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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS vs WARRIORS

June 5, 2018

Klay Thompson

Cleveland, Ohio: Practice Day

Q. How's the ankle responded to the last couple days?
KLAY THOMPSON: Feels great. Well, I don't want to say great, but feels good. And we'll see how I feel today. But it's The Finals, so you do everything in your power to get right. I've got about 20 hours to do that before tomorrow, so I'll be good to go.

Q. What's it going to be like playing back here in Cleveland? How do you think the home crowd will impact the Cavaliers play tomorrow?
KLAY THOMPSON: This team has been playing great here in the postseason. They always shoot better at home, so you've got to expect that. I expect their crowd to give them energy. The Cleveland fans are very passionate, not just for the Cavs, but for all their respective professional teams.

We've got a history -- not a great history of Game 3s here. Last year was different. We had a great game. Kevin [Durant] made an iconic shot. But the other two times have not been good for us. So we want to change that.

Q. How comfortable do you feel in this arena?
KLAY THOMPSON: Comfortable? Yeah, it's probably like a second home. So much basketball has been played here. Besides Oracle [Arena], this is probably where I've played the most NBA games. From the locker room to the hotel, to the surrounding downtown area, I'm pretty familiar with Cleveland. So there is definitely a comfort level.

Q. You played great games in the past. You have scored 60 points, 37 in a quarter. What is your favorite game?
KLAY THOMPSON: Oh, wow, thanks, man. Favorite game? I like the games that matter the most. Whether it's the NBA playoffs or The Finals or Western Conference Finals, it's hard to pick a favorite. I definitely remember the championship-winning games.

Game 3 last year was one of my favorites, too, because it was such a back-and-forth battle and both teams making huge shots. It just came down to who was going to get the stops and who was going to make the shot.

So I just like the games that have the most juice and matter the most. Those are the ones that I vividly remember the most.

Though I do appreciate my big-scoring nights, but the ones on the national or international stage are the best.

Q. Do you think you have a pretty high pain tolerance, and is there no doubt you're going to be on the court tomorrow?
KLAY THOMPSON: I'll definitely be on the floor. I do think I have a high pain tolerance, but I do definitely feel pain still. So it's not like I'm invincible. And no one's going to feel bad for you if you're out there. Can't make any excuses. You've just got to go have fun and perform. It comes with the job, so it's not that big a deal.

Q. How different, for lack of a better term, will those that surround LeBron be on their home court? How different can they be and will they probably be on the court, and how do you still hold them down?
KLAY THOMPSON: Can't discredit what they've done. They have great players. Kevin Love is a perennial All-Star. George Hill has played in Eastern Conference Finals games and plenty of playoff games. Kyle Korver is one of the greatest three-point shooters of all time.

They have a deeper team than people give them credit for. I know they'll be better at home. So I expect them to shoot the ball better. I expect them to play harder. It's just going to be about us and how we respond to what we've got to do out of the gate. We can't spot them a 10-, 12-point lead in this building. They're too good.

Q. Can you talk about how big of a stage this NBA Finals is in?
KLAY THOMPSON: It's what we live for as professional athletes, man. We're so lucky. The NBA is so global now. It's cool to see media from around the entire world literally touching every continent. It's something we don't take for granted. We've even enjoyed time with the media because this doesn't come around too often.

Although it's been our fourth time seeing each other, it's still fresh to us because this is something you dream of as a kid. Some guys never even get this opportunity throughout their whole career. So we're going to make the most of it.

Q. You are one of the fastest shooters in this league. What is the key in your shooting?
KLAY THOMPSON: A lot of repetition, lot of practice. And you've got to love it. If you want to be great at something, you've got to follow up with it. I've been loving playing basketball and shooting since I was a kid. Credit my father [Mychal Thompson] for that, for teaching me the fundamentals. I just ran with it since I was a child. It's something I still love to do every day. Even if I wasn't getting paid, I'd still try to hit the gym every day.

Q. What is your reaction to the situation with Donald Trump disinviting the Eagles from the White House yesterday?
KLAY THOMPSON: Well, we've been in that situation before. It's unfortunate, but it's life. I think both parties are going to move on. Like I said, we've been through that too. It's a totally different sport. But all we're focused on now is Game 3. That doesn't really affect how I view the next game and what I've got to do to perform at my peak.

Q. How has your mindset, your approach, and how you are as a player evolved now four years into this matchup?
KLAY THOMPSON: I'm not as nervous as I used to be. There is still anxiousness. You still want to get out on the court, still want to do your best. But there is a familiarity with it that you can't teach -- you can't grasp at first. So it helps to have been through this a few times and not to panic if we have a couple bad possessions or a bad game.

But just to look at the big picture and know that we've got to get four wins, it's not going to be easy. We've all got a lot of experience with that, and it just helps so much.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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