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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: WARRIORS vs ROCKETS

May 19, 2018

Klay Thompson

Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. Draymond Green was just saying that if you guys get stops, you get a lot better looks from three-point range when you're in transition and the defense hasn't set. Is that a pretty big key going into Game 3?
KLAY THOMPSON: Yep, I agree with Draymond.

Q. Watching the film of Game 2, did you feel like you were moving like you normally do, like off the ball?
KLAY THOMPSON: Nope, but I'll be better tomorrow. I guarantee it.

Q. What did you notice how they approached you defensively as opposed to Game 1?
KLAY THOMPSON: Just trying to take away open looks. Got to hunt for those open looks, not settle. I'll do that tomorrow.

Q. Steve Kerr spoke about point of attack and stopping them immediately to get those defensive stops. What's the key in doing that better?
KLAY THOMPSON: Probably got to stand in front of my man better. We want to take away their threes, so it's tough, but force them to drive and take a tough two. That's easier said than done. Just staying in front of my man. It's that simple. But they're a very good team one-on-one, so it's a very hard challenge.

Q. Why is it you guys seem to bounce back not only a little bit but a ton after you play a poor game the one previous?
KLAY THOMPSON: I think we're just prideful. We're not satisfied with our last performance, so we want to redeem ourselves -- in our fans' eyes, in our eyes and in our coaching staff's eyes. I think it's just a point of pride to be better than we were last time.

Q. It seems like home-court advantage becomes even more important in the postseason. For you, is it strictly the crowd getting into it and jacking you up for it, or are there other things like the sight lines behind the basket and sleeping in your own bed and stuff like that?
KLAY THOMPSON: The crowd helps a lot. They help a ton. Just being at home, being able to do things outside of your house and just having fun off the court also helps.

Q. When you say you need to hunt for shots, do you feel like you need to be more aggressive and force the issue?
KLAY THOMPSON: Not really force the issue but just be more aggressive, whether that's to make a play for somebody else or getting my own shot. Just be more aggressive. Be more of a threat instead of just standing around.

Q. Draymond said you guys thrive when you guys are threatened, but you've had your one bump now and it's time to lock in and deliver. Why do you guys perform so well when you're threatened?
KLAY THOMPSON: I don't know. When we have our backs against the wall -- I don't think they're against the wall right now, but when we're threatened, like you said, we just play with a great urgency and hustle. You add in our shooting and our talent, that's a great combination right there.

Q. Have you felt like the team has been practicing with urgency the past couple days?
KLAY THOMPSON: Yeah, we're all very eager to get back on that court tomorrow. We've all been going very hard at practice. We're ready. It's going to be a great Game 3.

Q. Do you feel threatened knowing you got the split, you took care of business and did what you wanted to do? Is it strange that you feel threatened in that situation?
KLAY THOMPSON: I don't think so, because it's better than being relaxed. It's a good feeling for us. When we play with that edge and we play on edge, usually that's when the best comes out of us.

Q. You've said before when you've had a rare off shooting night that you have that short memory and that sort of thing. Specifically from Game 2, is that something you quickly forgot about? Or do you watch the film? How do you kind of process that?
KLAY THOMPSON: I still watch the film to see what I could have done better and try to apply it tomorrow. But I do have a short memory when it comes to shooting. Whatever I've done in the past will not affect what I do tomorrow, whether it's been a great game or a bad game.

Q. Is the three days off good or would you rather be playing?
KLAY THOMPSON: No, it's great. I'm having a great time. I'm excited for tomorrow, though.

Q. When Kevin Durant isolates, does it make it a little bit harder to resist staying in place because you've got sight lines?
KLAY THOMPSON: Yeah, it does, but we have to move off the ball because that's how we create mismatches and that's how you lose the defense. It's something we worked on. I bet the ball movement will be much better tomorrow.

Q. They're obviously a really good defensive team, but they're not the longest team in the league. They've got some length but not an incredible amount. Is there anything specifically that they do especially well that makes them a good defensive team?
KLAY THOMPSON: They're good at switching. They're pretty good at guarding the ball. They've got some good on-ball defenders. They play like us as far as being able to switch 1 through 5. So we've got to attack those mismatches when we can.

Q. KD was amused and sort of didn't want to hear it yesterday when anybody even brought up Steph Curry's shooting struggles. Does it just take one for him to be Steph again if he's a little bit off in a previous game?
KLAY THOMPSON: I don't know. Is he struggling? Certainly 7-for-19 is not good but it's not terrible.

Q. I'm saying what we asked him about yesterday --
KLAY THOMPSON: I mean, the game before that he went 8-for-15. That's pretty good. That's really good.

Q. Maybe from deep is what they're getting that.
KLAY THOMPSON: I'm not worried. We have to do a better job of helping him get open looks as a team, because once he makes a couple open looks he can make every shot in the book. I don't think anyone is worried.

Q. What's the best way to get him more of those open looks?
KLAY THOMPSON: Screening. Fast breaks -- definitely getting there on transition. Those two things.

Q. The numbers say the Rockets are one of the better teams at defending off-ball screens. Is that what you've seen?
KLAY THOMPSON: They're pretty good at it, but I think it's more on us just to be smarter. Slip, and just read the game better than we did Game 2. Do what we did in Game 1; that would be good.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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