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NBA PLAYOFFS ROUND ONE: CLIPPERS vs WARRIORS

April 18, 2019

Steph Curry

Los Angeles, California: Game Three

Warriors - 132, Clippers - 105

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. How would you describe the defensive intensity you came out with along with what Kevin was able to do on the offensive side?
STEPH CURRY: High energy, high focus. Tried to set the tone early in the first six minutes. That's what we did.

As much momentum as we lost in the final 16 minutes of Game 2, we got it all back early. Everybody was clicking. Seemed like every possession we knew what we were trying to accomplish on both ends of the floor. Everybody was aggressive, decisive, getting good shots on every possession. Helped that most of them were going in.

I think the way we went about our business was the sign of a resilient team, knowing who we are, what we're capable of.

Q. Your coach said after Game 2 you lost focus there in the second half. Draymond said you let go of the rope. KD said you relaxed. DÃ©jÃ vu tonight. How do you make sure that didn't happen this time around?
STEPH CURRY: Continue our defensive focus, for sure. Honestly, that's a question for the guys that are on the floor because I fouled out, went to the bench. I took a little vacation the second half. Have to ask them (smiling).

Q. Kevin just said that coach called more plays for him, that's why he was more involved offensively. Is that another way of saying you looked for him, get him going? Is it literally just calling plays for him?
STEPH CURRY: We made some adjustments in terms of trying to get him in better positions on the floor. What Pat has been trying to do, all that back and forth. But mostly it's just trying to get him in the right positions. The way they're playing defense, sending help, clogging the paint, all that type of stuff, just the picture is a little bit clearer.

We all know what spots to be in on the floor, where to space, things like that. It allows him to be more aggressive knowing where the help's coming from. I think in transition we were a lot more effective in terms of just making the right decisions, the simple decisions. Those good possessions after good possessions feed on itself. Their defense softens up, for sure. He took advantage of it.

It's a combination of a lot of things. Obviously at the end of the day he got to shoot the ball and he did and he made it. He was amazing tonight.

Q. What is the biggest difference between this team and the other great Warrior teams you played on?
STEPH CURRY: I don't know, to be honest. We've grown a lot. Our team right now obviously in terms of the guys you got coming off the bench, a couple young guys ready to take advantage of the opportunity to play. But our core is pretty much the same. We're very experienced.

The league has changed more so than us, to be honest, how teams are kind of put together, emphasis on three-point shot, position-less basketball, that type of stuff. I think we obviously had a huge part in changing that, but we've evolved as well.

It's nice to be in this position where we're chasing another championship.

Q. You just mentioned you had 16 bad minutes in Game 2. Have you got that bad play out of your system? Are you ready to run the table now on your way to your third championship?
STEPH CURRY: Lot of work to do. We hope that's behind us in terms of having a 16-minute stretch like that where we literally forget how to play basketball. We got a lot of work to do. We're not getting ahead of ourselves at all.

It's 2-1 in this series. Got to come back Sunday and get a win. We'll continue to move on from there. We've been through this before. I don't think we've won any championship by looking ahead. We got work to do now.

Q. Does tonight's play carry on into Sunday?
STEPH CURRY: For sure. We made some good adjustments. We executed well. They're going to probably try to change some stuff up. I think they did in the second half with their lineup. They started JaMychal Green instead of the big fella. Maybe they'll have some lineup changes. We got to be ready to play.

Our energy, focus, execution, if we can repeat that, I like our chances.

Q. Maybe you addressed this, but we know you played well down the stretch in the season, won Game 1, was tonight in some ways maybe a little bit of a breakthrough?
STEPH CURRY: Shout out to Breakthrough, by the way. I like that name. Go see that movie? Appreciate it.

Again, we know who we are. We know what we're capable of. The fact that we could bounce back from, again, a 31-point -- come back and play the way we did in the first quarter, make the right adjustments, be ourselves, show what we're capable of. The way you win a championship, the way you win a series, whatnot, is being able to do that consistently, put back-to-back games together.

That's the challenge ahead of us for Sunday.

Q. To see Andre flying back up the court after that three, to see the energy he's brought, what does that do for the rest of you guys?
STEPH CURRY: He's an X factor in a lot of games for us, a lot of series, has been for us to help us win championships. He understands the moment, the playoffs, how he can be impactful.

It might not be knocking down shots every night. Just that energy, the way he plugs a lot of holes, takes those one-on-one matchups against top-notch scorers. Just seems to make timely plays.

In the bonus, offensively when he gets it going, he knocks down open shots, he play-makes, finds open guys, all that type of stuff. He's one of the smartest basketball players I've ever been around. He makes his presence felt, for sure, whether it shows up in the stat sheet or not.

Kind of a Mr. Do-It-All, depending on what the night requires?

Q. You won at least one road game the last 20 playoff series, longest streak in the NBA. What does that say about your team?
STEPH CURRY: I mean, it's crazy, crazy stat. Think about all the great teams we played along the way. Being able to have our game travel no matter what arena we're playing in, it speaks a lot about our chemistry and our toughness, mentally as well.

But you take control of a series by winning games on the road. We've been able to do that. Got another opportunity on Sunday. Hopefully that trend continues as we chase another championship, like you say.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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