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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v WARRIORSMay 24, 2016Kevin DurantRussell WestbrookOklahoma City, Oklahoma: Game Four Game 4 Oklahoma City 118 - Golden State 94 Q. Hey, Russ, your game tonight, obviously both ends of the court, but what were you most pleased with about the way you played tonight and how you impacted this game? RUSSELL WESTBROOK: Just my energy. A lot of guys chipped in tonight, not just myself. I thought Andre [Roberson] was a big key for us tonight, you know, just making plays and doing different things that doesn't come up in the stat sheets. But I just thought my energy was good tonight. Q. Kevin, lot of emotion in the building because of Draymond Green. The crowd was into it way before tip-off, those kinds of things. Did you guys have to worry about your emotions and playing within yourself and keeping things at a cool level? Also with that, late in the game you got a block on Green late. The game was pretty much over. You celebrated with a pretty emphatic fist pump. Was that because of the victory or was that Draymond? KEVIN DURANT: Well, we didn't -- I'm trying to answer this question the right way, but in practice yesterday and in shootaround this morning, we weren't focused on what happened with the kick and all that stuff. We were just trying to focus on having a good practice, having a good shootaround, having a winning mindset. So all that stuff didn't affect us. We knew our crowd was going to be into it a little more because of what happened. But we try not to think about that. We just try to focus on us. I think at the end of the game, to get a block, man, and those are just good plays. I was just excited about it. Just trying to play with passion every chance I get. Q. Guys, you two are doing your part, but how satisfied are you to see Serge [Ibaka] taking it to another level and the same with Andre Roberson? His stat sheet is just ridiculous. RUSSELL WESTBROOK: These guys have been doing it all season long, not just tonight, not just in this series, but all season long. We constantly got to keep trusting in those guys and those guys just came through. They put in the work every day, and tonight was one of those nights where it showed, and we definitely will continue to trust him. We're going to need everybody to get to where we need to get to. Q. Russ, in the third quarter Klay had kind of that eruption and scored 19 points. You seemed to really just take the game over and just relentlessly attack. You've done that sort of thing a lot throughout your career. Is there a moment where something clicks and you say, I've got to go just force the ball in the bucket? RUSSELL WESTBROOK: I just try to read the game. They made a few shots, and I know my energy and my aggression can kind of impact the game, and that's what I try to do, especially in that quarter where shots weren't falling for us. Try to attack the basket and use my size and my ability to get to the basket and create some havoc. Q. Can you talk about the influence going to the free throw line, especially in the first quarter, I think you were 8-for-8. Just the team in general winning that type of battle at the free throw line and getting those easy points? KEVIN DURANT: I think it's just try to get into the paint. Try to be aggressive. They use their hands really well, so we try to use that against them as well. But just being aggressive. I get in a lot of one-on-one situations and I'm trying to beat the second defender. So guys are going to be overly aggressive with me, so I try to use that against them. When I get to the free throw line, try to knock them down. So it was good that we got easy points, and we've got to continue to try to do that. Q. Russ, how much pressure are you guys feeling to just get this thing over with on Thursday night? RUSSELL WESTBROOK: Not no pressure, man. Just this game is over now, so on to the next game. Go in and try to find a way to win. It's the first team to four, and we've just got to find a way to get a win. Q. Kevin, you guys used Andre as basically your center on offense, had him rolling to the rim at the dunker's spot. What does it say about him and this team in general to be able to kind of incorporate that into your offense and make it all work and flow in a short period of time? KEVIN DURANT: Yeah, that means we just tried to make an adjustment. They weren't guarding him at first, and we can't have him just standing around. He did a great job of setting screens. He did a great job of rolling and making plays and finishing and just being under the rim. The ball was just finding him when he's under the rim and finishes. So we've got to be prepared for him to do that again, and he's got to be ready when he gets the ball to be aggressive. So tonight was really good for us. Q. Kevin, it seems like you guys are really taking advantage of opportunities very well. Rebounding, getting out off the rebounds, turnovers, turning those into points, fast break. Talk about the efficiency you guys have played with there. KEVIN DURANT: We're just trying to play simple basketball, man, and play with pace. I think tonight we took a step back in the pace area, and next game we have to be better at trying to get to our sets quicker and making better decisions. But defensively we did a good job keeping our hands up and trying to make them score over us. So that's the name of the game for us. But we've got to move a little faster on the offensive end next game if we want to have a chance to win. Q. How has your relationship with Billy grown over the course of the season, as you've gotten a chance to get to know him and get to work with him in the last few months? RUSSELL WESTBROOK: It's definitely gotten better. Obviously with the change we all had to adjust. I think we both have put a lot of work and a lot of different time in meeting him and meeting us and trying to find ways to kind of make sure everything works out. I think it's been great. He's done a great job of just listening to us, and we've done a great job of listening to him, and it's been a great relationship. Q. Do you take any special satisfaction or get any more hyped when you're going one-on-one against the league's MVP? And the other part of that issue, does Steph Curry look right to you physically right now? RUSSELL WESTBROOK: I play every game like it's my last, regardless of who's in front of me. That's my job. My job is to worry about my team and guard and run my team, and that's all I do. Q. Taking a 3-1 lead, can you talk about your level of confidence right now? RUSSELL WESTBROOK: I think we're in a good place. But like I said, this game is over. You've got to move on to the next game. Every game is different. Try to find ways to see where we can get better. Like Kevin said, we played a little slower parts of the game. They made a run. But I think we'll get back to the drawing board and figure out what we need to do to close it out. Q. How much do you think the fact that you guys, your length is bothering them? They had 21 turnovers. Seemed like you got a lot of hands on basketballs and deflections and things of that nature. KEVIN DURANT: Yeah, that's where we try to use our advantage. We're big for our positions from point guard to the center. So using our length is what we try to emphasize throughout the whole year. I think guys are doing a good job. They like to pass the ball freely and they like to move freely, so just trying to be physical, and trying to get our hands on some basketballs, and trying to get some deflections. I think that helps. Q. What did you think of Steven's baseball pass? He throws you some of those in practice sometimes. RUSSELL WESTBROOK: He did a great job. Steven's a great passer. He's made some big-time passes especially when the shot clock's going down. He has the ball in the middle of the plane. They practice that stuff in practice with the bigs. He did a great job making some passes tonight. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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