	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA FINALS: WARRIORS VS. RAPTORS

June 7, 2019

Steve Kerr

Oakland, California - Postgame 4

Raptors - 105, Warriors - 92

Q. You guys got outscored pretty big in the third quarter. How did it get away from you in the third?
STEVE KERR: I thought they just took it to us right from the beginning of the quarter. Kawhi hit two threes immediately and they turned up their defense, and they just got on a run. And we just sort of lost that defensive tenacity that we had in the first half.

Q. Uncomfortable position to be in but not one you haven't seen before, down 3-1. What can you take from your past experience being on the brink as you try to get the guys ready for Game 5?
STEVE KERR: You just try to win one game. That's what we did a few years ago against OKC. Win one game, and then you move forward.

So that's our focus now. We'll fly to Toronto tomorrow and take a look at the film, see what we can do better and try to win a game. We have won a lot of games over the years, so we'll try to win another one.

Q. Obviously Kawhi's 36 really carried Toronto tonight, but Serge Ibaka's 20 really hurt you guys. He was really active in the pick-and-roll. What was so hard about guarding Serge tonight?
STEVE KERR: He just got it going, and they did a good job in the second half of moving the ball and finding the open man. They hit eight threes in the second half after we did a good job on them in the first, and so the ball started moving and they found Serge in the pockets and in the middle of the paint several times, and he had a great game.

Q. This is the most that your defense has struggled in a series since you've been here. What's been the issue for you guys defensively in the series?
STEVE KERR: We're playing a really good team that moves the ball. And I think we have had our moments defensively, but we haven't been able to string together the stops over the course of a game that we have needed to.

So I give them the credit. They have just played really well offensively, and they got a lot of threats out there, a lot of shooters, a lot of passers.

So they're playing well, and we have got to do better.

Q. It seemed like Steph struggled to find shots for a lot of the evening. What were you trying to do to get him shots, and then in retrospect could you have done more?
STEVE KERR: Well, we'll take a look at the tape, but we have been playing a certain style for a long time here. And the ball moves, and Steph as one of the great off-ball cutters in the league and can play on and off the ball. And so we're trying to mix up the different things that we do. And it wasn't his best game, but he'll bounce back.

Q. Obviously I'm sure it's a very down room right now for obvious reasons. How important is it to sort of find some morale in the next 72 hours? How important and how daunting do you think that task will be as you try to save this thing until Monday?
STEVE KERR: I don't think it's daunting at all. We go to Toronto, and this is what we do for a living, we play basketball. So we look forward to playing another basketball game in an exciting atmosphere, and the ultimate test, NBA Finals. So I think we look at it as a challenge.

Obviously we have got to lick our wounds tonight, a tough loss. But the game's a few days away. We'll have plenty of energy, and we'll be ready to go.

Q. You talked a little bit about Steph. Did the Raptors approach him any differently defensively given what he did the other night? And obviously some of that is affected by Klay's presence. How did that sort of mesh? How did you think Klay played tonight?
STEVE KERR: Klay was amazing, with a tweaked hamstring to do what he did. Looney as well, coming in and playing 20 minutes given his injury status.

So both those guys are -- they're warriors. No pun intended. They just compete, compete, compete, and I'm really proud of both of them. Both played really well, but again, it just -- I mean, it wasn't enough in terms of our team effort.

Q. First half you guys go in at halftime, you're up four. Was there a sense that you could have been up by more? I mean, all the turnovers, and kept coming even in the second half. How much of that played a role in what happened tonight, just the turning the ball over and so forth, the empty possessions?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, I think the turnovers hurt us. Yeah, we probably played well enough in the first half to be up eight or ten, but that's not abnormal in the NBA. They stayed in the game with their free throws in the first half. I think they made ten to our two, and that kept it close while they were struggling offensively.

Again, they start out the third with Kawhi hits two straight threes to give them the lead, and I thought there was a surge of energy for them at that point. And that was a really key moment, those first few moments of the third quarter.

Q. You guys have to take three in a row now from a team that's taken five of six from you this season. Where do you go from here? How much better do you guys have to play to win this series?
STEVE KERR: We go to Toronto and we try to win a game. That's -- it's as simple as that. So we're not thinking about winning three games, we're thinking about winning one game and that's the task.

So I know we're capable. We got a lot of talent and we got a lot of pride, and these guys have been to The Finals five straight years for a reason. They're unbelievably competitive. And they're together, and they're going to fight. They're going to fight the whole way. So we'll go try to get one win and, if we can do that, come back here and see what happens.

Q. One of your most competitive guys obviously is Draymond. Seems like he came out in the first half playing his brains out on defense. Second half it looked like he lost his guy a few times. What did you think of his play tonight?
STEVE KERR: Oh, Draymond played -- he played so hard tonight out there. The first half the intensity level was incredible. Just to see the athleticism and the defensive energy by both teams. It was amazing. Draymond's always right at the center of all that. One of the best defenders I've ever seen, and he's flying around and doing his thing and covering everybody, and then offensively handling the ball and trying to distribute the ball to our shooters.

And so Draymond always makes a huge impact on the game. And I thought he did tonight, but again, it was a group effort, and we didn't have enough as a group to win the game.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297