NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: WARRIORS vs KINGS

April 23, 2023

Kevon Looney

Media Conference

Golden State Warriors 126, Sacramento Kings 125.

Q. What message does it send when Draymond Green goes to Steve Kerr and suggests that he should come off the bench?

KEVON LOONEY: I think it just shows our camaraderie. It shows his level of trust in us, and it shows how selfless he is and how our team is being, that we have multiple guys, change up our lineup, I come off the bench sometimes; Jordan came off the bench; Steph came off the bench last year. So just showing that everybody is willing to do whatever it takes to win.

Q. You guys gave up that 10-point lead to start the fourth quarter, Steph came out and scored 7 of the next 8 points. Can you sense when he sees the game get away from you, he takes more of a role offensively?

KEVON LOONEY: I feel like he's always in control. He knows when to pick his spots and knows when to get everybody else going. He has ultimate command of our team and of the floor. So he knows we were struggling and they was getting the momentum and decided to get some buckets and get us back to where we need to be at, and that's why he is who he is.

Q. How much fun are you having in this series?

KEVON LOONEY: It's a lot of fun. It's what you dream about, back-and-forth series with another team. Everybody is bringing their best, their A Game, the adjustments from game-to-game, the physicality, the shot making. It's great to be a part of and watch when you're on the bench. Series ain't over. Hopefully it goes our way. But it been a lot of fun.

Q. The crowd was electric tonight. How do you carry that away into the next game?

KEVON LOONEY: That's something having to figure out the whole year, how to win on the road. I think we have the formula to win. We just have to go out there on the road and execute it. Usually the home team always plays better, guys make more shots, but we've got to be ready for that.

We have to match their intensity, match their physicality and execute our game plan. We have a couple close games already but we just have to execute more to get over the hump.

Q. Is any part of you surprised how good Wiggins has looked as quickly has he has?

KEVON LOONEY: No. Wiggs is a super athlete, super human type of dude. He's the type of guy that don't really miss games. A guy that can roll out of bed and do -- indiscernible -- it didn't shock me. He really take care of his body and watch when he eat. He does all the small things. It didn't surprise me when he came back he's in tiptop shape and he's able to step in and play top-level basketball.

Q. De'Aaron Fox has been playing consistently well for the Sacramento Kings. Just wanted to get your thoughts on defending him and trying to keep him doing from what he's doing?

KEVON LOONEY: He's a talented player. He gets to the spots really well. He's super fast, and he plays under control, he has great size for a point guard. So he's an automatic from the elbow in the pick-and-roll; we have to try to get him off his spots. That's easier said than done. We just try to make it tough as possible for him. He's got it going the whole series. He's a great player. That's why he's arguably -- indiscernible -- all this year. We have to do a better job of containing him. We have to get stops when we need to and we have to try to slow him down the next game.

Q. At some point, this punch, counter-punch, has got to end. Moments after the game, are you guys already thinking about that Game 5 and the emphasis on that?

KEVON LOONEY: Not yet. We going to just enjoy this one for right now and go back and watch some film. Get our minds right. We know how hard it's going to be to win on the road, so we going to have to win some on the road, and come in and practice and really lock in. So right now, I'm just going to enjoy this one.

Q. Do you feel like you guys have a psychological edge, you've won the past two games, you have a decade of 27 straight series, you've won on the road, playoff games, do you feel like mentally you might have an edge on them here?

KEVON LOONEY: Sure. I mean, we've got a lot of experience. Steph, Klay, Draymond, won a lot of big-time games when their backs are against the wall or people don't think they would. We know what it takes to win. They have been a great team and been great at home all year and they have got a great crowd. We know it's not going to be easy. We can't play for 46 minutes. We have to put up a full 48 to go there and win.

Q. How do you like the team defense down the stretch?

KEVON LOONEY: I thought our defense was really good. We had some turnovers and we were able to sprint back and get stops. I think everybody rebounds. They had a chance to win at the last second and we were able to get a stop and it just shows our character and how good we can be on the defensive end.

That's a great offense over there. They put up a lot of points tonight. They are tough to spot but we got stops when we needed to.

Q. After you got your final rebound, you put it to Steph, with the time-out, what was going through your mind and were you aware of that?

KEVON LOONEY: I don't think nobody on the court knew we didn't know about the time-out situation. I think that was a group thing. We kind of all, you know, wasn't mentally locked in on that part. I was actually surprised just like everybody else on the court.

Q. First half you guys got worked on the glass, defense was iffy. Third quarter you came out with a whole different energy, in addition to Draymond guarding De'Aaron, what changed what brought the energy in the third quarter that wasn't there in the first?

KEVON LOONEY: I think we played with good energy but they crashed the boards. They got some bounces to go their way but having Draymond out there, he completely changes our defense and what we are able to do on that end.

So having him out there just changes the energy. For like the first half, we did a great job with our spacing, our pace, we were getting every shot we wanted to but the defense was the problem and he came in and he changed it. We was able to get some stops, and when we are able to get on a run and we were in transition and playing with that pace, it's going to be hard to stop.