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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WARRIORS vs ROCKETS

May 14, 2018

Kevin Durant

Houston, Texas: Game One

Warriors - 119, Rockets - 106.

Q. How much does it change with you guys coming in here and winning the first game?
KEVIN DURANT: Nothing changes. Just want to play good every night. Just play hard every night. Nothing really changes. We know it's a long series, a seven-game series, so we know they're going to come out with a lot of energy next game, try to even this thing up. So we've just got to stay focused and be patient out there and continue to keep playing hard.

Q. It looked like you were a little upset when you had to go out a couple times. If it were up to you, would you play the entire game?
KEVIN DURANT: Probably so. I wanted to stay in the game at that point, but the best part about it, I trust Coach and we can move past those conversations pretty quick. I'm glad we got the W, though.

Q. Draymond Green gets the technical early on. What direction did you think he was heading after that? What kind of game does he end up basically pulling together on defense?
KEVIN DURANT: I didn't even think twice about it. Draymond's not the guy that we've got to calm down because he gets a tech, you know? He knows exactly what he's doing out there. It's something we don't even talk about. He knows what he's doing. We all trust him, and we move past that. He played extremely hard tonight.

Q. You know that some of the most important things don't always show up on the stat sheet. Can you talk about what you guys were able to get from the guys that didn't get in the game tonight?
KEVIN DURANT: From the sideline you can kind of see things a little different, a little slower. So you've got Zaza [Pachulia], Quinn [Cook], Jordan [Bell], JaVale [McGee] just talking the whole game, letting us know what they see. Then you have guys that didn't play as much like D-West [David West] and Nick [Young] and Shaun [Livingston], who is a veteran presence. That's always good.

That stuff really does matter, especially when you're trying to win a basketball game in the playoffs. That hasn't gone unnoticed by the guys that are starting and playing the most minutes.

Q. Seemed like Klay Thompson was on fire tonight. He was making shots, and he even gestured to the crowd after a three. What kind of impact does he give you when he's on like that?
KEVIN DURANT: You've seen what Klay can do from the three-point line. I think he was good with moving without the ball tonight. He knocked down some good shots. But we got stops and we were able to kind of get out in transition a bit. Klay got it going for us. We're going to need that going forward.

We know how tough this series is going to be. Like I've been saying, just keep playing with focus and determination every time down, and we can live with the results.

Q. You seem to be in attack mode all night tonight. Was that something that you had a mindset to do before the game or did you see something in the defense that Houston was giving you that you wanted to take advantage of?
KEVIN DURANT: I was just taking what the defense gives me. Just trying to be aggressive when I had the ball and forceful when I had the ball. Some shots that I wish I could have back. There was a floater that I shot, I want to say the fourth or the third, that was short. I hate shooting shots like that. I miss them early, and I felt they were good shots.

I've got to see where I can continue to get my looks from and be aggressive when I get it. And also look to get other guys involved as well when they collapse.

Q. Given how long you've waited for the series to start and the fact you start on the road, was there any extra incentive or motivation for you to have the kind of game you did tonight and get a win and put them on their heels being at home?
KEVIN DURANT: It was just all about basketball for us. We played good basketball. When we focus in on what we need to do, each one of us, we play off each other. We play with the pass and body movement. No matter how we play, we feel like we've got a solid chance. So we just try to focus on not being on the road or trying to win the first game of the series. We just focus in on what we need to do every possession and let the rest take care of itself.

Q. Before the game Steve Kerr talked about kind of the grind that this year was for this team. It's only your second year with this group. But did you notice a difference in some of the guys that are making their fourth trip to the Conference Finals during the regular season? Did you see something different in them in the postseason once it kind of got to what you guys are after?
KEVIN DURANT: Last year our last game, Game 5 of The Finals, and that's the highest intensity that you'll ever play in as a basketball player. Then you have two-and-a-half, three-month break, and you've got training camp. You can go to China, which we did, and we start the regular season.

It's like when you get so high up and your emotions and your adrenaline's pumping so hard, you've got to come back down and start a long, 82-game season. A lot of guys pick and choose their spots when they might take an extra off day here or might need some extra work for a nagging injury. Stuff like that, because you're in it for the long haul.

This is my second year. Like you said, it's the fourth year for the group, so I'm sure they're feeling it even more. But that's just the beauty of playing in the postseason and throughout the regular season. You kind of know your routine and know how to help yourself and what your form is. The injuries kind of threw us off a bit as well, but I think we handled it pretty solid.

Q. The Rockets had four turnovers in that first half, nine in the second. For a team that doesn't commit as much because of the isolation ball, what did you guys do defensively to really force those?
KEVIN DURANT: I mean, 13 turnovers is really not a lot. I don't know what else to say. That's really not a lot. Like you said, they play iso ball and they're really good at it. We just tried to keep them in front, make them shoot over top of us, help as much as we can. We got our hands on a few basketballs. But we know that even 13 for them is a lot. But, you know, as a whole that's not a lot of turnovers. We know they're going to be even better in that area.

Q. You really found a sweet spot in the post area in the mid-range area. In this game you took 21 out of 27 shots from two. What did that feel like to be able to turn and shoot that ball over any defender no matter how big they were?
KEVIN DURANT: I just tried to put the work in in practice and after practice and on days off from the game, like shootarounds, practices. I try to put the work in so when I come into the game I'll be ready and prepared to take those shots and I'll be fine if I miss them because I'm cool with the work that I put in. You know what I'm saying?

So if I miss a few, just figure out why I did it and see if I can correct it. If they don't get corrected, then I've got another day to work on it the next day. That's how I try to approach every game and every session every time I step on the court. It's an opportunity to just figure it out, and tonight I was able to knock down a few.

Q. Kerr talked about it yesterday, this team's as focused as it's been all season. Andre Iguodala talked a little bit about it yesterday. Is that a tangible feeling? Do you feel like this team is at its peak right at this moment? Why did that happen, do you think, right now?
KEVIN DURANT: I don't know. I don't know if we're at our peak. I think we could be better. I mean, the stakes are high. We're playing the Western Conference Finals against the best team in the league, the No. 1 seed, an MVP on their team. So I think everybody just wants to enjoy this time. Not a lot of people get this opportunity, so we want to take advantage of it.

You can tell everybody is very excited to be here.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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