NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: MAVERICKS VS. WARRIORS

May 22, 2022

Klay Thompson

Golden State Warriors

Game 3: Postgame

Warriors 109, Mavericks 100

Q. Klay, Draymond just said that you guys talked about getting off to a good start and you knew how important this game was and to be able to do that was another kind of level for this team to raise. Do you feel similarly?

KLAY THOMPSON: Definitely. We all watched what they did last series. So we knew this would be a crucial game and I think that first quarter good start propelled us to the victory to be honest.

Q. Whose stats surprised you on that sheet?

KLAY THOMPSON: No, I misread it. I misread it.

Q. Defensively has this been one of the more complex game plan series you guys have had with all of the different looks you're throwing at them?

KLAY THOMPSON: I think we are doing what we do best, which is using our length. Andrew is playing incredible on Luka, making him work very hard. What a game he had tonight. He was, you know, looking like Dominique Wilkins out there with the dunks he was throwing down.

We got to replicate this effort in a couple days because we would like to get some rest and not have another game in San Francisco.

Q. Is that your favorite Wiggins dunk you've seen?

KLAY THOMPSON: Yeah, that was incredible. His head was at the rim. That was just incredible.

Q. You've been saying, basically, all year that this team is going to win the Championship; that this is what this team is in there for. Do you feel like this team is the championship favorite?

KLAY THOMPSON: Yeah, I'm not going to say anybody else, and I'm pretty sure that we have home court if we were to win the next game, come the Finals. So we've got championship DNA and we have got some great young talent and we are just meshing at the right time.

Q. You've played a lot of playoff games with Steph Curry. How much have you seen him evolve or change, or what have you seen him change since early on?

KLAY THOMPSON: He just knows where to get his shots off. He knows -- he makes our offense go obviously, and I think his ability to finish around the rim. He's the best at that when it comes to point guards, and he's just doing what he always does, and that's just amazing all of us.

Q. Just talking about this series and where you've transpired to where you have a 3-0 lead now, how does it feel to just be one game back, one game away, I should say, back to the NBA Finals?

KLAY THOMPSON: Feels good but I'm not going to be overly eager until we win that game, and then we can celebrate that when it happens. But then we got to put that behind us again and we want to win whole thing. That was everybody's goal to start the year, and we have a golden opportunity to do that, and I know we are all just going to be so excited when that time comes.

Q. Looking ahead to that game ahead for Game 4, what's it going to take just to stay focused and realize that it's a 3-0 lead but it's important to stay focused?

KLAY THOMPSON: Knowing this team won't lay it down. They have got some very good players. We are going to have to go take it. They are not going to give it to us. Just going to have to just play together, play as a unit. Strength in numbers, that's been our mantra.

Q. What have you seen out of Moses Moody these last few games?

KLAY THOMPSON: Mo is incredible. He's such a poised rookie. He plays with incredible moxie and he just made some really big hustle plays for us. He gave me a three-ball, got me going. He's just a young man who is wise beyond his years.

Q. With still waiting for hopefully getting back Gary and Andre, how big is it finishing that sweep and get those extra days of rest you were talking about?

KLAY THOMPSON: It's very important. Like you said, we want to be whole going into the next round and we have to act like we haven't finished the job yet. It's far from complete. We still have 48 great minutes of ball to play, but we're all eager to get there, and just have fun with it.

Q. Several guys on this team have made many deep playoff runs before, and you have some new players, especially Andrew. How much joy do you have for him to see him get his first taste of a deep playoff run?

KLAY THOMPSON: I'm so happy for Andrew. He worked so hard to get to this point and to become an All-Star this year, we've just got to help him become a champion and he will obviously help us.

But what he did tonight, highest plus/minus on the team, 27 and 11, excellent defense, that's what we brought him on for. He is such a talented player, and I'm so grateful we have him.

Q. Are you able to sense maybe a different level of hunger for a player like that? What do you pick up from him?

KLAY THOMPSON: I mean, I've seen him average a ton of points before. I just think he has more talent and a better structure around him than he did previously. So sky is the limit for him and I think we are able to unlock his potential, and he's one of the best two-way wings in the NBA. I can tell you everybody in the Warriors organization is grateful he's here. Without him, we would not be where we're at.