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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WARRIORS vs ROCKETS

May 16, 2018

Steve Kerr

Houston, Texas: Game Two

Rockets - 127, Warriors - 105

Q. Kevin Durant aside, why do you think the other guys weren't able to get going offensively tonight?
STEVE KERR: I just think this game was a matter of the Rockets bringing the force that's necessary to win a game, and we didn't. We had seven turnovers, I think, in the first quarter. We set the tone early with our own play, and allowed them to get some confidence and some easy buckets in transition. We let guys get going a little bit.

But give them the credit. They came out and played a great game, got everybody going. We got what we deserved. They kicked our butts. No other way to say it.

Q. Specifically talking about the Rockets' defense. In the third quarter Klay Thompson had one action -- one missed shot, but no steals, no assists, no nothing. What were the Rockets doing tonight that was so difficult to overcome?
STEVE KERR: They just played a lot harder than they did in the first game. They played with more confidence, made a few adjustments that were effective. Did a good job. But, again, a lot of these games, when you get in the playoffs with teams that are very talented and really great teams, it often comes down to which one has the edge in terms of the aggression and the desperation. They were desperate tonight and they played like it, and we didn't. The results showed.

Q. Mike D'Antoni came in here and said you guys tonight seemed to do a lot of isolation. 19 assists, Durant didn't have any. Are you curious to see the passing numbers and was that a big problem tonight?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, we didn't play well, obviously, at either end of the floor. I thought their defense was great. This is a team that's gotten much better defensively this past year. I thought they did a really good job putting us on our heels.

Q. Your starting group had four stints.
STEVE KERR: Four?

Q. Yeah, you played them at four different spots in the game, your starting five, and were outscored each time. Is that a little shock to the system? Obviously, it's your best five, to see them get outplayed each time they were in the game?
STEVE KERR: We got outplayed the whole game. We're playing a team that won 65 games. They're damn good. We got it handed to us.

You can look at it anyway you want and parcel it out into different shifts and rotations and all that stuff, but it didn't matter who we had out there tonight. We got beat.

Q. Kevin Durant was obviously one of the lone bright spots of tonight's game. What did you think of the way he tried to shoulder the load?
STEVE KERR: Kevin was great. He was the one guy who was attacking. He kept us in the game for much of the night, but it just wasn't our night. We didn't play with enough energy and force and poise. The early turnovers were the most disappointing thing because we knew what was coming. The Rockets basically told us what was coming the last couple of days.

We knew they were going to bring the force, bring the energy, bring the desperation. You have to play with poise, on the road especially.

We had seven turnovers in the first quarter, I believe. A couple of them we just kind of threw the ball to them, and you can't do that. Now, all of a sudden, [Trevor] Ariza gets a layup, [P.J.] Tucker gets an easy shot and now they're feeling good and it changes the whole game. We just didn't come out with the right focus.

Q. How would you grade the way Stephen Curry played on both ends, and how does he look physically to you right now? Does he seem still hampered?
STEVE KERR: I mean, it obviously wasn't Steph's best night. He struggled 1-for-8 from the three-point line. Slow start for him. I thought in the second half he got a few things going. I'm not worried about Steph. He's the kind of competitor and player who will bounce back from a tough night. But it's just one of those nights.

Q. Are you concerned at all that he's getting a little worn out on the defensive end? I don't know where you think he is physically. Obviously, he had good games before this.
STEVE KERR: He's feeling good. I don't know what this was, maybe his sixth or seventh game back. So he's getting better, and I thought he played a lot better in Game 1 than anyone gave him credit for. But, again, it wasn't our night. Our defense wasn't connected. We weren't on the same page on a lot of plays where we got a little out of sorts.

Yeah, there are a lot of ways you could look at it, but it doesn't matter -- 127-105.

Q. How much is Curry's lingering injury responsible for his performance tonight?
STEVE KERR: His lingering injury -- how much is it responsible for?

Q. For some of his play tonight.
STEVE KERR: 13.7 percent (laughing). Sorry.

Q. Chris Paul really kind of asserted his will after halftime, a quarter that you usually dominate.
STEVE KERR: Yeah.

Q. He just didn't seem to want to let go. It's his first trip to the Conference Finals. What did you see from Paul?
STEVE KERR: Chris was great. Played a great game. I thought their whole team was fantastic. Obviously, Chris and James [Harden] are their leaders. You expect that from Chris Paul. You look at the rest of the team -- I mean, Ariza, Tucker, [Eric] Gordon, they all got going.

They got the game exactly where they wanted it tonight. They got everybody going. They got everybody involved. The exact opposite of Game 1. So give them credit. They brought it. They got it done.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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