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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v SPURSMay 20, 2014Kevin DurantSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Practice Day Q. What's new to the club today, Kevin? KEVIN DURANT: Well, we woke up today. We're alive. Q. Another good day, right? KEVIN DURANT: Yeah. Q. The time‑out early in the first quarter, you're down 18‑7 and you're clapping and high‑fiving guys. What gave you that optimism at that moment? KEVIN DURANT: Well, during that point it's easy for you to just be upset about what just happened and be negative, so the hard thing is to be positive in the tough times, and I think that's what we're always preaching, knowing that we have to be better each game, but we also know that we can improve when it's early in the game, so staying positive is definitely important for us, and me as a leader, I've got to come back and encourage my guys but also let them know what we can do better at the same time. Got to have that good balance. Q. What did you take from the third quarter? You guys played well defensively and got them in transition several times. What did you get from that? KEVIN DURANT: Well, that was our best stretch right there. We only played eight minutes of good basketball last night. Just knowing that we scrambled on the defensive end, we moved the basketball on the offensive end, and we attacked them. We've got to be physical, we've got to close up the paint. They're such a great team at the three‑point line, but we can't be overly cautious to that because the main thing is the paint. They scored almost 70 points there, so we have to be better in that area, and knowing that we have to make second and third efforts to get out to the three‑point shooters. We have to do it. We've got athletic guys here, and we have to do it. In order for us to get where we want to get to, we've got to do smart things like that. Q. How much more of a weapon can you make the free‑throw line? KEVIN DURANT: We've got to attack more. They're a team that relies on having to shoot tough two‑pointers, but I think last game in that third quarter especially, we attacked. Our offense wasn't bad last game. It could be better but it wasn't terrible. Our defense was a concern. Offensively we've got to continue to trust with the pass, move our bodies and be aggressive. Q. How much of a problem was it that you had the good looks early and you didn't knock them down and got in a hole? KEVIN DURANT: Yeah, I mean, we can't get discouraged that we missed shots early. You've got to keep finding guys and keep trusting and believing that we're going to knock those shots down. If we play the right way, the game is going to reward you, I think. They got some great looks. Thabo got some great looks and Caron, Fish, so we've got to keep trusting and making the passes, and hopefully we knock them down. Q. How much harder than any other team did you work defensively early because of the constant movement? KEVIN DURANT: You know, we played against some tough teams already in these Playoffs. Transition we have to get back there quicker. They're playing faster, they're moving the ball faster, so we have to get back. I wouldn't say it's tougher, but they do a good job, but we can get there, we can guard these guys, and we just have to do it. We have to be engaged for initially the first 10 seconds of the shot clock because that's where they get most of their points. We have to be solid throughout the whole shot clock, as well. They're a deep team. They have a lot of guys that can come in and score quickly for them, but we've got a lot of good defenders, as well. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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