Bill Baptist/Getty Images Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr channeled Liverpool FC manager Jurgen Klopp and called his team "f--king giants" after the Warriors beat the Houston Rockets 104-99 in Game 5 of their NBA second-round playoff series Wednesday despite losing leading scorer Kevin Durant to a right calf strain late in the third quarter. (Warning: Video below contains profanity.) Klopp used the phrase after his side beat Barcelona FC 4-3 on aggregate after finding itself down 3-0 following the first Champions League semifinal leg. Durant, who averaged 35.4 points in 10 postseason games before Wednesday, has been the Warriors' best and most consistent player in this year's playoffs by far. Although the Warriors have a few perennial All-Stars in Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, Golden State's fourth-quarter performance sans Durant was still impressive considering the team has been inconsistent during this year's playoffs. Kerr specifically cited Curry's performance post-Durant injury after answering a question from Jason Dumas of KRON4 Sports: Video Play Button Videos you might like The two-time NBA MVP scored 12 points and dished a pair of assists in the fourth, which helped shift the momentum back in Golden State's favor after Houston outscored the Warriors 29-15 in the third to tie the game at 72. The Rockets will host the Warriors for Game 6 on Friday at 9 p.m. ET. Durant will be getting an MRI Thursday, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. His Game 6 status has not been determined.<doc-sep>OAKLAND, Calif. — With TNT airing his postgame press conference live, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr on Wednesday night spiced praise for his players with profanity. “Our guys are (expletive) giants," Kerr said after watching his team beat the Houston Rockets 104-99 in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals despite losing Kevin Durant to a leg injury in the third quarter. The Warriors lead the series 3-2. WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE CELTICS:Disappointing season comes to an end “I don’t know if you’re a soccer fan, but Liverpool yesterday came out with one of the great wins in soccer history,’’ Kerr said, referring to Liverpool’s victory over Barcelona. “After the match, the manager, Jurgen Klopp, said, ‘The young kids of Liverpool are probably asleep by now, so I’m just going to go ahead and say it. Our boys are (expletive) giants.’ “That’s what he said. I know how he feels, so I apologize to my mom, who’s probably watching. But our guys are (expletive) giants." Golden State led 68-65 when Durant limped off the court and headed to the locker room with what the team described as a calf strain. Considering the Rockets had all but erased a 20-point deficit when Durant went down, Golden State looked to be in trouble. But Steph Curry (25 points) shook off his shooting woes and helped spur the Warriors to one of their most inspired playoff victories in recent years.<doc-sep>He then paused before saying "Liverpool came out yesterday with one of the greatest wins in soccer history. After the match, their manager Jurgen Klopp said, ‘all the young kids in Liverpool are probably asleep, so I’m just going to go ahead and say it: our boys are f--king giants.' I know how he feels.<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>
Steve Kerr was fired up. On Wednesday night, following his Golden State Warriors’ Game 5 victory over the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals, Kerr channeled his inner Jurgen Klopp and dropped two f-bombs during his postgame press conference. It was a press conference that aired live on TNT. “Our guys are f---ing giants,” Kerr said. “That was an unbelievable victory tonight.” Kerr, whose comments aired around 1:30 a.m. ET, was referencing the postgame comments of Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, that followed Tuesday’s triumphant victory over Barcelona. “I don’t know if you’re a soccer fan, but Liverpool came out with one of the great wins in soccer history,” Kerr, a Liverpool fan, said. “After the match, the manager, Jurgen Klopp, said, ‘The young kids of Liverpool are probably asleep by now, so I’m just going to go ahead and say it. Our boys are f---ing giants.’ I know how he feels.” Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was fired up after Wednesday night's win over Houston. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill) Kerr, who made sure to apologize to his mom for cursing, had a right to be thrilled with his team’s effort. The Warriors led by just three points when they lost star Kevin Durant to a calf injury in the third quarter. The Rockets had already clawed back from a 20-point deficit at that point, and the Warriors looked to be in a really tough spot. But Durant’s teammates, especially Steph Curry, stepped up, and the Warriors prevailed 104-99 in a hard-fought effort. The victory gave the Warriors a 3-2 edge in the West semis and a chance to close things out in Game 6 on Friday night in Houston. More from Yahoo Sports: