Patty Mills is remaining positive heading into the San Antonio Spurs' crucial game three of the NBA Western Conference Finals despite suffering a 36-point thrashing and copping a team hammering from coach Gregg Popovich.
The Golden State Warriors demolished a lifeless Spurs 136-100 on Tuesday in Oakland, California, to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Game three is in San Antonio on Saturday.
Popovich said his team, after losing star forward Kawhi Leonard to an ankle injury, went into the game not believing they could win and feeling sorry for themselves.
Australian point guard Mills declined to agree or disagree with Popovich's assessment and instead said he was focused on looking ahead.
"It's a long series," Mills told reporters.
"Now we are going back home and there's still a lot of reasons to believe.
"We are just going to keep pounding on that.
"There's nothing to lose really."
Leonard is expected to play game three.
Mills said the emotion the Spurs felt from losing Leonard in what Popovich described as a dangerous and unsportsmanlike play by Warriors' centre Zaza Pachulia should have fired up his team, not subdued them.
"If anything it should give us more confidence and encourage us more," Mills said.
"It should add more fuel to the fire."
Popovich called out every member of the Spurs, except for forward Jonathon Simmons, for showing fight in the lopsided loss.
Mills had a forgettable game, missing four of his six shots for five points.
Warriors acting head coach Mike Brown revealed after Tuesday's win one of the keys to the Warriors' game plan for the series was for their All-Star guard Klay Thompson to hamper Mills' offence.
"You're not going to stop a guy like Patty, especially in offence with the way he moves and all that, but you just want him to try to take as tough shots as you can," Brown said.
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