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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WARRIORS VS SPURS

May 15, 2017

Zaza Pachulia

Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. Did Raymond [Ridder] fill you in a little bit on what Popovich said today?
ZAZA PACHULIA: Yeah.

Q. Any response at this point?
ZAZA PACHULIA: No, no response. I have a lot of respect for Coach Pop and their organization. You know, whatever they're going through, whatever they're doing, a lot of respect, and I mean it. No comments, no response, and focus on Game 2, honestly. That's all [I have] on my mind. We watched the tape today and saw some of the good things we did, some of the things that we can do better. We're just moving on.

Q. What are you taught when you're challenging a guy out on the three-point line? Are you taught to crowd him as much as possible?
ZAZA PACHULIA: First of all, it depends on personality -- who you're guarding, shooter, non-shooter. So it depends on the person's strength and weaknesses.

Q. On that play with Kawhi?
ZAZA PACHULIA: He's an amazing shooter. I talked about it yesterday, but KD got hit on the screen. It was a good screen, so I had to help my teammate and just challenge the shot.

Q. Does it bother you at all that Pop called that play unsportsmanlike?
ZAZA PACHULIA: No, not really, it doesn't bother me. Because I want to say the last time and that's it, that I did whatever I had to do? That was the right defense from my side to challenge the shot. I wish he hadn't landed on my foot, and honestly I had no idea he had landed on my foot until I turned back and he was already on the ground. Because as soon as he released the ball, I turned around and tried to chase the rebound and see where the ball was going. Then apparently he landed on my foot when I was already turned.

I heard the whistle, so I started running away because I knew that I didn't make contact with him. I was kind of surprised with the whistle. That's why I start running away, and when I turned back and I saw him on the floor, he was holding his ankle.

I was trying to figure out what happened. Honestly, I didn't know. So I really feel bad for the guy. I wish it didn't happen and it had a different result, basically. But it's a game and there are some things that you can't control. I have a lot of respect for Kawhi. I think he's one of the best players in this league. We wish him all the best to get healthy.

But, again, meanwhile we're going to move on. This is the game of basketball. Lot of crazy stuff happens on the court, unfortunately. It's happened to me as well, and once you play this kind of physical game, intense game, things happen.

My approach to this game for 14 years that I've been in the league is to play hard and give my 100%, whatever I have. So I don't agree with the calls that I'm a dirty player. I'm not a dirty player. I just love this game, and I play hard. It's how I was taught since day one, honestly. So that's what I've been doing.

That's my last comment about it. Again, all that's on my mind is about the next game because that's the most important game for me.

Q. Did it surprise you that Pop brought up so many plays from the past? He even brought up plays with David West. He brought up a bunch of plays in the past saying go back and look at this play and this play. He wasn't just looking at yesterday.
ZAZA PACHULIA: Again, I don't pay attention to it. I don't care about that stuff. All I care about is tomorrow's game. So that's all I'm thinking about is our game plan. I'm thinking about a better start. That's my priority.

There are things I can't control. I can't control over what anybody says, right? I can control whatever I'm telling you guys that that's what happened and that's how I feel about it. I feel bad about it that that happened. But at the same time, I want to control what I can do tomorrow.

Q. Are you concerned about your reputation or do you not care?
ZAZA PACHULIA: I'm not. I'm definitely not. I'm going to keep playing hard and that's what I've been doing for a long time.

Q. Do you feel like there is going to be a suspension or something like that coming down?
ZAZA PACHULIA: It's not in my hands.

Q. How was it to have that extended playing time for you in the second half?
ZAZA PACHULIA: It was great. Obviously throughout the season I had ups and downs with the minutes, but we have amazing players. ... It was obviously great to play this many minutes. But most importantly it's all about the win. Right now it's not about who plays. It's about winning the game.

Q. When you usually come out are you looking over your shoulder, is he going to take me out now, is he going to take me out now, is he going to leave me in?
ZAZA PACHULIA: Yeah, normally it happens at the 6-minute mark. But I didn't see JaVale [McGee] there, so I kept playing. I kept going. I'm glad we won the game. All the points, hustle plays, the rebounds, whatever you do, don't count unless you win the game. So at the end of the day, it was a great comeback and a great win for us.

Q. How does Kawhi's absence change things?
ZAZA PACHULIA: We've seen it in Game 6 against Houston [in the Western Conference Semifinals]. They have a system. It doesn't matter who plays, they're going to be disciplined and well-coached, play hard. Obviously Kawhi is a huge part of the team, but we're definitely not going to get relaxed because their best player is not playing, because they're capable of beating anybody with that roster.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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