OKC Thunder: Gregg Popovich knew Thunder would not quit

Q: Describe Oklahoma City for us. What are the challenges of playing …

Popovich: “It's flat. It's clean. Good people. Nice place to live. That's really all I know about it.”

Q: How about the team?

Popovich: “One hell of a team. Maybe the hardest team we've ever played against to guard. Unbelievably talented, committed. They're aggressive, they're physical. Obviously, wellcoached. It's a team that creates a myriad of problems and they're consistent. They just keep coming at you. They're in the Western Conference finals for a reason.”

Q: Will they play better at home?

Popovich: “I hope they don't. Chances are they will, but it's not like they've played badly and we've played well. It's a game of changing momentum and runs and that sort of thing. We've scored down the stretches in fourth quarters when we needed to. That was fortunate for us. Who knows if that's because you're at home or because you executed well. It's always a little bit of both. The 20 won't faze them. They'll come out and play a great game at home.  It will reinforce their confidence and their approach. So it will be a heck of a Game 3.”

TNT POST-GAME

As the TNT crew of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith did their postgame show over the southwest tunnel at Chesapeake Energy Arena, a crowd of roughly 500 people stayed behind for roughly an hour to observe, applaud, cheer and chant whenever it seemed appropriate.

FISH PASSES KOBE

Thunder reserve guard Derek Fisher passed former teammate Kobe Bryant to the No. 3 spot on the all-time list for career playoff games with 221. Fisher trails only Robert Horry (244) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (237).