Talk a little bit about that.

How important was that to the outcome?

Well, they're a tremendous backcourt.

Uh, we're well aware of what what they're capable of.

So we're paying a lot of attention to them, just tryingto stay all over them if we can and not give up anything easy.

And I thought our defense was good, but I also thought we benefited from the schedule.

You know, we were able to finish our last Siri's on Friday and they had to go to a tough Game seven in Denver and a quick turnaround.

So the schedule favored us.

And But I thought we took advantage of the situation and got off to a good start.

Second row, right hand side, and the center with the athletic.

We shocked how they defended Stef, dropping their big so far off.

Uh, no.

You know, nothing.

Um, nothing really shocks me.

We've seen pretty much everything, and I think every every defense is sort of personnel based.

And so, um, you know, these playoff series air always interesting.

And they didn't have, you know, a whole lot of time to prepare.

So they've got a tape to look at, and I'm sure they'll make some adjustments.

But, you know, you got to do what you're most comfortable with, what your players are comfortable with, and that's what every team tries to do.

So Steph got free and had a big night and carried us at times, and obviously that was a big part of the game.

I also thought the key stretch for us was the 1st 5 minutes in the fourth quarter.

You know, they, uh, they made it a 66 or seven point game to start the fourth.

Portland made a really good run at the end of the third, and our bench came in, did a fantastic job getting us the lead back up to about 12 or so before we went back to our starters.

Great job by our bench.

Steve Markman, Dina Bair and miserable that.

No, with the bench.

What did you also see in the second quarter and overall, to be able to carry what they showed against the same thing?

Second quarter?

Um, you know, Jonas came in, knocked down a couple shots.

I thought Jordan bells, minutes were good.

You know, they just came in and executed and defended.

And you know, the biggest thing is if we can buy some time for our starters to rest and even extend the lead, then you know that's a that's a huge deal for us.

This, Siri's feels, feels like it's a Siri's where we can play more people.

It's a different matchup.

And, um and I think that what you saw tonight is what we'd like to get to every night if we can.

In terms of playing, playing 10 11 guys.

Third row, right hand side.

Hey, Steve.

Phil Barber, Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

When did the med staff clear Damian Jones to play?

And, uh, how is that for you to be able to send him on the court after all he's been through?

Yeah.

So he was cleared, basically, the last couple of days, he was cleared for contact.

He played a three on three yesterday.

Um, and you know, as of shoot around today, we had declared him out because we were just sort of, you know, in that routine over the last several months.

And, uh, you know, when we got to the stadium, the training staff said.

You know, he could go tonight so way had that extra roster spot because of our injuries and put him out there.

So it felt good to, uh, put him there in the last couple of minutes to see him do well.

He's been working unbelievably hard and and I such a great kid.

And so it's nice to see d J.

Back out on the floor.

Third row, left hand side coach.

Tony RV, Sacramento Observer.

You just mentioned about buying time.

You know what lay off that you had about what?

Buying time for rest of your players.

That's kind of like a strategy going in here because you got away with not play on one player on 40 minutes tonight.

That strategy came in with tonight?

Yeah, yeah, you know, as I said, we we feel like this is a Siri's where we can use more bench players and that that will be the strategy if we can, Um, but every game is different, so we'll see how it goes.

Scott Ostler, Chronicle Steve What did you think of your team's pace and push?

The way they pushed the ball?

I thought it was good I thought we were actually in a rush.

The first half, we took some quick shots.

Turnovers weren't too bad.

I think we had seven at the half.

We finished with 14 which is a decent number.

Um, but it seemed like we were just in a hurry.

The first half took a lot of quick ones were just not quite in our rhythm.

Um, but sometimes that happens.

You know, first game of the series.

You're kind of feeling out the game.

And I thought we settled in better in the second half.

C.

J Peterson, San Francisco Examiner.

See, What do you think?

The game of ah Drug Co Looney and Bell Trio Biggs came off the bench.

They combined for a plus 20 tonight.

Would you think their games overall?

They were great.

Looney has been great, you know, throughout the playoffs, every round.

You know, uh, Jonas and and Jordan have played sporadically 1st 2 rounds, but both guys came in, gave us a big left coach Bruce mingled with the KCBS.

The Blazers made a couple of runs, you know, made it interesting, but you never got the feeling they were really going to make that push.

Did you always feel pretty comfortable, you know, or was there always a little little uncertainty?

Because you know what Lillard and McCollum are capable of doing?

You never feel that comfortable.

There's an MBA coach in any any game because everyone's got talent and especially this team with McCollum and Lillard.

We know what they're capable of.

We've seen both of them just have huge nights in the playoffs.

CJ's Game seven was incredible the other day.

And, Damian, um, it goes without saying You know what?

He's what he's done.

So, you know, we go into the fourth.

I think it was a six point game.

No, I do not feel comfort.

No.

Coach Logan Murdoch, NBC Sports Bay Area.

You talk about the run in the third quarter, and they had 31 free throw attempts to you, I think 18.

Is there stuff that you want to kind of fix?

Going into Game two is as far as maybe sluggishness and things of that nature.

Yeah, well, watch the tape.

Um, tomorrow is a team.

Um, and coaching staff will come in in the morning and watch it, and, uh, you always figure, uh, figure some some things out.

You see some things.

You recognize some patterns when you go back and look at the tape.

So there's always adjustments to make, win or lose.

So we'll look for areas where we can get better and keeping them off the foul line.

Is one of them for sure.

Second road, left hands.

Steve Dream once had a string of pretty good games, but what else would have you seen from him from a leadership standpoint during the playoffs?

I just think he's very comfortable, You know, he's he's playing at such a high level, and he's, you know, he's mentoring the younger guys.

He's talking to them on the sidelines, and Draymond is one of the smartest players I've ever been around.

You know, he walks that line between being over the top emotional and and, um, and passionate, and I think he's walking the line really well.

Right now, he's just playing the game and delivering in a big way.

Fifth row, right hand side Collingwood handing her CBS sports dot com.

You talked about how this is a Siri's, where you might be able to claim or guys.

I'm just curious if you could elaborate on that on why this Siri's as opposed to maybe Houston, where you play fewer guys.

Um, it's just a different.

It's a different game.

Every team presents different challenges.

There's different matchups.

And, um, you know, the way Houston plays it makes it more difficult to play a lot of people.

They've you know, they just looked isolate should, um, every spot on the floor.

And, um, their style of play makes it more difficult.

So nothing earth shattering.

Great.

Thank you.

Go.

Shots will be in here momentarily.