|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v SPURSJune 6, 2012Kevin DurantRussell WestbrookOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA: Game Six Oklahoma City – 107 Q.  Can you just tell us about this moment right now, what was going through your minds and your emotions as those final seconds were ticking down? KEVIN DURANT: Well, it was exciting. This is our first time here at this stage, and we knew we had a great opportunity coming into the game to try to close it out, and I just felt good. It felt good for the city knowing where we came from and how hard we've worked. We've just got to continue to keep going, keep believing, and we'll see what happens next. Q. Russell, how resilient is this group to be able to come back from down 15, and then Kevin, can you talk about the defense in the second half? RUSSELL WESTBROOK: Oh, man, this group of guys have been great all season, man. When we're down, we all stick together and know that we have an opportunity to win the game. Tonight was one of those nights. We started off a little slow, but guys stayed with it, stayed into it. I thought Kevin's shot before the half was a big shot and gave us a little momentum, and I think we took that and ran with it. Q. Kevin, can you talk about the hug you got to enjoy with your family over there, I think it was with about 16 seconds or so left? KEVIN DURANT: Oh, man, first off, it's just a blessing to have them there to watch, watch me since day one, since I was eight years old, started playing basketball. And to be here at the biggest stage in basketball, the NBA, is just a blessing. I never want to take those moments for granted. I know we're just one step closer to our dreams. But it felt good. We've just got to continue, like I said, to keep believing. My mom has been believing in us since day one when we were 23 and 59. She said one day we can improve. This is great. It's just a great feeling for the city, as well. Q. A question for each of you. Russ, when you guys went in the locker room at half and you were down 15, what did you say to each other that changed the vibe in there? RUSSELL WESTBROOK: I just think we believed from when we went down and got into halftime, guys came together and said we can come out with this win. I think coming out of the half we did a great job defensively picking up our intensity, being a little more aggressive, and that's Thunder basketball, and that's what got us the win tonight? Q. And Kevin, at the end of the game you and Tim Duncan shared some words. What did he tell you? KEVIN DURANT: He just told me congrats and good luck. I respect Tim Duncan and the whole organization so much. You know, just their professionalism. They do things the right way. They play the game the right way. They're a family, and that's something that we kind of try to model here, as well. It just felt good for somebody of that stature with that many championship rings to recognize us that way, and it also felt good to come out here and get a win against them. Q. Kevin, you alluded to the failures, the 23‑win season. In what ways have the three last years shaped you to this point? RUSSELL WESTBROOK: I mean, a lot of different ways. You can look at it as a negative, but I think as a group and as an organization, we've seen some light, and we've seen that one day we'd be at this moment, and one day we'd have an opportunity to win a championship. Guys stay committed each and every year, each summer, came in every day and worked hard, and it's paying off. Q. Kevin, you get home court advantage for The Finals. What does that mean for Oklahoma City and for you to be playing here on your home court? KEVIN DURANT: Well, it means a lot. It means a lot. Whoever we play, two great teams, two great teams. Like I've been saying, we can't rely on our crowd, 100 percent on our crowd. We've just got to come out there and start the game off with a lot of energy. It's going to be tough. It's going to be a tough road for us, and we're looking forward to that opportunity, and it's a great feeling right now, but tomorrow we've just got to get over it and get ready to see who we play. Q. Can you talk about whether you think it was the youth that helped you come back, because Tony got those quick 17 and 21, and then they were up 18 and you made another rally? RUSSELL WESTBROOK: I'm not sure what it was. I just thought it was togetherness. Even though they made big shots we still played together, played our brand of basketball, and it just paid off for us towards the end of the game. Q. Kevin, on that charging call you drew on Manu, were you trying to draw a charge, and can you talk about what that does for you as a team leader to draw one of those? RUSSELL WESTBROOK: That's his first charge of the year. KEVIN DURANT: I was going to say that, Russ. That was my first charge of the year. I just wanted to go out there and sacrifice my body for my team, and I knew that would give us a little spark. You know, Manu is an unbelievable player at twisting his body and making crazy shots, so I just wanted to time it right. It felt good to get that for my team. I could tell they were excited that I got my first one when I went to the bench. It was a big play for us, and there's a lot of things like that that help us get the win just from a lot of different players on this team, and we just kept fighting. Q. You get a trophy tonight. How long do you celebrate this? When do you compartmentalize and get ready for what's next? KEVIN DURANT: Well, this is our first time here in this situation, so tonight we want to celebrate it. We're happy that we got the Western Conference title, but we know we have a long road ahead of us, so tomorrow kind of let it go, and we'll see what happens. Q. I thought the Oklahoma paper had a great headline, The Roaring 20s. There's a lot of teams in the NBA that have not made The Finals a lot older than you guys. Talk about your youth and where you are now, how you've climbed so fast. RUSSELL WESTBROOK: I think the youth is kind of something that wills us. A lot of guys and a lot of people around the league say we're young and we're not able to make clutch shots, perform under clutch moments, and I think it wills us. Kevin and I, Serge, James, a lot of guys on our team have such a great, great heart and want to do good, and it showed a great thing tonight. KEVIN DURANT: Well, year in and year out, of course Sam Presti bringing in the pieces to make up this group, but we all worked hard, and we all believed in each other. We put the team first. And guys like Russell and myself, James, Perk, Serge, everybody on the team, Thabo, we come in and work every single day and we believe. And once you have that, then you always give yourself a chance. This is a great feeling. Q. KD, you went the full 48 tonight. You said you could play two games in a day. Was that part of the plan, and do you think you could go another? KEVIN DURANT: Well, after we started the first quarter I went to the bench and told the coach I can go all night, I can go 48. I didn't think they would let me do it, but they kept me in, and I was just trying to get my team a spark. Coach is always getting in my ear about inspiring the team by my play. I was terrible in the first quarter on my defense and I just wanted to play as hard as I can and leave it out there on the floor and hopefully my teammates follow, and they did a great job. This team has always been resilient and knows how to bounce back, and we followed everybody's lead, man, and we did it together. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|