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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS vs WARRIORS

June 2, 2018

J.R. Smith

Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. Now that you've had a couple of days to decompress, how do you feel your team will respond tomorrow night?
J.R. SMITH: I think we've got a great opportunity. The way we played Game 1, we gave ourselves a great chance playing on the road playing against a really good team. Everybody seems well rested, mind at ease. So it will be interesting.

Q. Most people around the country are talking about how the game ended and went into overtime. What did you do yesterday?
J.R. SMITH: I watched golf all day yesterday. Watched The Memorial. Tiger [Woods] played really well. Talked to my kids on FaceTime. Just hanging around in the hotel.

Q. In China, most fans think you made a great play to get the rebound. If you did not get that, it would have given the Warriors a chance to get a shot. What do you think about that?
J.R. SMITH: Yeah, well, that's one way to look at it. I thought pretty much of all scenarios -- if I did get the rebound, if I didn't get the rebound. Plenty of things ran through my mind, so it could have went either way.

Q. How supportive have your teammates been? What are they telling you?
J.R. SMITH: My teammates have been great. Obviously, everybody says it's not just the one play that is the reason why we lost. I mean, take it however you want it. But my teammates have been great. They're very supportive. Talked to Kyle [Korver] a lot yesterday. Got a lot of good feedback. Everybody is very optimistic about Game 2, so we're ready to go.

Q. What is the best piece of advice you've received from your teammates?
J.R. SMITH: Just play aggressive, like the way I did. Come out, try to set screens when I can. We try to get the mismatches. But other than that, try to be aggressive. Look for my shot. Keep playing. Try not to gamble as much on the defensive end and stay solid.

Q. The play that may have significant impact on this series, there was the collision with Klay Thompson. He's clearly not at 100 percent, and he says after seeing the play again, he wasn't too pleased about it. So what are your thoughts on that play? Was it just a tough situation?
J.R. SMITH: I was just trying to go for the ball. It looked like an opportunity for me to get a steal. Unfortunately, I didn't. I fouled him. They called the foul. I don't know what more he was looking for.

Q. There's been so much talk going into the series that you guys are the huge underdog. But you should have won Game 1. Can you take something from that?
J.R. SMITH: Yeah, absolutely. I think after a couple plays -- a few plays happened and we kind of lost our heads at the end. They opened the doors, opened the floodgates. So we've got to stay locked in the whole game, if anything.

Q. Regarding that Klay play, obviously it was unfortunate. Oracle Arena is probably going to boo you every time you get the ball. Does that affect your game? Do you play better? Do you play with more intensity?
J.R. SMITH: I just try to do what I can do. Worry about the things that I can control. I've been booed a lot, so it's not really a difference to me. I'm not really here to play for them. I was playing for my teammates anyway.

Q. Did you talk to LeBron? Are you guys good? I mean, about the other night and what happened?
J.R. SMITH: I believe so. I haven't asked him if we're good. Maybe I should go back and ask him just in case.

Q. How much pressure is on you and your teammates to kind of ease that scoring load on LeBron in Game 2?
J.R. SMITH: It's a lot of pressure. Not for myself or my teammates, but just playing on his team. It's almost -- it's a blessing and -- it's a gift and a curse. You play on his team, and you're playing with the best player in the world and you get to witness some great historic things and be a part of it.

Then, on the other side, if you don't help that person win, they're looking at you too. So it's a lot of pressure, depending on how you look at it. But I tell him all the time he has the opportunity to play with me as well.

Q. Do you remember what you told LeBron at the end of regulation in Game 1?
J.R. SMITH: At the end of regulation?

Q. There's a video where it looks like you said, "I thought we were ahead."
J.R. SMITH: The video where I said I thought we were ahead? I might have said that. I'm not sure, but I might have.

Q. Playing this team for the fourth time in a row, is there anything that surprises you still, or have you seen it all?
J.R. SMITH: No. We've had leads against them and we've won the game, and we've had leads and we've lost the game. One thing you know for sure is that they're going to come out and play hard every time and they're going to play pretty much the same way. They're going to move the ball. They're going to play defense. They're going to bring their A-game for you to beat them. More than anything, that's what we've got to bring.

Q. You've had time to reflect. Could you say that you weren't sure exactly what the score was when that play happened?
J.R. SMITH: After thinking about it a lot the last 24 hours or however many since the game was over, I can't say I was sure of anything at that point. So, no.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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