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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS vs WARRIORSJune 6, 2018Stephen CurryDraymond GreenCleveland, Ohio: Game Three Warriors - 110, Cavaliers - 102 Q. Steph, could you walk us through your mind when you finally hit that three-pointer after missing nine in a row? STEPHEN CURRY: It was a crazy night all the way around, and didn't have anything going offensively. Tried to still play with energy and tried to do the little things here and there to help the team, but to get one, one good shot down the stretch and still have confidence in myself to knock it down. My teammates were talking to me the whole game, which was helpful. Thankfully that last one went in. So me and my brother, we always -- growing up shooting and playing, we always said you've got to make your last shot before you leave the gym. Got it done tonight. Q. Can you take us through that moment when you were pretty amped up and emotional for Kevin after he hit that big three? DRAYMOND GREEN: Yeah, I actually said the wrong thing. It was almost like I was cussing him out, but I was so happy. I was like yelling the wrong thing. But that was a huge shot. From Steph's three then that one, like he took that from about 38 feet out. Just to put a dagger in them like that, that was a huge shot. So I can't -- I don't really know. Like it was just high emotion. Q. How much did that harken back any reminders from his Game 3 three last year? DRAYMOND GREEN: Definitely from right in the same area, just a little bit deeper. But this game for him was like deja vu of Game 3 last year for him, just all the way around. Q. Were you upset with yourself for getting the technical, or were you more proud that you obviously kind of reeled things in after that? Second question, how much do you want to take care of business and settle this thing on Friday? DRAYMOND GREEN: I wasn't upset with myself about the technical. But things happen. It's the NBA Finals. [Stuff] get heated when you're competing for what both teams are competing for. Nonetheless, it's important to not get a second one and be a part of trying to do something special. But at the end of the day, none of that really matters. We got a chance to close out this series Friday, and that's our focus. Q. Can you tell us, as you're walking off the court back to the locker room, what Iguodala was saying? He put you in a headlock and was talking to you? STEPHEN CURRY: He was telling me what he's going to order at our team dinner tonight, and I agree with his choices. Q. Steph, how much of a luxury is it for you to have the kind of shooting that you had for most of the game, and yet you look over and there is Kevin Durant and he's doing everything you guys need to carry your team to a victory? Some stars don't have that option. STEPHEN CURRY: For the last two years, I've been playing alongside Kevin Durant, so he's an amazing talent, an amazing player. He does amazing things every night. We all feed off each other. So tonight was not my night offensively. It was his night, but like I said, this moment is great, and you encourage each other along the way, and we appreciate what we bring out of each other. We could talk about him all night. He was amazing. Q. Draymond, you talked a little bit about it, but when you react emotionally and animatedly to a call after you already have the technical, have you sort of read the game officials to know where the line is you can go up to? Or are you putting your fate in their hands a little bit? DRAYMOND GREEN: No, I don't really view it like that. I'm a human being, and we have emotions and you react to certain things. Whether I have a reaction or not, I'm not walking up to the official to have a reaction. If I have a reaction, I'm probably going the other way. You know, it is what it is. I don't play the game of basketball worried about, you know, if the official is going to think one thing or another. I just play and go about it that way. Q. For both you guys, Ty Lue used the term "spurtability." You guys closed the first quarter strong, second quarter to keep it within six, and then started that third quarter with another spurt. Is it something you guys focus on to end quarters that strong? You seem to be the best third quarter team in the NBA as well? STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, it's a 48-minute game, and the NBA in general is a game of runs. It's just a matter of you can keep your composure and your confidence and your rhythm when another team starts the way they did tonight. So we don't really get rattled very often, so that helps us. But eventually you start to buckle down, get some stops. That feeds into your offense and your thrust and energy. Then from there you can close the gap and try to get over the hump and just not get deflated no matter what happens early in the game. That's what we did tonight. Especially knowing and expecting how they were going to come in Game 3 with everything on the line. Q. Draymond, what's it like -- LeBron talked about the stress of playing you guys now with K.D. there and all the weapons. What's it like to be on the other side of that knowing that you're applying that stress because of the weapons you have and you can kind of just do your thing and let those guys get the points? DRAYMOND GREEN: Fun. Very fun. It allows all of us to play to our strengths, which is great. Q. At some point are you thinking you're up one in the fourth quarter and Steph really hasn't made a shot? Does it kind of -- is it hitting you that this is happening and somehow it's happening with Steph not making a shot yet? DRAYMOND GREEN: Not necessarily thinking, oh, man, Steph hasn't made a shot and we're up one. More so thinking we haven't played that great and we're up one. We've taken several punches from them and we're up one. So nonetheless, we know that he was struggling from the field. However, we're not going away from him. We're going to continue to give him the ball, and he can continue to shoot however many shots he wants. But it's more so just the confidence that you gain from knowing through it all, through everything that's gone wrong up until that point, we still had the lead. Q. What does it tell you that might happen with Steph in Game 4? DRAYMOND GREEN: I'm not going to jinx it. STEPHEN CURRY: I'm going to keep shooting. DRAYMOND GREEN: That's for sure. Definitely going to shoot that thing. Q. For any one of you guys, you guys were in this position last year and didn't get it done in Game 4. What do you guys do in preparation leading up to that game to make sure you come in with the right mindset? STEPHEN CURRY: Same thing we did tonight. Talk about what we need to expect from their side. What we need to do better. Like Draymond said, we can play better as a unit for more of the game and understand that they're going to come out just gunslinging. It's going to be shots from all over the place, probably LeBron's going to come out aggressive. But we have what we need focus-wise and energy-wise to combat that. Looking forward to that opportunity to close out and win a championship. It's going to be tough. We thought tonight was hard. It's going to be even harder in Game 4, so we've got to be ready. Q. Draymond, just forgetting about Kevin's offensive numbers, how different do you think his aggression was from Game 1 to the last two games of this series? Do you think any of that had to do with maybe the criticism he took for the missed box out late and how he's rebounded since then? DRAYMOND GREEN: I think he's rebounded great since then. I'm not sure. I didn't see any of the criticism he took for not getting that box out and getting that rebound, because there was so much attention on what happened after the rebound. Probably a great thing for us. But he's been super aggressive by the way he rebounded the ball tonight. 13 rebounds is huge, especially when you're fighting their big guys. We need other guys to come in there and rebound, and he was key in doing that. But his aggression on both sides of the ball after Game 1 has been key to what we're doing, from picking up LeBron full court time to time, getting into the ball. He's been that force for us on both sides, which is one of the reasons we're pup 3-0. Q. Steph, LeBron called Kevin an assassin. And you know about making shots that are assassin shots. What's it take to step up two years in a row in that situation with like 45 seconds to go and just toss that ball up? This time from five feet further than last year. STEPHEN CURRY: Supreme self-confidence. He works hard at his game, at his craft. He's ready for those moments. When you have that belief in yourself, the moment is never too big for you. So have the guts and composure to take the shot last year and tonight, it was big. I think he would live with the result knowing how much work he's put into it. That's what superstars do. Q. Draymond, you play alongside two of the ultimate assassins. When you watch Steph and you watch K.D. do the kinds of things they do, what, if anything, differentiates them in their assassin-hood? DRAYMOND GREEN: You sound like you're not including me as an assassin (laughing). No, I mean, I think it's a little different. When Steph's in that mode, it's a little more flashy. It's dance, step back, guy about to fall. Kevin, when he's in that mode, he's usually shooting over the top of people. Nonetheless, you get the same results from both. To have the luxury to play with two guys like that is great for all of us on this team. The coaching staff and everybody else in the organization, two of the best shooters and best scorers of our time, if not of our game and the history of our game, have that luxury, it's pretty great. Q. This question is for both of you. When you see -- when everybody sees you guys in action, it seems like you guys are like best friends on the court. Can you speak to the chemistry that you guys have off the court and how that helps you with your chemistry on the court? STEPHEN CURRY: Not going into too much of our personal lives, I think it's a lot we appreciate what we each bring to the fold. That's a genuine appreciation for everybody's story, everybody's talent, and how vital each one of us is to the full group and for our success. It's not just words. We come in to work every day, you appreciate who you get to suit up with. That just shows itself in every aspect of what we do on and off the floor. We put time into it. We've been through a lot as a core group, and we have high-character guys. So I think that we've got that part right, and we want to hold on to that as long as we can. Q. You guys have won on your own floor and you've won on theirs. Is it going to be any more meaningful if you can get a sweep? STEPHEN CURRY: Not in those terms. Just Game 4 is the next one we have to play, and we want to win a championship. I don't think any of us will -- that word will come out in our celebration if we can get it done. It's just a matter of winning four games however you can. We've done a great job of putting ourselves in a great position. Got to close the deal with 48 great minutes on Friday. Q. Draymond, you had all seven outfits picked out from your stylist, right? What happens with the other three? DRAYMOND GREEN: I ain't saw Game 6 or 7 outfit yet. They've still got that. I've got a Game 5 outfit, though. It's pretty dope. I really don't want to wear it, though. Q. For either one of you guys. A lot was made after the couple playoff games K.D. struggled about maybe some of his iso ball because of the way you guys used to play before he got here. But do you think people forget sometimes how deadly iso ball can still be when the players are the caliber of someone like Kevin Durant? STEPHEN CURRY: Did they watch tonight? They found out. We have a great balance. I think when we're playing well, a lot of what we do is ball movement, player movement, the whole deal. Getting everybody touches involved and being threats on the floor. Guys have the skill like he does to be able to, like Draymond said, shoot over the top of guys, get to a spot. You don't want to force feed it. You want it to come out in our offense and let him do what he does. So, yes, it's nice to have that option along with all the other things that we do offensively. Q. How much did how tonight play out convince you, justify to you, the efforts you personally made to recruit K.D. to the Warriors a couple years ago? STEPHEN CURRY: We've been in a situation where a guy has blended into what we do as a team and we've appreciated all his efforts and figured out our ways to kind of elevate our games. In nights like tonight, he reminds people how great of a scorer he is in all areas of offense and just how dominant he is. Over the course of the regular season, the playoffs, we all have an opportunity to do what we do and do it well and put ourselves in position to win championships. So it's nice having him, and nice having all 15 guys on the roster. Q. Can you describe a little bit your reaction to some of his shots, particularly that last three? STEPHEN CURRY: A lot of yelling, unnecessarily. Just enjoying the moment. He was so stoned face that somebody had to yell and show some emotion, so me and Draymond took care of that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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