Steph Curry shares he wasn't afraid of ‘failure' in Warriors' NBA play-in win
Warriors point guard Steph Curry speaks to reporters after Golden State's 126-121 play-in win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
Steph Curry shares he wasn't afraid of 'failure' in Warriors' NBA play-in win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
We talked about it the whole time, just if we have any type of, you know, chance or, or hope to extend our season, I wanted to be out there to experience it.
You don't imagine it going like it did tonight, but just proud of how we all, you know, fought and the guys that are out there withstanding the runs that they, they went on, the leads that they built up, and we always had an answer.
And, and then you see, you know, play after play after play.
Al, KP, Gee hit some big shots.
We kinda just stayed with it and obviously I was able to contribute, but it was That was fun.
That's, that's what you live for right there.
Steph, I've heard a lot of Over here, on your left, I guess.
I've heard a lot of players talk about entering the flow state, but I feel like you're sort of an example of that almost on another level.
Like, not to get hyperbolic, but it kinda seems like you transcend into another plane of existence sometimes when you're in, on one of those heaters.
What does that, like, look like, feel like?
What is that experience like for you when you're in that kind of flow state?
I'm just having fun.
I think the muscle memory and the reps and the work that you put in your entire life kinda comes out at the right times.
I always talk about earning and deserving the confidence that you play with because of the work that you put in, and then not, not being afraid of failure and missed shots or bad, you know, turnovers or whatever it is.
You just keep going and then the shot goes in.
There's a rhythm to it.
you keep finding yourself open, and you just en-enjoy the, the environment.
Like, I've had a lot been blessed with a lot of moments like that, and the work that goes into it, I honest- that's the only real answer is just 'cause it, it You can't, like, choreograph any of it.
It's just if I see some daylight, shoot it and have confidence and, and, and hope that you're prepared for those opportunities.
Steve has been talking a, a little existentially recently just about, you know, kind of findin'- feeling the finality of this in some ways.
And he talked tonight about how this is one of his favorite wins because, you know, regardless of if it's in the play and it, you know, at the end, getting another one of these type of nights.
I'm curious, I mean, do you find yourself at all thinking about that bigger picture there and then, you know, did tonight feel more special than, you know, a normal nine, 10 play-in game would feel?
You think about it 'cause that's your life, but you don't think about it in the middle of a game or in your preparation.
It's We're basketball players and coaches, and we all love this game.
And so I think we all had a different, a good energy the last three days with the mental prep and the game plan.
Like, that got our, our juices flowing.
The film sessions, they were a little longer than the regular season.
The walkthroughs were a little bit more intentional.
just the conversations that we were having and then that feeds into the game.
the only I, I'm sure he-- Part of why, why he said what he said about tonight was 'cause it's unpredictable.
We haven't had our group together for a long enough time where you know how it's gonna go.
In years past, like, you know, kind of what to expect just based on the body of work that a team puts together.
With this team, we don't have that, and so we're trying to piece it together on the fly.
And the fact that we were as resilient as we were tonight and everybody contributed was just a testament to just being gamers and loving the moment.
So obviously we gotta go do it again on Friday.
Steph, when, when you, when you look at Draymond, I mean, he was just in here saying he prides himself on his preparedness, but he, he had to live with the fear that Kawhi would embarrass him because of his ability offensively.
And when you, when you step back a-and watch what he's able to do defensively, even at the age of thirty-six, I mean, what, what do you kind of say about him?
He's special.
He's a Hall of Famer.
just a defen-defensive savant when it comes to being in the right place at the right time, fully committing to what the, the job is.
It's not a fun job.
It's, you know, like you're saying, I-- Offensively, you go, you have your freedom.
You can do whatever you want, make or miss shots, whatever.
Defensively, you're at the, you know, the mercy of somebody like a Kawhi Leonard who is gonna make you work all night.
And I think Draymond, he, he feeds off of those battles, those matchups.
It gets him going.
and, you know, it's our job to have his back, but the way he played tonight and just the, the level of impact he had was incredible.
I, I'm falling short on the words to describe it.
It was un- it was unbelievable.
Steph, after you made that three in the final minute and falling into the courtside fans, what was the interactions with them like?
I was just playing around with one of the guys.
I actually landed in his lap, and, he was making sure I was good.
And then we had a little back and forth.
Very pleasant, though.
It was fun.
And then I knew we were calling time out.
Just wanted to enjoy that moment, so it was, it was fun.
To, to follow a little bit on that same shot, two-man action, you and Draymond, how would you contextualize the fourteen years of trust and chemistry that you guys have built that allows you to continue to execute in high pressure situations like that?
Just knowing patterns of how a team's playing you over the course of a game, and that there's a, a call or an action you can go to that you're pretty confident will be able to get me a shot.
But if not, then, you know, we either get Draymond in a pocket and he's been able to make plays.
But-It's fun because we didn't There was no timeout.
There was no white, you know, clipboard drawing up a play.
It was just us being in, in sync on what we were seeing and how they were trying to guard me.
You know, with less than a minute left, just trying to get a good look, and we got to our, some of our pet actions and it was, right time, you know, right place, right execution.
Thankfully I made it.
Obviously your and Draymond's championship DNA extends very deep.
how f- this was just a play-in game, but how fun did it feel to tap back into that a bit tonight?
Like I said, this is what, this is what you work all year for, all summer, off-season.
You know, we're not guaranteed a series yet, but these nights make everything worth it because you feel the anxiety of having to perform when the lights are bright, do or die game.
Like I said, the last two days of preparation, trying to get our game plan right got us really locked in on the moment.
So considering how our season has gone and all the injuries and all that, for us to play the way we did tonight, it was special.
I know we're not satisfied and we wanna go to Phoenix and, and guarantee, you know, a playoff series against OKC.
That's, that's the next goal.
But for us to lock in on just 48 minutes, figure it out however we can, you know, get a win knowing that the game was not gonna be perfect, we were all pretty committed to that.
And, you know, the eight guys that got on the floor all had a, had a part in, in making it happen.
Steph, Gee and Brandon have both taken huge steps here in the last few months, mostly while you were out and mostly while the games didn't have huge consequence.
I mean, you guys lost a lot of them and slipped from seven to 10.
Given that, how awkward is it to suddenly play under the bright lights with them and have them come through the way they did in this situation?
I think those reps helped 'cause they got to feel the pressure of performing every single night and being, a little higher on the scouting report of the other team and just dealing with, you know, your own expectations of how you wanna play as, as a, you know what you put on yourself.
And so one of the messages when I got back was, "Don't just run around looking to get me the ball."
Like, everybody has to be aggressive and capable scorer and just play with confidence, and we'll figure everything else out.
So I think those reps definitely helped those guys, and that's why I think this matters even more than just the emotions of being in, you know, a play-in or a hopeful playoff scenario, is to see these guys get that payoff when it comes to playing games like this.
And, you know, Gee hit, you know, two big shots in the second half that kinda were like momentum killers.
BP was, was all over the place, you know, with his, his energy and, filling, you know, lineups that sometimes he-- we didn't know what position he was playing.
So it was kinda just fun to just see everybody figure it out on the fly, and those two guys who haven't been in, you know, big-time playoff type moments, you know, play as well as they did.
Two more, and then Steph, you guys have obviously watched Al do it for a long time from a distance in big games.
What was it like for you to sit there in the fourth and watch him rain down threes like he did?
I had flashbacks to game one in the '22 finals, 'cause it was just like that where all of a sudden I think he was Was he O for three?
Yeah.
He, he was O for three at one point from three, and then, you know, he hits, he hits the first one.
It was just a w- it was just a sign of how confident he was shooting it.
There was no hesitation.
There was no doubt.
It was just, "I'm, I'm open.
I'll, I'll shoot it."
That's championship pedigree and experience that, when he's been healthy and available, he's shown that all year, and I'm glad that, that he was able to get back in time to do exactly what he did tonight.
And he's been a huge part of the vision of what this team was supposed to be.
And, yeah, I'm, I'm super happy for him 'cause we've seen the work that he's put in behind the scenes to get right for, for this stretch run.
Last one.
Yeah, Gary.
Hey, Steph.
as you mentioned, this is the first big step.
Now you guys go to Phoenix.
I'm just curious your initial, thoughts on that matchup and what it's gonna take to, to get another win.
Similar approach to tonight.
You know, there's gonna be runs back and forth.
They started out 12-2 tonight and felt like we were down 10 multiple times throughout the game, but we kept answering.
You know, Phoenix is a high-powered offense.
You know, Dillon and, and, and Devin have been playing great all year long.
They have guys that can, you know, create a lot off the dribble.
Watched the game against Portland.
You know it's gonna be a great atmosphere, so, I'm, we're excited about it.
And I didn't get to watch the Orlando-Philly game, but the plan is delivering this year.
It's been, it's been good, good basketball to watch, so hopefully we can, add to that and get another win.
