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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WARRIORS vs ROCKETS

May 28, 2018

Klay Thompson

Houston, Texas: Game Seven

Warriors - 101, Rockets - 92

Q. Hey, Klay, can you kind of walk us through what was going through your head early in the game when you picked up a couple of those fouls, and then in the second quarter it seemed like you were the one that single-handedly prevented the game from getting more out of hand for the Warriors? Just walk us through all of that.
KLAY THOMPSON: I won't say I single-handedly did, because a lot of my shots come from my teammates creating. So without them, I would not get the looks I do.

But I was very frustrated in the first four minutes. Picking up three fouls is inexcusable. Especially for a player that's been in the league for seven years. It's something I can't do next series. Luckily I've got great teammates that held me up and kept me poised throughout the game.

But I cannot do that next series, and that's a big no-no. Learned my lesson. Those guys are great at drawing fouls. But I got to be smarter than that. That really hurt. I hated not being out there when I was supposed to.

Q. Whenever you all fell behind again big, like last game, how were you able to bounce back again? What was the thought at halftime when you're down again kind of big?
KLAY THOMPSON: The thought at halftime was how bad we played on the offensive end. Coach [Steve] Kerr told us that might have been the worst offensive half we've had all year, yet we're only down 11 points. So we were actually encouraged, believe it or not.

We knew we'd have a great shot in the second half if we just stuck together, moved the ball, cut our turnovers down, and make them take tough shots. So we weren't too worried, believe it or not. Our fan base probably was, but it felt good to slug it out, because that was a grinding type of game.

Q. What can you say about the third quarter, and in particular Steph [Curry] getting rolling as he does so often in the third? Then Kevin Durant kind of carrying you guys down the stretch with some big hoops to seal the deal?
KLAY THOMPSON: I mean, those guys are amazing. Two of the best shot creators in the league. It's just a matter of time before they get going. Steph hit some huge threes. Broke the game open for us.

And their defense was great tonight too. They were out-hustling us in that first half. But I thought in the second half [we] made the adjustment of boxing out and battling on the boards. If we control the possession game, we usually come out on top, and that's what we did.

Q. Regarding Steph and Kevin, just with the way Houston defended you guys throughout the series, how did you see that dynamic evolve in terms of knowing when to go to Steph, when to go to Kevin?
KLAY THOMPSON: We're at our best, I think, when we move the ball and then go to them, whether it's late in the shot clock or later in the game. If we develop great movement and great -- the ball's just zipping around, that's when the fourth quarter comes, we know we can throw it into our 6-11 dude who can get a shot over anybody, or give it to our point guard that can pull up from anywhere after we've got the defense spread out. Because when everyone's touching it and everyone's making shots, the defense spreads. It gives them more lanes to create and more ability to make a shot.

So I'm still pissed off I missed two free throws, though, but I'll make them next time.

Q. Two questions for you. Steve said he didn't even recognize the team at halftime. Why is it when you play like that that you guys don't worry at all?
KLAY THOMPSON: Because we know we can make an 11-point lead evaporate in about two minutes of good basketball. So, especially with the pace we play when we're on our game. We can get up and down. And our defense too. When we're in passing lanes, creating turnovers, we're the best team in the world running the break.

That's what we did in the second half. We were hunting great shots. We weren't settling just for early shot clock, one-on-one. We moved the ball well. Steph was hitting off screens, and K.D. was doing his thing. It just gives everybody a lift.

Q. Secondly, what is it about this crazy night that makes you most proud?
KLAY THOMPSON: Just our resiliency. You know, it was looking ugly for us for about 30 minutes. We stuck with it.

Give Houston a ton of credit. They played a great series, man. They made us work for everything. It sucks what happened to C.P. [Chris Paul]. He deserved better than that. But it's a crappy part of the game, injuries. I know he's a competitor, so it was probably killing him not to be out there.

James Harden almost single-handedly put his team on his back. He's asked to do a lot.

I'm just proud of the way we just battled. We've been through a lot with this team, and believe it or not, it's not all success with the Warriors. We've got our bumps throughout the season. But to get to this point again, we earned it.

Q. In terms of the challenges that you've had through this run to four straight Finals, where would the Rockets rank, and how tough has it been going through this series, through this team just to get back to The Finals?
KLAY THOMPSON: Man, they're one of the toughest opponents I've played, or we've played. It's hard to rank, but they're definitely up near the top. I think everyone would agree their ability to defend and switch threw us for a loop the first couple games, and we had to make a lot of adjustments. They have a lot of guys that were hungry over there, so they weren't giving us anything. It was a tough series, man. I'm happy it's over and we're on to the next one.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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