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NBA PLAYOFFS ROUND ONE: CLIPPERS vs WARRIORS

April 26, 2019

Doc Rivers

Los Angeles, California: Game Six

Warriors - 129, Clippers - 110

COACH RIVERS: I thought our guys -- I've never been more proud of a group of guys in the 20 years that I've coached. They were just really fun. As I've said before, I've never had a group where you wanted to, in the morning, you raced to the car, you raced to practice just because you love being around them. So for me, it was just a pleasure to coach them.

And it was also a pleasure to play Golden State. For this group and especially for the young guys, if I could have scripted the season before the season and you told me that, first of all, this group can make the playoffs, which I don't think anyone believed that we could pick our opponent, you know, as crazy as it sounds, I don't know if we could have picked a better opponent than Golden State, because they're champions.

They're extremely well-coached. They play the right way. They do so many things that test your mettle. And for Shai and Sham and Zub -- all of them -- all of them -- to go up against that and every time they made a mistake, like tonight it felt like we were about to make a run, then we make one defensive lapse and it's a 3.

I think they've learned now that it's more than talent, and it takes an amazing amount of focus and preparation to be a champion. So obviously hats off to them, but good for us. I couldn't be more thrilled. It was a pleasure, honestly, for us to play them. It really was.

Q. This team just never stopped fighting all year. You called them roaches. How did you --
COACH RIVERS: That wasn't one of my better moments, but -- (laughter) I couldn't come up with anything else.

Q. How did you decide when it was time to call it?
COACH RIVERS: I don't know. It was tough because I keep looking at the clock. And I'm not good at math. So I think at the two-whatever mark, whatever it was, I look up and it's 25, 20 or 18, that was when it was that late, because with this team you just know who they are.

And I thought that they deserved a chance to keep fighting until that late. But when you come to the realization it's over, it's over. You pull the guys I wanted to make sure they got the proper notice from the fans, and they did.

Q. You win two at Oracle, lose three all at home in the series. Why do you think what was? And Lou struggled at home these three games when usually the bench guys do better at home?
COACH RIVERS: Lou's not a bench guy. Lou's whatever you call him. I'm not sure what we call Lou. Give them credit. I thought they game planned well. We got them out of the box a couple times in the series. But I thought they did an extremely good job.

Iguodala was basically -- whenever Lou came in Iguodala came in. They trapped him more in the last couple of games. I thought what we did smart in the last game was made Lou a playmaker first and then a scorer.

I thought Lou came in to score tonight and it kind of in some ways played into their hands. But I think the credit goes to their defense.

Q. Since they got Kevin, this team has steamrolled everybody in the playoffs. Every series has been four or five games other than that Houston series. I know you wanted to win the series but what does it say about this group that they were able to push them to six when no one was able to?
COACH RIVERS: You know, I don't know. I mean, first of all, I don't know the history of that part of it. But I didn't go into the series thinking we'd be a pushover, I can tell you that.

So, for me, I don't know if I'm surprised. I'm just not. This team, they're just so ready to play. So it's good. It's a good sign. But the other thing I told them, let's not meet like this next year. This is the start of something great here. This is just the start of it.

And sometimes you have to go through the way you feel to get to where you want to go. And I think our guys understood that.

Q. Kevin Durant's performance tonight, obviously he had big nights against you guys in the series, but that first half what made you think he was unstoppable?
COACH RIVERS: Him. He's just a great player. He really is. We played just about everybody on him. There were four times in the first half where we actually made a defensive mistake where we kind of helped but not really. They threw it to him; we got out there, and he still made them.

When he gets it going, he's really one of those guys like you just have to hope he misses. I thought Pat had some impact on him the beginning of the third. But you knew it wasn't going to last and it didn't. He's just a great player and that's why he's Durant.

Q. Is it too early to look back upon the season? And what's your takeaway from this season? Is that it too early to ask?
COACH RIVERS: It's too early for me. But I can tell you right now that we did more than most thought we could. It's funny, I still wanted more. So that's tough. It takes me a little bit to get away from everything.

I thought our fans grew, too, this year. It was awesome. It's the first time really, like, they were phenomenal. And they stayed in there and they hung in there with us.

I don't know if I've ever had so many fans come up to me on the street and say that this is their favorite team over any team that we had. And that means -- that meant a lot to me.

Q. You're saying you feel like you kind of won over the city in that respect?
COACH RIVERS: I don't know if we've won over the city, but we won over our fans again.

Q. And made some fans. You gained some fans.
COACH RIVERS: I appreciate that. But you've got to keep doing it. They make a heck of a commitment to be fans. And I've always appreciated that. So we ask our players to make a commitment back to them. And I thought they did that this year.

Q. Once you do get past this, do you led yourself get a little giddy thinking what could happen here in the next couple of months?
COACH RIVERS: It will take me some time. But Lawrence will make me think that way anyway. But honestly I'm just going to take a break. I need a break. I love this group. But I'm going to go somewhere and just do nothing, may watch a couple games. I'll watch Houston for obvious reasons, though I don't want to. But other than that I'm just going to take a break.

Q. Patrick Beverley led the team in rebounds again. We saw him get emotional again. Can you tell us what he meant to the team?
COACH RIVERS: He's the best. Biggest heart I've ever seen. He's just a tough, ornery, just a pleasure to coach. Never giving a guy -- Rex had that term "unstatable." We laughed about because he actually thought it was a real word.

But he's an unstatable player. There are no analytics. There's no numbers that can quantify what Pat Beverley does for your team -- not only just in the games, but in the practices, on the bus, in the locker room. He just does so many things for your team in the right way. He's a good guy to have if you think about winning.

Q. Just personally, how important was it for you to get Ralph this home game? What's it meant to you?
COACH RIVERS: Ralph, it was his last telecast whether we won or lost. So it was awesome. Because I've never seen Ralph more animated than I saw him in Oracle when all the employees from Oracle was telling him, good luck, this is your last game. And Ralph was, like, I'll be damned this is my last game. So it was great.

He deserves a street, a statue or something. He put in real time here. He really did. And I only had him for my six years -- really seven, I guess, is the one year I played here. But he was amazing. And he really is the voice of us. He really is.

Q. Can you speak a little bit to Shai's growth throughout the year and even today? He was arguably the best player on the court for you guys?
COACH RIVERS: Yeah, especially early. He just keeps coming back. What I loved about Shai this year is he did go up and down like a rookie should. But he never stayed down. So that's the growth.

The mental focus stuff, he'll tell you, like, he's got a long way to go there. But the talent and just the straight-up play, he's going to be an amazing player. And he wants to. He's coachable. Works hard, low maintenance. Hope that continues.

Q. Draymond had a triple-double tonight and you've bantered back and forth with him throughout the series --
COACH RIVERS: I love Draymond. I really do. I tell him, I love going up against them. I wish I could have played against him; I probably would have knocked him on the head once or twice in my era. That's what we laugh about all the time. I always tell him, you're tough in this era.

But he is so important to their team. It's unreal watching him -- all the things he does, the passing, defense, the rotations. He's clearly the defensive captain. He's just a smart, high-IQ player. I don't know where they would be but they wouldn't have all those titles if he wasn't here.

And I just love going against him because I think overall, other than the referee part, he plays the game exactly the way it should be played with what he has. And it's awesome watching him.

Q. Is this your best coaching in 20 years?
COACH RIVERS: That's for you guys. I've had a lot of good years. So I've been lucky. Really, I haven't had a lot of bad ones. But that's for you guys to decide all that stuff.

I'm not leaving the winner, so to me, you know, that's what I want to be. I want to be the winner again. I want to win a lot of games. I tell my guys that every day: Winning is nice but to be the winner is the best. Our goal is to be the winner. That's what we strive -- that's what I strive for.

Q. Two-part question. You've won a championship. Why is this your favorite team to coach? And why does this particular fan base have this connection with this particular team?
COACH RIVERS: Because the way they play. This was the 2008 Celtics without Garnett, Ray Allen, Rondo and Paul. It really was, like, same heart, played every night hard. And that's why they connected.

I think you could take this team and put in every NBA city and when they leave, every NBA city would love this team. Because the people who come to games go to work all day. And they love to see players who play like they work.

And I thought what the city saw in this team, what I saw in this team was a hard-hat team that came to work every day. And it doesn't matter if you're blue-collar or white-collar, people appreciate workers.

And I thought they looked at this team and said I like this team. Even people who cheered for the other team in the city. And that's what they should do, even they saw this team and said that.

It's not a credit to me; it's a credit to them. Like they showed up and decided to act that way. And I think fans really appreciated it. I know I did.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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