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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORS

June 9, 2016

J.R. Smith

Cleveland, Ohio: Practice Day

Q. Can you talk about the pride you've been taking on the defensive side of the ball. I know the offense came last night for you, but on the defensive side of the ball, what you and your teammates are doing with Klay?
J.R. SMITH: Yeah, we just try to pressure them as much as we can. For me, I try not to let them catch. Obviously with Steph he's going to catch the ball in some spots. But just try to make it tough for him as much as I can. He's a huge part of their success and why they've been winning all year long and last year. So just take on the individual challenge.

Q. You're a big part of the Cavs' success, so how good did it feel for you to get the offense going last night?
J.R. SMITH: It felt great. Hit a few shots, driving the ball. Ball felt really good in my hands last night, and I think a lot of that had to do with being home. So I've just got to bottle that up and try to get one on the road like that.

Q. If you get Kevin Love back, how will that affect you guys?
J.R. SMITH: I think it can only help us because Kevin's an unbelievable player. He knows that. We know that. We're a better team when Kevin's on the floor. So we've just got to put forth the same effort we did last night when he's out there.

Q. How much of an emphasis was chasing them off the three-point line early?
J.R. SMITH: Listen, I mean, that's the key to their success, I think, shooting threes and making threes. They've got probably two of the best three-point shooters in the game. So just try to limit those touches as much as possible and put it on the floor and make them have to shoot over our bigs.

Q. Other than the crowd why was there such a shift in the way the series went as soon as you got here?
J.R. SMITH: Oh, I think both teams played extremely well at home. When we get back to our normal routine, so it's a long flight back and forth, so a lot of times it's guys are just reacting. But for the most part that's about it. Getting our routines down and doing what we're accustomed to doing when we're at home as opposed to being on the road. So somehow, some way we're going to have to try to bottle that up and take that out there.

Q. The last two games especially with Curry, I know he's had some foul trouble. Do you sense any frustration from him out there at all?
J.R. SMITH: I mean, not from what he showed. He doesn't do what a lot of guys do, cursing and whatnot. He seems very under control. I don't sense any frustration from him. I know it's obviously frustrating when you aren't playing the way you want to play. But for the most part he's not frustrated. He just hasn't been playing well.

Q. What are you guys doing to him defensively?
J.R. SMITH: I'm just trying to pressure him. Pressure him and keep bodies as much as we can. I mean, we know he likes to do the left-to-right crossover for three-point shots, so try to key on that a little bit. Then when we've got our bigs on, just crowd the three-point line and try to make him finish over them.

Q. You guys have lost seven in a row to them from last year's Finals to this years. Was it you figured it out finally or you executed what you wanted?
J.R. SMITH: We executed what we wanted to execute on both ends of the floor. Offensively, defensively, with our special teams, our transition, stuff like that. So we did a great job on both sides. Contested all their shots. And then when we got stops and ran, we got open shots. So if Kyrie plays the way he played last night, and Bron plays the way he plays, we're a tough team to beat. We have to keep bringing that confidence every night.

Q. How big of a confidence boost is it to finally beat somebody you lost seven in a row to?
J.R. SMITH: Oh, well, I don't really look at it like that. They're a great team. Honestly, before you said that, I didn't realize we lost to them seven times. But that hopefully is big for our team, and we understand and know what we can do and what we're capable of.

Q. How much has the change of scenery helped you win this game?
J.R. SMITH: It helps us a lot. Because obviously our home record speaks for itself. Whenever we step into this building in front of these fans on this court, we play extremely well at a high level and we've got to continue that. Fortunately we have another game on Friday here. If we can bring that same type of effort and energy, we have to bottle that up and bring that to Golden State.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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