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NBA PLAYOFFS ROUND ONE: SPURS vs WARRIORS

April 24, 2018

Steve Kerr

Oakland, California: Game Five

Game 5

Warriors 99, Spurs 91

STEVE KERR: I want to start out by congratulating the Spurs on a great series. They put up a hell of a fight tonight. They are obviously a championship organization and they have been doing this for a long time, and you know, they are a reflection of their coach.

We're still obviously thinking about pop. Pop, if you're watching out there, we love you. Our whole team and coaching staff has been thinking about you every day. Your team reflected who you are tonight. They battled every step of the way and that was a big time fight and we're lucky to get out of here.

So congrats to the Spurs and we are feeling very fortunate to move on and we're excited for the next round.

Q. You guys struggled with the three-point shot over the last three games, including tonight. How much of that was the Spurs defense and how much of that was you guys not being able to find a rhythm from beyond the arc?
STEVE KERR: A little of each. A little of each. I thought their defense was great. You know, they are one of the best defenses in the league. Second-ranked defense statistically, and so they are always a factor. They always seem to make the right rotation, the right read, and they get after you.

So they had a lot to do with it, and then we had some open ones that we didn't knock down but you know, that happens.

Q. The lead has been whittled down to two, you get in that position, nothing is going on. Did you want the time-out? Were you calling for the time-out? And what was your -- was it just get some action to get it to Durant out of the time-out?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, it was our last time-out, so I didn't want it, but once the play was dead and Draymond was stuck with the ball without a dribble, I thought it was a great time-out.

Kevin made a huge shot coming out of the time-out, and that was obviously a big, big sequence and then I think we got a stop on the next play and kind of sealed it. So that was huge.

Q. Draymond had 19 rebounds, more than twice as much as any of the Warriors. How much of a difference did his energy make for you guys tonight?
STEVE KERR: Oh, Draymond was tremendous tonight. I thought our defense was great all night long, and the game went as I had hoped. You know, we took care of the ball. We moved the ball and we defended like crazy. It was a rock-solid game and just in the last four minutes, we just couldn't score.

So what was maybe a 12-point lead all of a sudden, you know, was two and we had a game on our hands. Other than the final few minutes, being unable to score, I thought it was a great effort, and defensively was -- that's where we had to hang our hat in this series, and I thought we did that.

Q. What did you learn about your center spot in this series, and what did you think you got from it?
STEVE KERR: Well, I thought JaVale had a great series. I thought he did a really nice job on LaMarcus. That's a tough matchup for anybody. But he bought us minutes. He hounded LaMarcus, gave him a different look, and then I thought David played his usual role. David is so consistent. We kind of know what he's going to do night-in, night-out.

And Loon played a lot. Loon did a really nice job defensively on all those pick-and-rolls getting out on to Mills and Ginobili and switching and rebounding the ball. We had a solid performance from the centers in the series.

Q. What does playing the Spurs in back-to-back seasons in the playoffs, and just going against them regularly, what has that taught your team over these last few years?
STEVE KERR: Well, I said before the series started, that the Spurs always make you do the right things. You know, you will be exposed if you're not attentive and boxing out and rotating and taking care of the ball.

I think last year was totally different than this year. This year, our team struggled coming into the playoffs. So the Spurs helped us kind of get our game back in terms of forcing us to defend and pay attention to detail.

And obviously, you know, without Kawhi, their team is totally different. But their guys just fought like crazy and made us earn everything we got.

Q. Obviously it's rare for Klay to have an off-shooting night like he did the other night, but what did you see from him getting easier looks?
STEVE KERR: I thought he moved really well without the ball tonight and he got a couple back-cuts for layups that were really important early in the game. The way they were playing in the last couple games, they kind of overplayed him out in the perimeter.

I just thought he did a really good job of moving without the ball and our guys found him. You know, you make a couple layups, the jumper is more likely to go in and I thought those layups got him going in the first half.

Q. After the game, you and Manu found each other, hugged and he even rubbed your next affectionately. What did you say to him and what did he say to you? (Laughter) Sounded better before I said it.
STEVE KERR: It did. It did. Too late. You know, that's my guy. We were teammates, 2003, a long time ago. It's amazing to see him out there continuing to play and play with so much joy and passion.

So I'm hoping that's not his last game. I just told him I hope he keeps playing because he's been just amazing for the league and so fun to watch night-in and night-out.

Q. How do you find that consistency going forward on defensive end?
STEVE KERR: Well, we've got to continue to do the things that we did in the series. We played hard. We played really hard. We played together and stayed with it. We held them to 37 percent shooting tonight which is great. Our defensive effort for the five games was fantastic. It's obviously going to get more difficult now as we go, so we've got to just keep going and keep getting.

Q. The other day, Klay Thompson said, "We're a championship team and we're going to come out and play like champions in this game." Can you talk a little more on mind-set? It seemed like he really brought most of the energy offensively to the team in the first half?
STEVE KERR: Klay was just amazing tonight and he was great all series. I know he had a tough shooting night in Game 4 but just an incredible series. His movement off the ball, his energy defensively, what he does for us all year is what he did for this series.

Guard the opposing team's scoring threat on the perimeter and move off the ball and keep our offense going with his movement and his screening and his shooting. So I thought Klay was just fantastic all series.

Q. Any preliminary thoughts on the Pelicans, especially based off the series they just played?
STEVE KERR: Fortunately Alvin Gentry doesn't really know what he's doing. That's a joke. That's a joke. Really happy for Alvin. It was fun watching them play. It's not going to be as much fun playing against them because they present a lot of problems but Alvin has done an amazing job with the group. They have come together.

They are playing at a really high level and obviously it's a very different team from the Spurs. They present a lot of different issues, so we'll give the players tomorrow off and the coaches will get in the war room and get to work.

Q. How different were they -- you saw them early when they had DeMarcus and you saw them very, very late. How different were the pelicans early to late after they last DeMarcus?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, very different team. Obviously Mirotic has added to their scoring punch and their spacing. Rondo and Jrue Holiday have had a great playoff run so far and Davis is Davis. So they have got a lot of threats. They spread you out. They make it very difficult to cover the whole floor.

So we'll have our hands full.

Q. What do you want your team to focus on internally over the next few days entering the next round?
STEVE KERR: Just the basics, you know. You've got to defend, rebound and take care of the ball. I know it's a clichÃ© but it's the truth. That's what wins in the playoffs. Guys have to step up and make shots and all that stuff. But what you can control is critical and that means you know, not skipping any steps; boxing out and making the rotations; knowing the game plan and just competing like crazy.

Q. Just given the unique challenges that New Orleans presence with their front core, what's your initial thoughts going in as far as how you're going to use the center spot and what's key in matching up?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, we'll talk about that in a couple of days. Honestly I haven't given them much thought. We've been busy with the Spurs.

I did watch New Orleans. I watched a couple of their games against Portland, so we have some general idea of what we're macing with the floor facing and all that but the staff will meet tomorrow and we will get our game plan together.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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