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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS vs WARRIORS

June 6, 2018

Tyronn Lue

Cleveland, Ohio: Game Three

Warriors - 110, Cavaliers - 102

Q. Did you consider shifting Kevin Love to the five in the fourth quarter when your offense was bogging down a little bit, or was Tristan Thompson's defense and offensive rebounding too valuable to turn away from?
TYRONN LUE: Yeah, both.

Q. What was the mood at halftime? You guys controlled pretty lengthy stretches of the first half, and to only be up 6, what was your level of concern, I guess, at that point?
TYRONN LUE: I thought we played a good first half. They're going to make runs. That's what this team does. To be up 6 at the half after being up 13 in that first half, but they're going to make runs. We understand that. It's just in the third quarter I think transition hurt us because we took a couple bad shots and they got up early in transition and won that quarter by 8.

We've been doing pretty good in the third quarter, but tonight we weren't that good.

Q. When Kevin Durant hit that winged three, did you think back to Game 3 of last year? I know the game is 48 minutes long, but how much do you think that moment signified that they were going to go up 3-0?
TYRONN LUE: It was a big shot. I mean, he was four or five feet behind the line, and he raised up and made a big shot for them. So, you know, kind of like he did last year.

Q. Cedi Osman was a starter during the regular season many times. But he didn't get a minute tonight or many other nights during the playoffs. Was there any reason?
TYRONN LUE: I don't understand your question.

Q. Cedi Osman, during the regular season he was a starter many times. But the players playoffs he wasn't a starter and he didn't get much minutes. Was there any reason? If he plays, do you think it could be a little better for your team?
TYRONN LUE: Cedi was good for us this year, having a chance to be a rookie and get some quality minutes. But a lot of guys are hurt and a lot of guys were out when he was getting those minutes. So he got a chance to get his feet wet, but he hasn't played much in the playoffs, no.

Q. Ty, this is twice in two years now in Game 3 where Kevin Durant just foils an otherwise really good effort from you, and it would seem obvious, but can you put into words just the difference that he makes on that team that already had those three All-Stars before he arrived last year?
TYRONN LUE: I mean, it's a big difference. You know, he's one of the best one-on-one players in our league, you know. Top two best players in our league. Holding Steph to 11 points and Klay to 10, you would think you would win that game. So the guys did a good job on those two guys.

And I thought Durant hurt us with his one-on-one, getting to the free-throw line a little bit. But his one-on-one ability really saved them again tonight.

Q. I mean, you guys have been really close twice and they almost lost the Western Finals. But when you prepare for a team like this, what's it like to measure them all up and say if we account for him, him, and him, we still have to guard Durant?
TYRONN LUE: I mean, yeah, there are some obstacles. But I thought we did a good job. Like I said, I thought Durant got away from us a little bit. He made six threes, a lot of them off the dribble, tough shots that were contested.

They make tough shots. That's what they do. Doing a good job on Klay and Steph, and having Durant go off, you know, that hurt us. Like you said, it hurt us last year as well.

You know, we blitzed them a little bit early. And then they brought Iguodala in at the four, and Draymond at the five, it's tough to blitz with those guys because they can make plays once you put two on the ball. It's a fine line, but, you know, he played a good game.

Q. The runs that they put together at the first and second quarter, how much do you think that really hurt you guys? It seemed like you should have had a bigger lead, and it was only 6 at halftime?
TYRONN LUE: They're a team of runs. We've been doing this for the last four, five years. They go on runs, and they have great spurtability. If you turn the basketball over, take a bad shot, they make you pay and they capitalize.

So we've just got to try to minimize their runs as much as possible, and I thought we did that. Made some runs of our own, but that run to start in the first half was tough, kind of cut it to 6 when we had the game under control. So hat's off to them.

Q. The slip screens that they're running, they're getting a lot of easy lay-ups. Is that lack of communication, or what can you point to there?
TYRONN LUE: Just got to be better.

Q. For a guy like Rodney Hood who is a fresh wrinkle to this series, how much of his performance was due to the newness and maybe Golden State not having to really game plan for him versus something that's sustainable as you go forward?
TYRONN LUE: I'm very happy for Rodney. Played a good game. He was aggressive. Attacking the basket, and he gives you a guy who can shoot the basketball from three and also put the ball on the floor. I thought he did a good job attacking tonight. Gave us a lot of momentum throughout the course of the game.

Q. Is it a situation where a guy like that is playing catch-up to sort of get in the rhythm of the series, particularly on defense?
TYRONN LUE: I'm not sure.

Q. Following up on that, Ty, if somebody had said Rodney was going to get 15 on 7 of 11 shooting and six rebounds, I think you would have said, and everybody else in Cav Nation, sign us up for that. What gave you the idea, given that he could do that, to insert him? It was kind of a big surprise to have the performance, given how he's fallen out of the rotation. What allowed you to think this could happen?
TYRONN LUE: Rodney's very talented. We know that. Just from watching the five-on-five games those guys play every day, and just seeing him get his work in and playing those games and being aggressive, getting his offensive scoring and stuff back, he's been great in those games. Just thought we'd give him a shot, and he made the most of it, and just happy for him.

Q. You guys still won the rebounding battle tonight, but in that third quarter they outrebounded you 14-6. How much do you think that played a role in them finding their offensive rhythm?
TYRONN LUE: A big role. We took some bad shots, and sometimes a bad shot is just as good as a turnover because we're not expecting it. And they get out in transition and get an easy basket. So us missing some shots and taking some bad shots, they were able to capitalize on it.

Q. With so many things that seemed to go right, is this just as disappointing as the first one?
TYRONN LUE: They're all disappointing. But we played well. They made some runs. We made some runs, and just K.D. had an exceptional night.

But I thought our guys did a great job of fighting and sticking to the game plan outside of a couple breakdowns here and there.

But like I said, to hold Steph to 11 and Klay to 10, we did a good job in that regard. But we've got to do a better job on K.D.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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