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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WARRIORS vs ROCKETS

May 23, 2018

Mike D'Antoni

Houston, Texas: Practice Day

Q. Have the games in this series showed you that if your team plays up to its standards and capability, you'll be okay, but if not there's going to be --
MIKE D'ANTONI: Yeah, I think that's for them also. It's two really good teams battling, and we're just trying to find what works. Lot of times you do, and lot of times they won't let you do it. We've had two good games; they've had two big games. And now it's on to Game 5.

Q. I know you have a lot of role players, but I don't know if we can overstate the importance of James [Harden] and Chris [Paul] in this series. Is it clear that they have to be the people that step up?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Well, they do, but it's just not them. P.J. Tucker is playing great. Trevor [Ariza], Eric [Gordon] is valuable, Clint [Capela]. We just keep going on and on. Gerald [Green] comes in and gives a great 15 minutes. It's a close series so without any of them, you don't get there. Everybody has their role. Some play a bigger role -- bigger meaning they shoot the ball more. We as a society gives them a bigger role, but everybody's just as important.

Q. Both teams have won at home in this series but also won on the road. Is this a reminder, though, why you guys fought so hard for home-court advantage? Home court could really pay off for you guys?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Yeah, usually the seventh game comes in as home-court advantage, and only the seventh. I didn't ever think that we were just going to win four at home and they win three. The series doesn't go that way most of the time. So if it does get to Game 7, we do have home-court advantage, which is what you try to get.

We've got to make sure that now it's just play every game. We'd like just to finish in six, but they'd like to do the same thing. We're just battling and we'll see what happens.

Q. Can you speak to last night and how with two high-scoring teams it turned into a good old-fashioned defensive battle?
MIKE D'ANTONI: A lot of times if you watch championship games or games where some teams are kind of evenly matched, it comes down to who can impose their will. It comes down to toughness. Schemes are out the window. Both teams are very similar in their switching and a lot of one-on-one. It's going to come down to just who can control their emotions and play tougher than the other people.

Q. I know Chris has always been a fierce competitor, and he's very high level. But have you even seen another level to him, since he's never been at this point? There's kind of maybe a little added pressure?
MIKE D'ANTONI: I kind of doubt it. Just in the sense of how good -- he was that way in college, he was that way with USA Basketball. I don't know through the NBA because I've never played him in the playoffs. But you don't get any better competitor than what he is.

Q. A lot of times in a game where your team shows resiliency like that, we might ask you what did you find out about your team? But is everything they did last night stuff you knew about these guys already?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Yeah, they've shown it. There are just too many times in the year where we had to dig a little deeper. Back-to-back. Whether it was flying into Denver at 4 a.m. and trying to find a way to win. Different things of that sort. I knew they had it. I'm just glad they're expressing it right now.

Q. Is a lot of that because of the belief they have in each other?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Oh, yeah. They're able to get on each other and push each other to higher limits. It's a good foundation that they're all in it together, and they're all important.

Q. Did you do anything during the game differently? Push any different kind of buttons? Say anything different? Anything as the game progressed?
MIKE D'ANTONI: I didn't say anything. We just talked about the same thing over and over. The only thing, we went to a shorter rotation, and make sure I gauged the guys if they could go that long, and they could. Then we'll see the next game. It all changes. Every game changes a little bit. It has a new face and new problems to face. I like to go into it like a set thing, but this series you just have to kind of read it.

Q. That rotation that you used, do you expect that's what you'll do in Game 5?
MIKE D'ANTONI: That's what I'll start, and then we'll see. If guys get tired, we'll have to expand a little bit.

Q. If you had to point to one thing your team has to do to win tomorrow?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Score more points (laughter). Or get them to score less. I don't know, there are just so many things. They missed open shots at the end of the game. We missed open shots. Who hits the big ones. Eric hits a big one, Trevor hits a big one. They missed a couple big ones. It just goes back and forth.

Sometimes it's the will of gods. Sometimes the ball bounces the right way. You've got to try to do everything you can in your power to win.

Q. Is there any concern with Chris' foot going into tomorrow?
MIKE D'ANTONI: There's always concern, but he said it feels pretty good. That's all I know. He wouldn't tell me anyway, so we'll know as he goes forward.

Q. To have this series at 2-2, Game 5 back at home. Obviously you always do the one game at a time thing. But you guys do know, as obvious as it is, you win this one, you're up 3-2. The series for the first time starts to tilt in your favor.
MIKE D'ANTONI: The fifth game is really, really important. I don't know what the percentage is. I'm sure Daryl [Morey] could tell you what the percentage is, and I don't even want to know. But, yeah, as they do, we've got to grab this one. But, again, it's not the end of the world. We've shown we can win there. So the next game, we think only about the next game.

Q. At this level of the playoffs is it crazy because it's just like this is the most important game of the season, and then you win that game, and it's like this game is the most important. Is it crazy that every time it's just people saying the same things basically?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Yeah, and there's not a whole lot to say. It's just do it. But it's fun because of the importance of each game, each play, each possession. All that makes it great. Then, you're right. Then the next game is just as important.

One of the hardest things is to close anybody out. We've got to try to get there first. But just to try to win a game is tough. Our guys have been up to the task. We'll just see if we can gather enough emotional and physical energy to meet the challenge.

Q. How much sleep did you get last night?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Not much. But you know what? It's one of those things that I can't wait to get up in the morning.

Q. To go off topic a little bit, tomorrow, the franchise is going all out and all in for Santa Fe. You and your wife have been involved in a number of charitable activities since you've been here. What do you think about what you're doing and how meaningful is it?
MIKE D'ANTONI: It's so much more meaningful than what we do. I'm just glad that Tilman [Fertitta] and the organization and everybody is behind it 100 percent. If it moves two or three people to understand we've got to have some change, that would be great. But your heart goes out to them and it puts you back in reality really quick. It's just time for something to change. We just can't go on.

Q. You talk about not being tired and being excited to wake up. Do you feel like this is a turn-back-the-clock-type thing for you?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Are you saying I'm too old? Is that what you're saying?

Q. No, no. I'm just saying does it make you feel --
MIKE D'ANTONI: It makes me feel alive, I know that much. It feels good. You kind of coach all year for this, or even your whole career to get here and get as close as you can. It's great competition. It's against one of the best teams ever. Like I've always said, I like our locker room. I like what's in there. I'm just proud of them and what they do every night. Whatever happens, happens.

Q. You said last night that all we did was pull even. We didn't do anything. How in tune do you feel your guys are on that fact?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Oh, they know. They know we have to get back to and get down to normal, sea level really quick, because we've got a lot of work left. We know it's not going to be easy, but they know now it's not going to be easy. We're looking forward to it. I think we're excited, but the right type of fear and the right type of excitement.

Q. PJ said after the game that everybody counted out the Rockets. Kind of like an us against the world mentality. How do you look at that as far as where you are right now?
MIKE D'ANTONI: Us against half the world (laughing). I don't know. Yeah, the win, they never lost with Kevin Durant at home. There are all kinds of things. They're great; they're champions.

Still got to knock them out. They're not done for any stretch of the imagination. But we showed, I think, a lot of people when we're down 12-0 in the fourth game, a lot of people got hurt jumping off the bandwagon. They were scrambling. And I would have been one of those guys scrambling too. (laughing) Not like I knew any better.

But it's just good to see the guys respond and play hard. Whatever happens, happens. We're always said that: So what, we'll go to the next thing. But they showed a lot of heart. A lot of heart.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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