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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WARRIORS VS SPURS

May 21, 2017

Kevin Durant

Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. The last two Game 4s you guys have had, you guys came out hyper-aggressive, really intense. What was the key behind that? Was it just sensing that you could finish it off, or what was it?
KEVIN DURANT: Yeah, man, just wanted to finish it off, wanted to come out here and play well and not have any letups. I think the last two Game 4s throughout the series, we've been playing well. We want to just keep it going, and we want to be better than we were last night, I think. That's the main thing. We watched some film and seen where we were a little bit too relaxed and too -- just not playing with the edge that we played with Game 2. We played with it in spurts, but we've got to put together a whole game, so hopefully tomorrow is even better.

Q. Do you feel like you had to take over in the second half?
KEVIN DURANT: I just went out there and I just went out and played. I didn't predetermine anything. Coach called my number, I scored a few times, he kept calling it. Simple.

Q. You've had a lot of battles with Manu over the years. When you think of him, what's the first thing you think of?
KEVIN DURANT: You can just tell his love for the game is deep. I think what's the most impressive to me is he continued to play for his country each summer. I think that's something that should be recognized. He's, what, 39 years old and is playing his tail off, man. He looks great out there. Somebody that we're having a hard time staying in front of. But you can just tell how much he loves the game of basketball, and it's something that you can appreciate. It's hard to see it from watching it on TV -- you can probably still see it from watching it on TV, but when you're on the court, it's on another level. He's someone that's a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer who we enjoy having in this league. A lot of us grew up watching Manu and really respect his game, played against him and had battles with him year in and year out, pretty epic.

Q. What are you expecting out of them tomorrow night?
KEVIN DURANT: Well, you know what the Spurs are about. They play 48 minutes, play tough, play hard, execute their system, and their crowd is one of the best in the league, one of the best in sports. They're going to bring the energy. The team is going to bring the energy. They've got a lot of pride. These guys are pros, man, so we can't come out here and feel like we've won already before the game starts. We've got to go take it.

Q. Do you get a sense when you're playing the pace you want to play that they struggle to keep up with your pace?
KEVIN DURANT: Yeah, I feel like that's been the story for us all year, man. When we get it out, makes or misses, we get out and run, run our offense in transition we're pretty tough to stop, but that starts on the defensive end. I think the first quarter was horrible for us defensively, but they were shooting 63 percent, and then I look up and they're shooting 46 percent, meaning that there was a stretch where they might have only scored a few possessions at a time, you know, so whereas before they were scoring every time down. Once we get stops or get out and run and find our shooters, find guys getting to the rim, we're pretty tough. But also, when they made a shot we were pushing the ball. Draymond is really good at that, as well. That's always been the story for us, try to up the tempo but also play smart and disciplined. We weren't as smart and disciplined last night with the 21 turnovers, but I like our pace.

Q. This summer after you signed, they didn't really have much money for the center spot. What have you thought about the way they've constructed that with Zaza [Pachulia] and JaVale [McGee]?
KEVIN DURANT: They've done a great job. You've got to give credit to the front office and also Coach [Steve] Kerr for knowing what D-West [David West] brings to the table, Zaza, JaVale, and putting them in position to be successful and also having so many smart players, different guys that can dribble, that can pass, that can shoot, and it makes it easier for everybody. Having Andre [Iguodala] who can handle, having Steph, Klay, Draymond, myself that can handle the ball and create for others, it makes it easier for the bigs.

Q. I know you've never played there, but do you appreciate the way that San Antonio has approached things?
KEVIN DURANT: Yeah, I mean, the bigger picture, they make it about the players, which it should always be about. I'm sure that the fans and even Kawhi wanted to play on a hurt ankle, but he's 25 years old, got a lot of great basketball left in him, and you know, the risk to reward, I don't know if it's worth it to maybe risk making it worse to go out there and play. You know, obviously you never want to see anybody hurt, but you always want guys to have a long career and finish off their career on their terms, so I think that's what's most important thing. Coach Pop sees the big picture and he knows that he has a long career ahead of him, and hopefully he continues to get better and the ankle will get stronger. But you've got to appreciate an organization who puts the players first instead of worrying about wins and losses all the time.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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