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NBA FINALS: CLEVELAND VS GOLDEN STATEJune 9, 2017Stephen CurryKevin DurantCleveland, Ohio: Postgame Cavaliers - 137, Warriors - 116 Q. Steph, you really struggled with your offense tonight. Can you describe why, what wasn't working for you, what they were doing defensively and just how you had such a tough night yourself? STEPHEN CURRY: Just one of those games. Not going to overreact to one. Obviously I can play better and want to play better and will play better. And I think in the first quarter we as a team didn't -- weren't able to establish ourselves with the way that quarter went on both ends of the floor. So they played with their backs against the wall. They had a free swing at it, and it was one of those nights where we just didn't have anything clicking. So looking forward to getting back out there on Monday and playing better. Q. For both you guys, kind of following up on that, was there anything that was remarkably different in the way they were attacking you offensively that took you out of your defensive game? KEVIN DURANT: I think they did a good job of attacking early and it opened up their three-point game. And they made some tough ones and they also just caught some, caught them in rhythm and knocked them down. That's the team they have been all season, is knocking down deep shots and difficult shots as well. But if you give them some open ones, like we did early on, they will knock them in at some point. So we got to be better. After that first quarter, they were only up, what, four points, from the second to the fourth they only beat us by four points the last three quarters. So that first quarter they came out and hit us with that amazing punch. 49 points in the first quarter is way too much. But you got to give them credit, they played extremely well tonight. Q. You guys have lost before. Does this feel any different considering you haven't lost in a while? And also this kind of sets up another 3-1 going back home and a reminder from last year. STEPHEN CURRY: Man, different team, man. Obviously we have haven't felt this feeling walking off the court with a loss in a while, but we have done a good job of bouncing back and being resilient all year and obviously learning from all different experiences we have been through. I love the vibe we had in the locker room after the game, understanding what we need to do differently to play better, to have a better first punch in that first six minutes, to play with more force and aggressiveness and physicality. Talked about it. Going home is a good feeling, but it has to go with playing better. We obviously know you can't just go home and expect to win. We like the fact that we can correct a lot of things going into Game 5 and just put a better foot forward, especially in that first quarter and not lose the game right there. Q. You and LeBron had a nice exchange. Is that just good playoff conversation? KEVIN DURANT: Yeah, you can't take everything away from the game. You're taking the hard fouls out of the game, calling them flagrants, taking a lot of stuff out of game, but you can take the emotion out of the game. We weren't coming to blows, we were just talking. That's a part of basketball. The game of basketball created that. The refs didn't. We didn't as players. It's like the aura of the game created trash talk and just communication out there. So I know you could take away the physical part of the game as far as controlling stuff, but emotionally that should be us, that should be what the players have as their own out there. So I'm sure it's going to continue. There's nothing malicious or we didn't say anything malicious, it was just a part of the game. Emotions are what keeps this game alive, it keeps it going. It's for the players. Q. Steph, I'm sorry we keep asking you about squatting, but while Draymond and Steve were arguing with the ref and one of them got the technical, it looked like you squatted down. And were you just stretching there, and what did Richard Jefferson say to you? STEPHEN CURRY: Are you serious right now? KEVIN DURANT: You got to be better. STEPHEN CURRY: Come on now, man. This is crazy. KEVIN DURANT: You got to be better than that. Q. People are curious. STEPHEN CURRY: I really don't have an answer for that. That's the craziest thing I ever heard. Q. What did Richard Jefferson say to you? STEPHEN CURRY: I have no idea. I don't remember what situation you're talking about. But, yeah. KEVIN DURANT: You got to be better, man. I like you, but you got to be better. Q. Steph, the physicality tonight, obviously different than the first three. How much different and how much of that was a factor in them coming out and leading by 16 in the first quarter? STEPHEN CURRY: It was -- that was pretty much the factor in the first quarter. They got to the free throw line 20-something times and slowed the pace down. Granted, I mean, you could nitpick each call, but they were the aggressor to begin with, and usually the aggressor gets the favorable whistle. So we understand that going forward. And historically against this team, when we don't answer that punch in the first six minutes, we put ourselves behind the eight ball. And no matter how well we play after that, it takes a miraculous rise to try to get back in the game. So we have to understand that. You like that? KEVIN DURANT: Yeah, that was great. STEPHEN CURRY: Thank you. We have to understand that going forward that whoever's the aggressor to begin with sets the tone for the game, gets the pace to where you want it, and good things happen out of that. So got to watch the film and understand how it went down and do something about it on Monday. Q. With Tristan Thompson inside being a factor tonight, what was he able to do or what didn't you guys do that you did in the first three games to control him? KEVIN DURANT: I think he was better, he was better tonight as far as just like keeping basketballs alive, just doing what he's paid to do. He had five assists, 10 rebounds, five points, four offensive rebounds, that's a great game for him. So he was great tonight. We got to do a better job of being more physical but not fouling. I think we did that early on. We tried to match their physicality, but we got -- we were -- we weren't smart enough in that area. So that got them going. We got to be way better. We can't go home and just expect that just because we're at home it's our game. We got to go take it, and I think it starts on the physical side of it. And both teams are going to be battling. So it should be fun. Q. For both you guys, Kyrie Irving after the game was saying that all the chatter about how satisfied you would be to win on their home court really motivated the Cavaliers, lit a fire under them. They were -- several of the Cavaliers were talking about how that chatter just kind of lit their fire. Any concerns about lighting their fire that way? STEPHEN CURRY: We are in the NBA Finals. No matter what you need to inspire you, whatever you need to grab ahold of, chalkboard material, whatever it happens, like it's so hard to win a championship, and kudos to them for finding whatever it took to play an amazing game, which they did. We got to find our edge next game. There's no secret. Just this is how big the stage is right now. We would love to have celebrated tonight and finished off the job, didn't happen, got another opportunity on Monday. Like I said, we got to find our edge and respond. So all that chatter and stuff is neither here nor there, it's whatever you need to get yourself ready to play. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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