NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: TIMBERWOLVES VS WARRIORS

May 12, 2025

Kevon Looney

Golden State Warriors

Game 4 - Postgame Media Conference

Timberwolves - 117, Warriors - 110

Q. How can you guys find a way to score without Steph, which is obviously the life of the series just without him?

KEVON LOONEY: We're trying to push the tempo, get extra possessions, play through Jimmy. I think J.K. has been really aggressive, he's been scoring. Everybody else has to take the open shots, things like that.

We scored decent today. I think we didn't get enough stops to win a game. We're talking about winning with our defense, and we didn't do a good enough job to get the win.

Q. What's it like battling with Gobert? And you also got Julius Randle out there, and even McDaniels getting in the paint, what's that like?

KEVON LOONEY: It presents its challenges. Randle had it going today. He hit a bunch of tough shots. Tip your hat off to him. He made some tough ones. I felt we guarded him decent. We can still do a better job.

But him, Rudy, they carry a lot -- they put a lot of pressure on the rim, which causes a lot of kickout 3s, things like that. We've got to do a better job protecting our paint and being able to defend the 3-point line.

Q. What do you feel went wrong in the third quarter?

KEVON LOONEY: We had too many turnovers. We talk about winning a possession game. And I think in the third, we turned the ball over a little bit, and that led to some Edwards 3s, and they got their confidence, and we were having a tough time scoring.

So I think us getting a good shot every time and getting back in transition is was big there.

Q. Kavon, Draymond talked about you've got to just win one game. What gives you the belief in the signs you can get the Game 5 win in Minnesota and get it back here?

KEVON LOONEY: We feel like we can play a lot better. We feel like we got a good game to win a game. We've just got to execute it. We (indiscernible) did it for 36 minutes, 40 minutes; we've got to do it do it for a whole 48. If we do that we can win.

We have belief, we have faith. We'll take it possession by possession, quarter by quarter. We've got to put together a full game, not just 40 good minutes of basketball.

Q. How does your offense change when you get nine shots from Jimmy as opposed to when he's taking 26?

KEVON LOONEY: I mean, Jimmy is a great manager of the game. He kind of knows when he needs to shoot more, and knows when to pick his spots. We never really say, oh, you've got to be more aggressive, because he knows when he needs to push the button and when he needs to go.

So we have the ultimate faith he's going to make the right decision when he's in the paint. Because he gets to the paint when he wants to, but deciding when he wants to take the shots or kick it out to other guys. We've kind of followed his lead and do whatever he does.

Q. How have you seen him battle through what he's dealing with physically? And sounds like maybe he was a little under the weather today?

KEVON LOONEY: Definitely, but he's a tough guy. He doesn't talk about everything he has going on. We know he's fighting through injuries and other ailments.

But he's our leader and we've got to follow what he does. We can't complain. It's that time of year where guys are hurting. And we know -- we give a lot of credit for him pushing through the injury that a lot of guys would probably sit out with.

He's been a blessing for our team, and we've been following his lead. And we're going to keep following him and hopefully follow him for a win the next game.

Q. You've been teammates with Steph a long time. How would you describe his mood trying to get back and having a chance in the series?

KEVON LOONEY: He's been -- Steph is the same as always. He's pretty upbeat. You can tell it's killing him not to be on the floor. But he's trying to keep a positive spirit. We need his leadership and energy. Even though he's not playing, he still gives that confidence and that wealth of knowledge that he has on the sideline. And everybody kind of looks to him still for guidance and for his wisdom.

He's been trying to stay positive, but we know he's extremely frustrated not being out there. But when he's on the court, he's trying to coach us up.

Q. What are some of the controllables you guys feel like you could manage better in Game 5?

KEVON LOONEY: The turnovers, the second-chance points. Those are the biggest things we keep talking about. Trying to keep guys off the free-throw line. We (indiscernible) a little bit too much today too. Those are the things we have to win in the margins. We haven't been doing a good job of it the last two games.

Q. Anything the Wolves are doing to force those turnovers, anything special in particular they're doing?

KEVON LOONEY: They're a great defensive team, especially when we get in half court. They're long, athletic and they're putting a lot of ball pressure on us. It makes it tough.

We just need to be more organized, get to our spots and our space and we'll be able to score.