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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: PELICANS vs WARRIORSMay 1, 2018Steph CurryKevin DurantOakland, California: Game Two Game 2 Warriors 121, Pelicans 116 Q. Steph, how did it feel stepping back out on the court tonight? STEPH CURRY: It felt great. Real eager as of late trying to get back out there and be with my teammates, and, you know, do what I love to do. To get back out there on the floor, play some playoff basketball and get a big win tonight, it was huge. It was a good feeling. The crowd was crazy and obviously we did what we needed to do in these first two games, going up 2-0. Got to have our game travel to New Orleans. Q. You were shaking your legs; you were clapping; you were standing up. How long did it feel to get to that 4:20 mark to go in there and hit that first shot? STEPH CURRY: It was an eternity it felt like for sure. You know, when the lights come back on, starting lineup, usually in that "go" kind of mind frame, and then had to pace myself and be patient with it. Seemed like it took forever but it was a good feeling to get back out on the floor and just let loose and have fun. Q. You guys have been playing some grit-and-grind games. When Steph is on the court, how does that change the energy and pace, and can you feel it? KEVIN DURANT: On offense it definitely picks the pace up for us but defensively I think we stick to the same principles. You know, when Steph is not out there, it's not a lot of off-ball movement to space. It's obviously different not having him out there, but when he's out there, he's creating pace with his movement off the ball and in the pick-and-roll. Then you got two shooters in the corners with him and Draymond, pick-and-roll and that just spreads the floor out for us even more. Q. When did you feel like you were going to be back to normal in terms of your regimen, workouts? STEPH CURRY: Put the time in, working hard on my body and I trying to get my conditioning right, stay strong, stay mobile and whatnot, and on my workouts and all that, so when I got back on the floor, I would have confidence in myself to keep doing what I usually do. Most of it has come from just being around my guys. The last, what, couple weeks of the playoffs and the last ten games of the regular season, just staying close, staying -- you know, try to stay as plugged in as possible so that mentally when you get back out there, you're locked in on a game plan and you're understanding what we need to do to win games, especially in the playoffs. So all that type of stuff really just helped me transition back pretty quick. Q. You guys have been here before, but what do you anticipate when you go up 2-0 in a series and then you've got to go on the road and play that Game 3 against a team that's probably going to be desperate to get that win? STEPH CURRY: The first quarter in Game 3 is important for us to really set the tone. Understand our defense needs to travel and be our calling card as we go to New Orleans because there's many runs that they can put up, and when their crowd gets into it, it's a different environment. That will be the key for us to bring that energy and that effort those first 12 minutes and then be able to sustain it. Honestly, we can really seize control of the series, but how we show up in those first moments of the game if we really lock in and do what we supposed to do? Q. You saw the exchange between Rondo and Draymond. What happened in your eyes at halftime? KEVIN DURANT: I didn't even see it. It was two guys just talking. They had a conversations before halftime and I don't even know what they said, but it was nothing. Q. What got you going late? KEVIN DURANT: Settled down. I was rushing in the first half, first three quarters, rushing my shots. I'm more of a set-up-shot type of guy, you know, just figure stuff out. See the floor and then operate. I was rushing a little bit too much, and then I missed a few trying to find it so quickly. Shoot a quick three or not be disciplined in my fundamentals on my shot. But I just tried to slow down in the fourth and my teammates did a good job of slowing the pace for me and finding me in the post and moving off the ball, as well, to give me some space to work and I was able to knock some shots down. Q. When you make the free throws, the crowd cheers. How much fun did you have tonight? STEPH CURRY: I'm really just focused on knocking down free throws, that's really about it. Our crowd is crazy in general and whatever opportunity they have to kind of pick us up and create that home-court advantage that we rely on, that's big for us. Q. You've seen it a lot before; in that second quarter when Draymond is tipping out rebounds and dunking and yelling and glaring at people, does that just all feel like a good sign for the Warriors? STEPH CURRY: We love his intensity, and when it's channelled in productive plays; whether it's stuff that doesn't show up in the stats sheet, or if it does we really rely on that. He's been playing amazing this whole playoff run, taking the challenge defensively whoever he is guarding, being an officiator on offense, knocking down shots. Timely shots like he did in the fourth tonight. It's fun to watch, and when his emotions like that and he's having fun doing what he's doing, that's a big pick-up for us as a team. Q. What's Steph like when he can't play basketball? KEVIN DURANT: (Smiling) that's a good question. Very anxious. Couple days ago in practice, he just couldn't stop running and jumping and making weird noises and so I'm glad he's back. I was a little worried about him for a second. (Laughter). Q. How tough is it, AD and Jrue with zero free throws, how tough is it to play physical defense but also stay disciplined? KEVIN DURANT: It's key. Those guys are the most aggressive guys on the team and I think, you know, they are really legit scorers and they don't just barrel it to the paint and get all lay-ups or free throws. Guys are good in the mid-range and good at the three-point line. So I think we did a good job of standing between them and the basket and not getting get caught in their hips. That's when they usually get to the free throw line is when you get caught in their hip and they could use their body to try to shoo you off and then you try and block a shot, and you swipe them over the shoulder or on the arm or something like that. So just standing between them and the basket and just trying to make them shoot over you, I think we did a solid job of that. We have to be better, but both those guys shot 24 shots and Jrue had 24 points and AD had 25. So they are going to make tough ones, but if we continue to just let the volume -- high-volume shots and the same amount of shots, I think we can live with that. Q. As much as you might enjoy shooting off the dribble coming up the court, what's it like to move without the ball for ten, 15 seconds to get a shot and how have you sort of learned that or honed that over the years? STEPH CURRY: Always been a part of my game, high school, college, even in the pros, just trying to be versatile whether you're on the ball, off the ball. Still be a threat. Honestly, I watched a lot of Reggie growing up, and that was a guy that was the master at that, the deception, change of speed, being physical, setting up off guys coming off of screens and whatnot and being able to turn that energy into squaring up and knocking down the shot. That's something our offense is predicated on. If you don't have the ball on your hands you can set screens, you can come off screens, you can move and still be a threat on the ball and open up so much space on the court, and obviously at the end of the day you have to knock down shots and be ready to step up and do that when it's called for. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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