NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: ROCKETS vs WARRIORS

April 26, 2025

Steph Curry

Game 3 - Postgame Media Conference

Golden State Warriors 104, Houston Rockets 93

Q. You had a great game tonight. What happened there?

STEPH CURRY: There's beautiful. This series is all over the place. It's not going to be, I'll call it a beautiful brand of basketball just because the matchup and the defensive intensity and the physicality but for us to withstand a rough start shooting the ball, and finding flow, obviously without Jimmy, it takes a little bit of patience to figure out rotations and everybody is asked to do a little something different.

You know, we gave ourselves a chance by weathering the storm in the first quarter and then we closed out the second quarter with that run that kept it close, and then you know, we've had the No. 1 defense for a while. Obviously that's been with Jimmy but the mentality and the attention to detail gave us a chance to get over the hump in the second half, and we finished the game strong.

GP was unbelievable in the fourth quater; Draymond defensively. It all came together.

Q. Buddy has had an up-and-down season at times. Not only how important was he tonight but when you're being defend at times the wear, how crucial is the spacing?

STEPH CURRY: It's huge. We try to keep the game simple and to the point of how they are guarding me, if they are going to send a trap or double-team or blitz a pick-and-roll if I get off it, if we are spaced properly, Buddy is a guy that demands attention. You can't leave him open, and if he has a little bit of daylight, he's got to be able to take those and knock them down.

Moses hit a big one in the fourth at the beginning of the quarter. Those two guys are threats on the wing but Buddy especially, that's what he's done his whole career. For him to have a game like he did and shoot the ball the way he did and give defensive effort plus 14, like, that's big time.

Q. Knowing that Jimmy is going to be out, how does that impact how you make any adjustment whether it's physical or mental, knowing that he's not going to be there?

STEPH CURRY: There was just a moment in the second quarter where I had to kind of get a little bit more assertive and not let the double teams and the traps take me out of possessions. I only have four shots in the first quarter, and usually that can work to our advantage if we are moving the ball and guys are getting open looks.

But it didn't seem like there was a lot of flow, so I kind of did kind of force the issue a little bit in the second quarter and got going. Thankfully hit some shots.

But just trying to manage the game while I'm out there and understand where to pick-and-choose my shots because you can't just go crazy the whole game, playing 41 minutes, you have to understand the flow and when to, you know, look for your shot when you get the ball out of the trap and let things happen on the back end.

So it's similar to when Jimmy is there but that little bit in the second quarter, I understand we need to get some energy and some life going.

Q. Draymond was in earlier and he said that you recognize that maybe he didn't have his usual energy and so you took it upon yourself to pick it up and guys kind of followed that.

Did you sense any of that and is there an unspoken message to what you are trying to do to your teammates when you are trying to do something like that?

STEPH CURRY: No. Just trying to win. Like whatever it takes. We've been in these situations plenty of times. Draymond specifically, he's picked me up plenty of times. Might not be saying anything or demonstrative. It's just how you play; you understand the moment. Just trying to win no matter how it looks.

Q. How helpful is Jimmy in that role? Steve compared him a little bit to Andre when it comes to basketball smarts and seeing things, and what did you think of that full length fur coat?

STEPH CURRY: I almost didn't need a hot pack on the sideline sitting next to him. Plenty of heat emanating from him.

Yeah, he's a savvy veteran, high IQ guy. He's got a presence, whether he's active or not, where his voice matters, and we needed him to lift everybody up on the bench and give us that energy. His presence matched the fit for sure.

Q. Is there a number --

STEPH CURRY: You want to call me or text me? We can do this later.

Q. I gotcha. Is there a number of shots that lets you know if you're being aggressive enough? Do you say, all right, based on what we need, I should get up this number of shots? Secondly, when the defense is defending you the way they are, how do you manage that? Is it more of a physical battle or more like a mental or emotional battle?

STEPH CURRY: It's the second one -- it's all of the above. You didn't give in to, you know, again, the traps and blitzes and knowing the pick-and-roll can help us get some motion going, whether it's me taking a shot or you create a four on three on the back side.

But it is physically taxing because you're handling the pressure on the ball. You're trying to read where the big is, where certain driving gaps might be or where the pass is. So you've got to be locked in all mentally, physically, emotionally, be patient, knowing if it doesn't happen early, it's a 48-minute game, and I do pride myself on endurance to be able to finish as strong as you might start and feel as good in the fourth quarter as I do in the first quarter.

The shots, there's not really a number but you know when you're getting taken out of the game. There's a feeling, four shots in the first and two of them were kind of tough threes. You have to find a way to get free and get loose a little bit to keep the defense honest. It's not saying we don't have guys that can finish on the back end. But if I'm aggressive, then you get a situation where GP gets a backdoor cut because two guys go after me because I made a couple shots. You have to make sure you keep them honest.

Q. You've talked often about what good teams do. Without Jimmy, what did you learn about this team today that you can only learn in a playoff situation like today?

STEPH CURRY: Hopefully he's back next game or if he's not, we can still play at a high level and we can win a tough physical playoff game. I think we all know, we're trying to win 14 more of these. We need Jimmy to do that.

But if there's a situation where somebody is not available, next-man-up mentality, it's got to be a belief and a confidence. Two months ago, I don't know if we had that.

Q. Have you seen Jimmy's Instagram post postgame?

STEPH CURRY: Elite. Elite.

Q. Are you embracing this Batman idea he's really pushing?

STEPH CURRY: I mean, you can call it whatever you want to. I just know that I need to play at a high level for us to win and so does he and so does Draymond and so does everybody. Whatever you want to call me, I'll embrace it and hopefully it keeps happening.

Q. He said he was Alfred.

STEPH CURRY: He tried to push that as the "Butler"; he tried to push that on Jimmy which is kind of funny.

The only comparison is the post he has, I've actually used that when -- on like a last-minute tee time, and I need my guy to show up, I throw up that exact picture and whoever answers it gets the places in the tee time. It's kind of funny, now it's coming back full circle.

Q. Did you send him that?

STEPH CURRY: No, he made it on his own. I don't know if I can give him any royalties for the Curry brand sales we're going to have but I do appreciate it.

Q. There was a medical stoppage toward the end of the game where you are pleading?

STEPH CURRY: Oh, yeah, just a little scratch.

Q. What has the physical toll been like these first three games of the series?

STEPH CURRY: It's been up there, compared to any other series we've been in. But I love it, as long as it's consistent on both sides. You can play through some of that stuff, but if there's like egregious wraps or holds, which there were in the first two games and they weren't called, like that gets a little dicey.

But it's the playoffs. You try to not let it distract you and frustrate you, if a call doesn't go your way or not. Play through it. Don't look for bailouts, and usually good things happen over 48.

Q. One more question on Buddy. He has a unique personality and unique sense of humor. Do you have any favorite stories that come to mind of him off the court, behind the scenes in practice, on planes, of him just making you laugh?

STEPH CURRY: There's too many to count, man. The good news -- I don't have a specific story but it's just the energy and the presence he has. He's got his Bahamanian accent and you can hear him from a mile away. Any time we come in, he's got like this little monologue he does when he's feeling good, and it's like his -- a little bit of his native tongue kind of vibe, and he kind of goes and rolls with it. And it's at a high, high volume, so no matter where you are at, you hear him.

We love the consistency because he just is having fun, he's spontaneous, he loves basketball. He works. And if it goes his way or not, he's kind of the same guy.

Q. I was wondering, did Robin turn into Yogi Bear when he came out?

STEPH CURRY: This is getting crazy. I love it.

Q. Did you guys talk about this injury you had, similar injuries and the recovery process, and what he might expect or how long it would take to come back from that?

STEPH CURRY: Yes and no. Like they are all very unique because the angle, you land, how -- like the severity of the impact we have kind of different body types, too.

So there's a similarity but there's also each one is such a unique case that it's hard for any of us to really compare. Other than for him to get ready, I'm pretty sure he might need it when he comes back. But get ready for that pad I wore back in '21 and earlier this year.

So anything that gets you back on the court sooner, even if it's a little uncomfortable.