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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: PELICANS vs WARRIORS

May 8, 2018

Kevin Durant

Oakland, California: Game Five

Game 5

Warriors 113, Pelicans 104

Q. Kevin, you had a three-point lead at the half and third quarter, you're like wild dogs out there. Did something happen at halftime? What do you account for the third quarter?
KEVIN DURANT: Well, we generated good shots early and they didn't go in, and we were very confident that we continue to get those looks, they will go in at the right time and that's what happened in the third.

Q. I saw you congratulate late Anthony Davis at the end of the game. What did you say and how did he impress you over the five games?
KEVIN DURANT: I told him I'll see him in the summer, and he's gotten so much better, it's just -- I remember him as -- I want to say an 18-year-old. We went to London in 2012 for the Olympic Team, and I'm talking, you had Kobe, LeBron, myself, CP, Melo, Russ James, some real good players. You could tell he was going to be really, really special, even at that early age, the stuff he was doing back then was really advanced.

So to see where he is now, it's going to be -- it's going to be really dangerous for people coming up here soon, because he can do everything. He can do it all. He can shoot. He can turn it around over you, shoot it, shoot the hook shot, pick-and-roll, catch lobs. He's just getting more comfortable and some playoff experience is definitely going to help, as well.

Glad I got an opportunity to compete against somebody like that, and when it really means something in the playoffs. You know, you can just kind of see the growth that he's gone through as a player. I can appreciate that.

Q. All season long, has it felt like this team and the Rockets were on a collision course and how does that feel now that it's arrived?
KEVIN DURANT: I never really thought about that to be honest. It's tough enough every day to get up and work on your game and go through practice and go through shoot-arounds and travelling and all that stuff. I just try to focus on the present as much as I can, and I'm sure it's the same for my teammates.

Obviously it was so much coverage around the league and so much attention around our league; you hear about the best teams and the best players. I just try to stay in the moment. Anything could happen but this is the match up and both teams are looking forward to going up and competing and having some fun.

Q. Draymond is the first player to have a triple-double in a playoff series. Do you think he deserved a good laugh when he went over to the Pelicans huddle and inserted himself over there?
KEVIN DURANT: Draymond, when Draymond is locked in on the small things, that just -- his game just explodes. When you see him out there, you know, contesting shots, being physical with bigs. He's smaller than a lot of guys he has to guard down there and he's making it tough on them; I think he feeds off that more so than anything.

Obviously the triple-doubles look great on the stats sheet but I think Draymond enjoys the small things that equal to a win that people don't really see on the stats sheet.

And he's such a great player that, you know, it kind of translate itself. It kind of translates through the stat sheet but all the small things that he does that go unseen is the reason why we're able to win games the way we win them and have different match-ups.

His, I don't want to call them antics, but (laughter) his, just his passion for the game, passion for winning and competing, shines bright, even through things like going to somebody else's huddle. It's pretty cool. It's pretty fun to see as a basketball player.

Q. There was a stretch in the third quarter -- do you like starting the game with that starting five?
KEVIN DURANT: That unit play really well. It just depends on the matchup and how we can matchup best, I thought the lineup did a really good job switching up everything and defense and getting out and running, as well.

When we lock in and get stops, I think we're a very dangerous team in transition, and then we have guys that can do multiple things. Steph, Klay, run around and knock down three-balls, and Steph creating the pick-and-roll and penetrating; I like it get in in my sweet spot and go to work.

There's different ways we can score the ball but I think defensively we try to play as hard as we can and contest shots and rebound.

Q. Coach Kerr reminded us that Warriors are the No. 1 defensive team in the playoffs. This series, players are averaging like ten or 11 steals per game. What's your overall assessment of the defense and has it made you a better defensive player since you came over from OKC?
KEVIN DURANT: It just made me, when you know what you want to take away, when you know what you want to do in certain matchups, it just makes you think about the defensive end a little better. For me, I can always play defense, but it's just a matter of how I want to play it any given night.

I think having Coach just always letting me know, you know, discipline game plan, discipline what we want to do on certain things, certain actions, allows me to kind of be focused on that so I can be a better player, and for us, as a group; the same goes for everybody on our team.

When we focus in on what we need to take away, what team's strengths are and looking at it the same way we approach the offensive end with a game plan, we try to approach the defensive side, and once you do that, natural instincts tend to take over. Now I'm just letting my instincts guide me on the defensive side of the ball.

Q. What's your recollection of the January 28 game against the Rockets and the confidence they displayed after beating you guys?
KEVIN DURANT: Tough loss for us that game. We had plenty of opportunities to win but unfortunately we didn't. But that was so long ago, I think both teams are different and playing better.

So you know, I try not to look at those games but we kind of know, they know what we do and they know what we do. It's a matter of playing well on that given night. We'll see what happens.

Q. Steve said with Steph playing 37 minutes and doing a little bit of everything, he's back to being Steph. Is Steph back to being Steph?
KEVIN DURANT: He's always, no matter if he was on the sidelines and knee injury, he was always Steph. For me, my opinion was Coach was trying to monitor his minutes, and as a player that takes you out of your routine a little bit and you start to think just a little about when I'm coming out or if I'm going to play longer the next game. You just start thinking about unnecessary stuff.

I think Coach did a great job, though, of just giving him a little bit here and there. Tonight, really just letting him go. You see, when you let the dog off the leash what happens. We going to need to continue him to be aggressive and we'll live with anything after that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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