numbers.

We got a lot of good contributions from -- you look at Mo [Speights], and L.B. [Leandro Barbosa] came in and had a couple steals right away. Andre [Iguodala], eight assists and one turnover in 34 minutes. He kind of settles us down. Shaun Livingston hit some big shots in the second half. So it's really fun to see the bench play well.

Q. Do you think you guys did enough this game to gain some momentum and confidence going into Game 6?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, sure. We did what we wanted to do. We won the game and we fought hard. We were even on the glass, and for the most part kept our turnovers down, other than a couple little lapses. But we got some momentum now and we've got to take it to Oklahoma City.

Q. Even with, do you think with Durant and Westbrook shooting in the 30s, and them still real close at the end of the game?
STEVE KERR: Every game's different. So I thought we did a good job defending them, and we forced a lot of those misses and we've got to do that again.

Q. This is the first time this team has been in this situation, an elimination game. Had not played with a great deal of poise at certain parts of the series. Were you confident how they would respond emotionally tonight or were you curious to see what this team was going to have?
STEVE KERR: No, I knew how we would play. This is a championship team. They've been through a lot the last couple of years, always responded well from adversity, and this is exactly what I expected.

Q. Andrew's play on defense, how much did that affect the game, staying big more? They missed a lot of shots in the paint. Most of them were contested. What impact did he being on the floor that long have stopping their inside game?
STEVE KERR: He was a big part of that. Boges is our best defender. He takes up a lot of space. He challenges everything at the rim, and staying out of foul trouble allowed us to keep him on the floor. Played almost 30 minutes, I think. The first four games he was averaging 13, 14 minutes because of all the fouls. So it's probably the key. If you want to look for one thing, Boges' play leading to better defense.

Q. You kind of just addressed it, but the defense looked overwhelmed at times in Oklahoma City. But it seems right off the start today you held them to 12 points in the first 8 to 10 minutes. Beyond Bogut, what was different about everybody and the way you guys played defensively?
STEVE KERR: We had great energy and played with great desperation. That's how you have to play in the playoffs. We were out of sorts the last two games, and we looked a lot more like ourselves. That's really who we are. We're a defensive team that plays off of our defense and tries to run. We had that good balance tonight.

Q. Steve, you guys are the champion. Does it factor in that you don't want to give it up, as good as the Thunder are, that there is a champion's pride in this?
STEVE KERR: For sure, for sure. We've had so much fun the last two years, obviously, winning the title, that's as good as it gets if you play in the NBA. So our guys have had a spectacular run here the last two years. They've loved every second of it. They don't want it to end, and no matter how you look at it, if you're not the last team standing, it's tough. It's a disappointing way to go out. So we want to hang in there. We want to win the next two and get back to The Finals. We know how difficult it's going to be, but we'll give it a great shot.

Q. You seem to know when to put Marreese Speights in at the right time. It appears sometimes you put him in when you've got a lead and he can come in and pad that lead. Could you talk a little bit about that?
STEVE KERR: Mo is instant offense for us. He gives us a totally different look. We don't have shooting from our five men. So he allows us to spread the floor and change the pace a little bit, change the look. He plays well with that second group. He was tremendous tonight. He was aggressive, looked for his shot. I thought he also did a good job defensively getting out on screen-and-rolls.

Q. Andrew Bogut's minutes jumped from the first couple to almost 30 minutes today. Great performance. How sustainable is it to keep him playing that way that long?
STEVE KERR: I believe in Boges. I think he can play that way in Game 6. I think he really found his stride tonight, and I think that momentum will carry over.

Q. Russell had big numbers, but are these numbers you can live with, Steve, because he had to put up what, 28 shots to get them, and had seven turnovers?
STEVE KERR: One thing you can be sure of with Russell is there's going to be numbers on every category down the list. The guy is a tornado out there. He really is. He's going to get steals. He's going to be aggressive. He's going to get to the foul line. He's going to get his shots. He's going to turn it over some because of his aggression. He's going to do all of that, and that's why he's the player he is. He's unlike anybody in the league.

Q. You had one tenuous moment there in the third quarter when Draymond fouled Durant and got the technical, four free throws. You talked to him during the timeout there, and what did you tell him, and how do you think he played after that?
STEVE KERR: I thought he played really well. The conversation was between us, but I thought he played very well. He settled himself down and showed great poise and energy. He just had that brief sort of two- or three-minute spell where he got a little out of sorts, but he recovered well from that.

Q. Steve, what was the message from you to this group? They have a lot of pride, obviously, champion's pride, did you have to say a whole lot, and how did they take it?
STEVE KERR: I didn't have to say a whole lot. We know who we are, and we know how we play. We got away from that the last couple of games and it's just a matter of getting back to our identity and to playing with that desperation that we need to play with. And I thought they did a good job of that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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