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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v WARRIORS

May 26, 2016

Stephen Curry

Oakland, California: Game Five

Golden State 120 - Oklahoma City 111

Q. You played great in the fourth quarter and physically you look great. Do you think like playing less minutes in the first half helped you in the fourth quarter?
STEPHEN CURRY: We had a slightly different rotation, for sure and we really relied on the entire team tonight, which is when we're at our best, when everybody has an impact on the game. So every night we'll be different. It just depends on how Coach [Steve] Kerr wants to throw us out there and what grouping. So you've just got to be ready and considering the situation, when you're out there, whether it's 30 minutes or 45 minutes, it's going to take all of your energy to get wins.

Q. You shot it not very well in Game 4, but you scored 12 in the first quarter. What's the big difference?
STEPHEN CURRY: Same shot. Just got to continue to have confidence and take them, that's it.

Q. You said right after the game that Game 6 will be probably the toughest games of your lives. How do you go in there and get a win? And was the effort tonight good enough to win in Oklahoma City?
STEPHEN CURRY: I think the effort's good. We still can play better, for sure. There are still a couple possessions we gave away on turnovers, especially in transition when we got stops and we had advantages and had some bad timing on passes and came up empty handed a good amount of time. I think we still fouled too much at the wrong times, when they could kill momentum and get to the free throw line.

It will take all of our IQ, all of our gamesmanship, and just 48 great minutes to get a win down there, considering how the last two games have gone. So there's going to be a decision point at the end of that game where we can either keep our foot on the gas pedal and keep momentum and take the crowd out of it, or let them do what they've been doing and we have to control that situation.

Q. First of all, props on the shirt choice. Second of all, can you explain to the average non-basketball player what it is, and what is so important about home-court advantage as opposed to playing on the road, for you, particularly, yourself?
STEPHEN CURRY: When you can feed off your crowd's energy and that noise when you make runs and the road team can feel the roof kind of come in a little bit. When the home team goes on those 6-0, 8-0 runs, whatever it may be, and the adrenaline rush is amazing. It's also fun, obviously, to win on the road when you can quiet a road crowd. But it's significantly harder to do that. That's why it's so important what you do in the regular season to secure home-court advantage because you usually play better at home.

Q. You guys have been in a lot of pressure situations the last almost two seasons, but never a desperate situation facing elimination. What did that feel like for you guys? Did it feel different? What sense of accomplishment is there to have responded to it so well?
STEPHEN CURRY: Honestly, we just did what we were supposed to do. We were supposed to win at home, because we're a team that's only lost two games in the regular season and whatnot. So this is a place we've experienced a lot of winning and we're supposed to take care of games like tonight.

There's no real sense of accomplishment because of that because we know what we still have to do going forward. But we did take advantage of the opportunity at home to stay alive, and force Game 6.

Q. Your three-point numbers are down, shots, takes and makes, even tonight. Is this the best three-point defense that you've faced during the year? If so, what do they do?
STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, they know that's our strength so they switch a lot and try to run you off the three-point line. Getting decent looks, haven't made many in the last three games, but the way that you kind of go at this team is move the ball like we did tonight and create confusion because they do switch so much. And still have confidence in those moments to take those shots.

The ones where they get you in trouble is where you iso and do eight dribbles and change direction and try to still search for that three. That's the one that is tempting and you kind of have to feel moment whether you're going to take them or not. But those are the ones that get you in trouble if you play right into their hands.

Q. Steve said earlier that he felt you guys showed a lot of fight, partly because you were embarrassed at what you guys did in OKC. Is that too strong, do you sense that, and if so, did that drive some of the fury that we saw tonight?
STEPHEN CURRY: Yeah, we knew if we didn't win, we were going home. There is no other motivation you need. Embarrassed is kind of a strong word. Just frustrated we didn't do what we're supposed to do. Not necessarily that, but be ourselves and play the way we're supposed to play. Whether we win or lose, it's still hard to say against a great team, but we didn't give ourselves any chance to be competitive in OKC. Tonight we finally showed what we're capable of, and we have to take that game and travel for Game 6. So we're excited about the opportunity that we have, and we have another game to play.

Q. A few minutes ago K.D. was asked in here about your defense. He said you're pretty good, but you don't guard the other top point guards very often, and that they like the match-up of you on Russ [Westbrook]. What's your take on that?
STEPHEN CURRY: I've got a great teammate that's obviously a better defender on the perimeter. I like the challenge. I'll do my job the best I can. That's what I'm out there to do. So in those situations, I don't get too caught up in the one-on-one match-up. My job is to follow the game plan, and I've done that the last four years of my career trying to elevate my defensive presence and do my job.

Q. I think you guys were up four heading into the fourth quarter and went on an 8-0 run to start the fourth. It was mostly second-team men at the time. How important was that run and generally how important were your subs tonight?
STEPHEN CURRY: They were huge. Mo came in and gave us a huge boost on some offensive rebounds and put-backs. Dre [Andre Iguodala] playing great defense on K.D. and knocking down some threes, especially at the beginning of the fourth quarter. L.B. [Leandro Barbosa] came in and got two steals right away and made an impact on the game. Shaun [Livingtson] hit some timely buckets especially in the fourth quarter. Like I said, we have a deep team when we're all clicking and having an impact on the game, we're obviously much better.

So that was a huge moment to keep the momentum on our side. In OKC though, those are the kind of moments that can decide a game when you're closing in maybe on comeback or have a small lead and you can try to create separation. You have to keep attacking, and every lineup has to do their job.

Q. What did you do specifically offensively tonight you guys weren't able to do in games 3 and 4, and how much was the points in the paint effective? You looked like you were attacking the basket a little more.
STEPHEN CURRY: We still had a few too many turnovers at the wrong times, but for the most part we managed that part of the game so that we could get a decent shot on every possession. Attacked the basket a little bit more. You know, we shot a few more free throws tonight, which was helpful, because we were aggressive, I think to start.

So got to kind of -- we'll watch the film to figure out exactly where those angles came from and where we can create miscommunication for them on the defensive end. But most importantly, we got stops, which helps, because you can get in transition a lot better instead of taking the ball out of the basket every single possession. They had 70-something points the last two first halves, and 50 tonight or something like that. So still we can get better, but that helps us have a better offensive game.

Q. At one point you yelled at the crowd, "We ain't going home" or "We're not going home."
STEPHEN CURRY: That's great grammar, right?

Q. I'm not going to correct it. Don't worry about it.
STEPHEN CURRY: My Davidson people would be very embarrassed.

Q. Is this the most emotional playoffs game you've played so far in this year's postseason?
STEPHEN CURRY: Yeah, obviously with what was at stake. So for us we play better when we're having fun and enjoying the moment. We played like we were really stressed in OKC and it showed. Kind of let loose, be ourselves, have fun, enjoy what we were doing. It was a good feeling out there to obviously perform at a high level.

So got to bottle up that joy and take it with us on the plane tomorrow to OKC and be ready on Saturday. It's going to be an electric atmosphere, and I think we're ready for the challenge.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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