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NBA FINALS: WARRIORS VS. RAPTORS

June 10, 2019

Steve Kerr

Toronto, Ontario - Postgame 5

Golden State - 106, Toronto - 105

Q. Can you describe your range of emotions right now from winning the game but also losing KD and Kevon once again?
STEVE KERR: I don't think that I can, honestly. I just told the team I didn't know what to say because on the one hand I'm so proud of them, just the amazing heart and grit that they showed, and on the other I'm just devastated for Kevin. So it's a bizarre feeling that we all have right now.

An incredible win and a horrible loss at the same time.

Q. How many times have you seen the Steph and Klay show just take over a game and deliver when it's all on the line?
STEVE KERR: I've been here five years, so I don't know, a hundred-plus games times five years, I've seen it an awful lot. It doesn't happen every night but it seems to happen most nights.

They're amazing. They're amazing competitors, great shooters. Mark Jackson said it years ago, they're the best shooting back court of all time. But maybe what people don't know is how competitive they are, and I thought that showed tonight.

Q. We obviously got some of the information regarding Kevin and Kevon with his injuries but is there any new information to report as well?
STEVE KERR: I believe Bob Myers is going to come in and speak on the health front. I don't really know much. Bob was back there during the game, he'll have more information.

Q. Is there any regrets about bringing Kevin back into this series, now with what happened?
STEVE KERR: Again, I'm going to leave that to Bob.

Q. It looked like DeMarcus was not going to be in the rotation tonight and then Kevin gets hurt. How critical were those four minutes from DeMarcus and kind of getting everybody back into the game after such a shocking thing?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, I thought DeMarcus was fantastic tonight. He stayed ready. He didn't get the first call for that second-quarter run. We went to Bogut and then with the injury we knew we needed his scoring and he stayed ready and played a brilliant game.

So very happy for him and he's been through an awful lot himself over the last year plus with his own injuries. So this was a great night for him individually and very happy for him.

Q. Kawhi Leonard had a huge stretch in that fourth quarter, he took over the game, they regained the lead, the Raptors did, and the crowd was going crazy. You guys could have folded but you guys regained the lead and then pulled it out. How do you think your guys were able to do that and overcome that?
STEVE KERR: I think we went down six, if I'm not mistaken, and maybe it was five, I don't remember, was it five? Six? But Steph and Klay hit back-to-back threes, I believe, we got stops. Our defense was bending down the stretch but we didn't break and the last stop was tremendous. Amazing defense on that last play from all five guys. Draymond's block, he covered so much ground on Kyle's shot from the corner.

So our guys just stayed with it and they stayed poised and just an amazing job finishing the game.

Q. You talked about resiliency and overcoming these injuries, what have you seen from your team throughout this postseason run when it comes to overcoming those types of obstacles?
STEVE KERR: I've seen it over and over again. So it's not really surprising, this is who they are. They have accomplished so much over the years, and that doesn't just happen and it doesn't just happen with talent. There has to be more that goes into it and it's that fight, that competitive desire that I talked about and that ability to stay poised under pressure. It was brilliant to watch.

Q. We talked yesterday about locking in and staying focused on the moment. How unique of a challenge was that after KD left the floor, knowing that you guys had to dig this win out but what obviously KD was probably going through?
STEVE KERR: Yeah, I mean, it had made it difficult, especially with the start that we got off to and Kevin was playing so well, so it was a real shock when he went down. So I give our guys credit, they hung in there and expanded the lead and kept us in a pretty good spot going into halftime.

Q. The whole air went out of the building when Kevin went down. Everyone seemed shook. How do you and the leaders from your team try to go back out there and fight after experiencing something like that what did you say to them, what was that moment like?
STEVE KERR: I didn't say anything. There was nothing to be said. The Raptors players were telling the crowd to be quiet, out of respect, which I appreciated. Some of the fans were cheering when it happened, and I think the Raptors players understood how serious it was and they sort of quieted the crowd. There was just a couple minutes there where it all seemed so eerie and strange, and it took maybe a little bit for both teams to collect themselves.

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