LOS ANGELES -- Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson said he didn't regret his now-famous "bull in the china shop" quotes regarding Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin said on a San Francisco radio station earlier this week.
"At this point I don't really care. No regrets, it's fine," Thompson said Saturday before Game 1 of their first-round series at Staples Center. "When you step through those lines, nobody really cares what you said before. If you go out there and perform, that's all that really matters."
Thompson explained that he wasn't trying to start a conflict with Griffin, he just gave an honest answer to a question about why Griffin has a reputation for frustrating opponents.
"They asked me why he gets under people's skin," Thompson said. "It is what it is. I guess I should've expected that."
The normally buttoned-up Thompson made his comments in a radio interview Wednesday, setting an aggressive tone for the Warriors in this series.
"He is a good guy off the court but he probably just ... I mean ... plays pretty physical and flops a little bit," Thompson told "The Wheelhouse" on 95.7 The Game radio in San Francisco. "He flails his arm around so, you know, you might catch a random elbow or something that doesn't, you know, rub off too well on guys. He's kind of like a bull in a china shop, kind of out of control sometimes. And then you do just see him flop sometimes, like how can a guy that big and strong flop that much.
"I can see how that gets under people's skin and be frustrating to play against."
Asked Saturday if the Warriors would actively be trying to knock Griffin off his game in this series, Thompson said, "Yes, no question. You try to do that to everybody's best player. If we can get him and Chris Paul out of rhythm, that'd be huge for us because they make that team go. We've got to make other players besides them beat us, too, because they've proven they can carry the load."
Griffin has also dismissed the comment.
"This isn't my thing. I play basketball," Griffin said on Thursday. "I don't want to get into back and forth. I think we're ready to play, and it sounds like they are, too."