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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORS

June 2, 2016

Oakland, California: Game One

Warriors 104, Cavaliers, 89

Q. Steph, what happened to your shooting tonight? Do you feel it was Cleveland's defense or it was just an off night for you? And then for Livingston, talk to me about the level of confidence you showed here tonight? Do you feel that Cleveland doesn't have a match-up for you in the series?
STEPHEN CURRY: I missed some shots and didn't get a rhythm, but the way that they defended, we'll be able to find some adjustments for Game 2. Not worried about that. Just really proud of the way everybody contributed. You don't win championships without the entire squad coming in and making an impact on games. And the way, obviously, Shaun came in, was so composed, got to his spot, had that confidence to knock them down. Andre the same way. L.B. That's why we're here, everybody having an impact on our team in the game.

Q. Steph, there was a moment late in the game where you hit a three, you turned around and you threw your mouthpiece. Can you explain your emotions there? And second question, what is the deal? Do you have a second one there or do you clean it? I mean, my wife would kill me if I put that back in my mouth.
STEPHEN CURRY: Yeah, I was just frustrated missing open shots and turning the ball over, not playing the way I should up until that point. You make a shot and you just let out that aggression. But our athletic trainer, Drew Yoder, has plenty in the holster for me. So I don't throw them too often, but he's got my back.

Q. Shaun, do you sense or do you see when Steph and Klay are struggling and at some point are you saying, I've got to take some shots, I've got to hit some shots? Did you just feel better with your shot tonight?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yeah, it's all a feel. Just being aggressive when we're out there. They command so much attention, especially Steph off the pick-and-roll, so we try to make ourselves available for him and be able to make plays and relieve pressure for him because all it takes is one shot to go in, we know that -- same for Klay -- and they get rolling fast.

Q. Shaun, you made 11 total field goals in the last series, seven games. You made eight tonight. What is the difference there?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Just the adjustments. I think I took the same shots last series but it's just staying confident in my shot, understanding my game, where the shots are going to come from and trusting it.

Q. You've had a lot of big moments for this team in nearly two full seasons. But given the stakes from last game to Game 7, the big play you made with the dunk, big full game tonight of a contribution. Are these the biggest moments that you've had, you think, with the Warriors?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: You look at The Finals, I'd say yes, but, again, it's just really trying to stay in the moment. We had such a group effort tonight off the bench. Barbosa again. Barbosa, Andre. Some nights it's been Mo. It could be anybody on any given night off the bench, and it's our job, really to stay ready.

Q. Steph, we're used to your teammates feeding off of you. After the cold shooting nights, both you and Klay hit those shots after Shaun and Barbosa had gotten things going in the fourth. Did you take something from the energy they provided to start the fourth quarter?
STEPHEN CURRY: No doubt. My recollection is correct, I think the first like five minutes of the fourth quarter me and him were on the bench and those guys go on a huge run. We're getting stops and pushing transition, making timely baskets and keeping our crowd in it. So they were doing their job and doing it topnotch.

So regardless of how the night's going shooting for me, Klay, throughout the course of the night, we definitely get a boost when our bench guys come in and change the game. So we rely on that pretty much every night, whether it's 45 points off the bench or just playing aggressive and continuing what we start. But tonight it was the opposite. They really changed the game, and it allowed us to win tonight.

Q. Steve Kerr was saying before the game that he'll ride the hot hand when it's going. It seemed to be you tonight. I just wonder, you've played for a lot of coaches, is that something that he's pretty good at, is letting a guy -- not sticking with the hard rotation and letting a guy really excel when he's got that hot hand?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yeah, I think Coach has a great feel for the game. He has just a great feel just for the energy and the temperature of the team, how a guy -- whether he has it going, who has it going. Then he obviously plays the matchups as well. Just to be able to kind of rotate that is impressive. The stress of a Finals game, you have to do it on the move. And he has a great coaching staff with Luke and Ron and J.C. and those guys, they help him out. But he's great at just taking our temperature and finding the right matchups for us and putting us in places where we can excel.

Q. Steph, it looked like they were running a lot of different guys at you. Was there anything you hadn't seen? Is there anything you haven't seen? And were you surprised at all that you had LeBron matched against you a few times?
STEPHEN CURRY: No, nothing I haven't seen. It's something when I go back and look at the film I kind of rush in certain spots. I was a little indecisive, but the Xs and Os were pretty much kind of standard with how they guard the pick-and-roll. The way we play there's going to be a lot of cross-matching, and that's what we want in those situations where you take the defensive aggression and kind of work it against them, whether I get a shot or somebody else gets a shot.

So we did a good job of kind of sticking with that plan. Over the course of the game, not turning the ball over was huge as a team. I did a lot of that. But getting a pretty good shot on every possession and making them work regardless of who's guarding who.

Q. One for each of you. Steph, over the last five days we've watched your teammate Andre Iguodala make clean strips of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving. How does he do that and how does he not foul when he does do that?
STEPHEN CURRY: He's amazing. Ever since he's been with us. I know me and Draymond talk about it all the time. When we're on the bench, we watch it. It's unbelievable. He has great timing, great eye-hand coordination, and obviously his wingspan works to his advantage to be able to close that space up.

But it's really uncanny the way that he can do it without fouling. And for the most part, I think 99% of the time he really doesn't foul, and sometimes the refs might miss it because of how good he is and how consistent he is at doing it every single time. So he knows that's a strength of his and he waits for the right moments and attacks.

Q. Shaun, you spent a lot of time on the court all year with Leandro Barbosa. Tonight he looked like the Brazilian Blur. Is he still the Brazilian Blur?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: BB, that's him. BB. He hasn't lost it. He's still aggressive. It's amazing, obviously, to see him continue to speed around guys like that. At his age, playing all those years in the NBA. Unfortunately I had to guard him when he was younger in Phoenix. And he's still fast to this day. So it's very impressive.

Q. This is for either one of you guys. Is there a significant wave of momentum for this team, the three wins against OKC and then winning here, especially with Game 2 coming up, which you guys lost a year ago after winning Game 1, I believe?
STEPHEN CURRY: Yeah, I mean, we've definitely got an edge and picked up a lot of momentum winning three straight just to get here. That taught us a great lesson of how important it is to obviously start a series off on a good foot and win Game 1, especially when you're at home. And we obviously learned a lesson last year, like you said. Same situation, came in and dropped Game 2.

So now that we've got this first one under our belt, it doesn't mean anything for next game besides our confidence. But we have to come out and really execute the game plan again, understand they're probably going to make some adjustments and come out just focused and with a lot of energy.

I think that was missing last year and obviously at the beginning of the Thunder series, so we're better because of those two situations.

Q. I'm guessing you've defended Shaun in practice a lot. Can you describe how difficult it is when a 6'7" guy jumps that high and releases at that point? How hard is it to defend him when he's rolling?
STEPHEN CURRY: Sometimes there's really nothing you can do about it. You try to just contest his shot, but sometimes he won't even see you. For me in practice it's the loneliest feeling in the world because Draymond needs somebody to talk to and to talk trash to. And if he's on the other team -- sometimes even if he's on my team, he'll "mouse in the house" or whatever kind of phrase you want to talk about when [Livingston] gets in the post. And I'll play the best defense of my life, and he'll knock down a shot, and you've just got to live with the chatter. So it's not fun.

SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Steph's sneaky, though. Don't let him fool you. He is sneaky, for real. But he obviously prepares me going out there and working on my game in practice. So it's definitely a battle. But he's sneaky. Don't buy into it. Don't do it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORS

June 2, 2016

Stephen Curry

Shaun Livingston