Jaylen Brown, forward of the Celtics, assured that everyone knows what Draymond Green is like, with whom he had a feud in the second game of the NBA Finals, lost 108-87 in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors, and that he is a player who “does everything to win”. “It’s the NBA Finals. I know what Draymond tries to do, he tries to be physical, to push you, to increase the intensity.. But I’m looking forward to the challenge in the next game,” Brown said at the Chase Center post-match press conference. “Green will keep trying to do everything he can to win,” he added.
Brown considered that his team should not focus on the decisions of the referees, despite the fact that his discomfort was evident, and stressed that the Celtics must “learn” from this match for the next two, which will be played on Wednesday and Friday in Boston. “We have to give it our all every night, it’s what has taken us to the Finals. We have to play basketball,” she stressed.
Also Jayson Tatum, leader of the Celtics, referred to the controversies experienced with Green during the match and considered that his team should try to withstand that intensity. “We know what Green brings. We just have to live with it,” he said. He considered that the main reason for the defeat this Sunday was the 18 turnovers by the Celtics, which led to 33 points for the Warriors. “You have to be more careful with the ball, there are times when we lose a lot,” he said.
Kerr: “We knew we had to be more aggressive”
Steve Kerr, coach of the Warriors, praised his team’s reaction to equalize the Finals this Sunday: “I think everyone was more connected. It was quite obvious, our level of strength and being physical intensified it a lot, so I had to be. What Boston did in the fourth quarter the other day,we knew that we had to come today with a greater concentration and with a greater sense of aggressiveness I think that started for us from the beginning, and Draymond Green played a great role.”
After letting go of a first game that they won by 15 points in the third quarter, the Warriors were proud and destroyed the Celtics (107-88) thanks to a magnificent third quarter (35-14). Kerr referred to that great third quarter and praised in particular the work of Stephen Curry, who scored 14 of his 29 points in those twelve minutes: “Yes, Steph It was impressive in that room. Not only in his shots but also in his defensive effort,” said the coach, who said the Warriors star doesn’t get “enough credit” for his defensive work: “People try to wear him down because they know how important he is to us. in attack. It is quite spectacular the change in the strength and physical condition of the body of Steph since eight years ago. He is incredible. He keeps working on his game, his strength, his fitness year after year and it’s a joy to watch him play every night.”
The Warriors coach also expressed his joy at the return of Gary Payton II, who hadn’t played since breaking his elbow in a controversial foul by Brooks in the series against the Memphis Grizzlies: “He needed a few extra days to be ready (Thursday sat on the bench but didn’t play) and I think he was brilliant today. His level of defense, physical effort and speed in transition gives us a huge boost“,
Al Horford: “I can’t wait to get back to the Garden”
Dominican center Al Horford, for his part, assured that he is “eager to return to the Garden” to play the third game of the Finals and warned that “there will be ‘rock'”, when referring to the environment that prepares their fans. “I’m already thinking about Game 3. I’m looking forward to getting back to the Garden, I know there will be rock on Wednesday.” The Dominican recognized that his team, which lost 19 balls, was not “good enough” to compete against the Warriors this time.
“They were better in defense, we missed many easy points, I have to improve first. I’ll watch the video and learn, we’ll be better at it“. And he assumed that his team needs to significantly lower the number of lost balls if it wants to have a chance of being champion. “In many of our victories we did not lose many balls and in many defeats we lost many. In order to win, we have to reduce them. I want to see the video, understand what happened. I think we have to play our rhythm, when we play that way is when we are better“.
Udoka: “We didn’t play to the best of our potential”
Ime Udoka, coach of the Celtics, assured that it is “a displeasure to receive so many points after lost balls”, and recognized that his team did not know how to express its potential: “We had eleven losses in the first half and we were not good when we had the ball. It’s a disappointment for us to receive so many points after a loss. We didn’t play a great first half and were down by two points. But we keep doing it (chaining lost balls) in the second“.
Udoka, whose team received 33 points after 19 turnovers, acknowledged that this setback, coming after the Celtics’ brilliant victory in Game 1, is “painful.” “We didn’t play to the best of our potential.”lamented the coach, who will have to motivate his players again for the third and fourth games, set in Boston.
#Finals #Draymond #Green