	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA FINALS: CLEVELAND VS GOLDEN STATE

June 9, 2017

Kevin Love

Cleveland, Ohio: Postgame

Cavaliers - 137, Warriors - 116

Q. You guys had been shooting so well on threes in the Playoffs before this series and then struggled, obviously, a lot the first three games. What changed tonight? Did you get better looks? How did that change so dramatically?
KEVIN LOVE: We feel like there's times throughout the series where we got consistent looks from the outside and maybe didn't knock them down. We felt particularly the same thing in Game 3 here at home. But they're great at defending both in the full court, fast break, and in the half court, whether it's the paint or the three-point line. I mean, field goal percentage defense, I believe they're first in the league. So you can't overlook that.

But tonight LeBron and Kyrie pushing the pace like that and you got a freight train and a guy that's probably the best ball handler in the world playing downhill like that and finishing and getting to the free throw line and being so aggressive, I think that opened up a lot of shots for us. And we were making the extra pass and shooting with a lot of confidence.

Q. My question is Coach Ty and all the rest of your teammates are talking about the confidence, and you just brought it up right now. What is it like playing for a coach and teammates that have that much confidence in you that you're able to make those shots now?
KEVIN LOVE: We have a very veteran coaching staff. I know that Ty's only -- he moved that seat over and became the head coach middle of last year, but he's been great for us. Our entire coaching staff has a lot of years, put in a lot of years, and it's no different with the veteran group that we have out there on the floor and our bench as well. Have a number of guys this year play a number of years in the league.

So I think that confidence just comes from experience and a lot of guys being here before and a lot of guys, whether it's their first time, being hungry to get out there and make a difference for us. So it's -- we feel like it's a number of things, and we needed everything tonight.

Q. On a follow-up, he also said a while ago that he didn't give a motivational speech. Who is the guy that did the motivational speech for you guys here today?
KEVIN LOVE: Our motivational speech was our backs against the wall, Game 4 of The Finals, needing a win. I think that I said it after Game 2; that if you can't get up for these games, especially coming back home, being at a deficit, then you might as well go home.

So we're not going home. We're going back to Oakland and need to take it one game at a time. I know that's clichÃ©, but that's the truth.

Q. Obviously no margin for error still moving forward, but is there any confidence you guys can derive from basically being one shot away from maybe winning Game 3 and coming out and winning like this in Game 4?
KEVIN LOVE: Yeah, I mean, it's the Warriors, they're a team that executes. Game 3 was obviously a tough pill to swallow, but we felt like we played pretty good and we were only a few plays away from winning that game.

But tonight we felt we pushed the pace, and I think we scored 49 in that first quarter and had a great first half. So that set the tone for the rest of the game, and we're hoping that that carries over for Game 5.

Q. You guys were by far the more physical team out there tonight. Was that any kind of point of emphasis going into this one, to be more physical?
KEVIN LOVE: Sure. I think that's probably a -- it's not like a something we put on the board or something that we -- what do you call it? Board material, that sort of thing. We just -- we knew we had to make it physical. We knew that's part of who we are, but I feel like we say that every game.

But tonight we kind of -- we took it to them first, and that was very telling for the rest of the game. We felt like that got -- and then playing very physical, there were a lot of fouls on both sides, but that's part of it. We feel like that should be part of the game.

Q. What is it about the Cleveland Cavaliers and adversity that brings the best out of you guys?
KEVIN LOVE: We're a resilient group. Resilient team. We have been in this situation before. We know that, listen, every year's different, every playoff series, every game, but we just are a team that never -- we never count ourselves out. We feel like any game that we walk on the floor we have a great game plan and we expect to win. But we just continue to have that fire, continue to be resilient, but right now it's just becoming one game at a time. One quarter, each possession being huge for us, because that can be -- that can make or break a team.

Q. How much did it help you tonight with Tristan being a force on the inside and maybe allowing you to have more energy for your offensive side of the game?
KEVIN LOVE: Oh, he found -- it wasn't just me on the perimeter, but he was catching the ball, being aggressive and really finding guys. I think when Tristan is so active and being who he is, and that's one of if not the best offensive rebounder of the game, and a guy that brings energy every single night, I mean, it's tough to fail when you play that hard. So good things are going to happen, and we saw that tonight out of Tristan.

Q. Is there any sense that not just a physical game defensively and a hot shooting night offensively, but the Cavaliers have somewhat figured out the Warriors? To be so lost against them the first two games, and then to play them so well and almost win the game and then build on that and take over, is there a sense of there's no mystery here now, we know how to play them defensively and offensively?
KEVIN LOVE: I mean, that team has so much firepower that it's tough to say that you can figure them out. They have so many weapons and they're so well coached that we know that they're going to make some adjustments, and we're going to have to do the same. They're a team that is extremely tough to guard, and we felt like we forced them into a lot of tough shots tonight, but they still got into their actions and got a lot of good looks.

Q. You hit three first quarter three-pointers, so what allowed you to settle in, and did you feel like that was contagious in you guys hitting 24 three-pointers for the game?
KEVIN LOVE: Sure. I mean, we -- especially getting off to a good start. That gets everybody into it, and including our crowd, and we feed off that. We have always played well here, and we use that to our advantage.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297