NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. WARRIORS

June 8, 2022

Stephen Curry

Golden State Warriors

Game 3: Postgame

Boston Celtics 116, Golden State Warriors 100

Q. Steph, how are you feeling after that pile-up in the fourth quarter?

STEPHEN CURRY: I'll be all right. I got caught -- obviously in some pain, but I'll be all right. See how it feels tomorrow and get ready for Friday.

Q. Was it your ankle?

STEPHEN CURRY: Same thing I did in Denver -- or against Boston in the regular season, but I'll be -- not as bad.

Q. So foot strain, essentially?

STEPHEN CURRY: That's what it felt like, and we'll see how it responds. Not much other to say. I don't feel like I'll miss a game. Take advantage of these next 48 hours to get ready.

Q. You were getting kind of a lot of shots you want third quarter. What changed in the fourth, and how were they able to slow you guys down?

STEPHEN CURRY: They had some unforced turnovers the first couple possessions of the fourth, and that obviously led to them getting some easy buckets, extending the lead a little bit. We settled down a little bit after that and got some good shots. They tried to send a little more attention to our pick-and-rolls. I think we could slow down just a little bit and try to find the right matchups.

But that first two or three minutes kind of set the tone for the rest of the fourth and gave them a little bit of a cushion. We had a hard time responding after that.

So between the first three minutes of the fourth and the first 12 minutes of the game, that was pretty much it.

Q. Draymond did say in the pile that he heard you screaming, was there a lot of pain there, and how scary was that?

STEPHEN CURRY: It's a big body, obviously. I haven't seen the play, so I don't know if it could have been avoided or not. I was in that situation with Marcus back in the Bay, and you just want to get your foot out of there. That's all I was trying to do at that point, knowing the position I was in.

Like I said, for what I feel like, it's not as bad. So hopefully it responds well over the next two days.

Q. When Robert Williams is out there, how much does that affect what shots you can take and what passes you can make?

STEPHEN CURRY: I mean, in our game plan, we have -- we've talked about just being aware of where he is because especially depending on who he's guarding, he can kind of come out of nowhere. There's a play early in the fourth, I got by Grant Williams and thought I had daylight to get a shot up, and you underestimate how athletic he was and how much he could bother that shot.

So there are situations where we can use that to our advantage because he's going to be aggressive. He's going to keep trying to make plays on the ball. You have to be aware of where he is because that's what he does for them on that end of the floor.

Q. Is that something you have to feel out game-by-game with his health, what he can do and how much you can do against it?

STEPHEN CURRY: No, after the first game, you've kind of got a feel, and then it's just a matter of can you execute or not and can you make the right decisions every single time, whether it's a bang-bang play or you're looking to get a shot off the rim and you've got to swing it because he's showing his length.

Q. You've heard over the years fans getting on Draymond for various things. What did you think of the chants tonight and the frequency of the chants?

STEPHEN CURRY: Par for the course. Every arena you kind of get a little something. It's been like that the whole playoffs and every run we've made over the course. He expects it. So no different tonight.

Q. Was this one of those games when you start off early and you fall behind 10, 12 points, did you feel like this was one of those games that you have to hang around in and maybe you can steal it on the back end if you're close enough? And in relation to that fall, do you feel like there's recklessness there in that situation, considering that's the second time it's happened to you against them this season?

STEPHEN CURRY: The first question is, you want to get off to a better start because you've got to know that a really good team like Boston, they are going to feed off the change of venues and coming out with a lot of energy and aggression.

And you know, Jaylen got off to a good start in the first quarter. He hit some tough shots, some ones we didn't really press up into his body, and we paid the price for that over the course of the game because we clawed our way back and had a one-point lead back in the third quarter, and you do all that work to get back into it.

But we feel that we can play a lot better with that same third quarter intensity where you're not on your heels for big parts of the game and don't have to win the game twice in that sense. So we have to correct that if we want to get Game 4.

I don't really have any comments on the other play. I haven't really seen it yet. I just know how it felt.

Q. When Klay was up here, he mentioned the fact that you've been here in 2015, down 2-1. I'm wondering if you see any similarities in terms of this Boston team, that Cavs team, the situations, the physicality in the series, any parallels you can draw trying to get back into the series?

STEPHEN CURRY: Nothing specific. Just that the situation is what it is. We're on the road. Must-win game, Game 4. We had a must-win game after a tough one in Game 1. And we got Game 2. The flow, obviously we still feel like we can win the series. Got to come out with the right intensity and focus in Game 4.

But to Klay's point, it does help knowing that we've been through a little of everything the last eight years and can draw through that experience of when you need to, to stay in the series.

Q. Do you remember the last time you had just one free throw in a game, and did tonight's Celtics defense on you feel the same level of physical and just in tightness as it had through the first two games or different or more?

STEPHEN CURRY: It felt the same. Their personnel and the way that they defend, they are very physical. They have a way of, obviously with Marcus on the ball, he's pretty aggressive, and Robert behind the play, they usually have lot of length and size on the wings.

I don't know why there's only one free throw. Felt like there's a couple possessions or plays that could have gone my way.

It is hard to understand the flow of the game based on some of the calls that went my way where I have four and you're having to defend a certain way because you want to stay on the floor and not allow that to impact the game.

But you know, you've still got to find a way to be effective no matter how the game's being called, and it's a good lesson to learn for the next game.