HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS “First off, I’ll say Utah played hard. They had a lot of young kids, guys getting an opportunity, and they played hard. They deserved to win. There’s really not an excuse for playing the way we did. It’s very disappointing, very frustrating, and hopefully it was very sobering for everybody.” What was frustrating? “Everything – our start, our communication, our defense to begin with. We gave them confidence. Offense comes and goes but we didn’t bring a defensive mentality, regardless of who played. Whether LA plays, whether Arron plays, whether Wes plays, we didn’t have a defensive mindset. We thought it was going to be easier than it was. Chris Johnson, Jeramy Evans, Bryce Cotton, Elijah Millsap, Jack Cooley – 45 points off their bench. They were glad to be out there. Did you sense your team didn’t want to be out there? “They wanted to be out there, we just didn’t do what it takes to win an NBA game.” On Booker’s career night: “Booker had a career in the first quarter. I don’t know what his career high, but I would imagine – career high in points, career high in assists for Hood. He played a great game. He made his threes. He goes 4 for 4 from three, you don’t expect him to do that, but he did a lot of other things.” DAMIAN LILLARD What went wrong tonight? “They played harder than us. They came out ready and we came out not ready. Coach was frustrated when he talked to media, what did he say to you guys? “I mean, he was pretty frustrated with us too. It was kind of a disappointing effort by us. I think we played hard but mentally I just think the focus wasn’t there. In the second half, we tried to pick it up a little bit in the third quarter, but we get ourselves all the way back in the game and then don’t rebound, don’t control the ball in pick and rolls. We did a lot of things wrong or not good enough and they deserved to win the game.” What do you attribute it to? “You don’t chalk it up to nothing. There’s no excuse for it. It’s the last home game and the fans deserved a better game from us. It was just one of those games where we didn’t bring it. We didn’t play good enough. I don’t think it was us not caring, it was just us taking it for granted that they’re not going to be a playoff team and they had players sitting out, so I think the best way to explain it is unexeptable.” Do you feel like team needs/needed wakeup call? I don’t think we need a wakeup call. Since I’ve been in the league, we’ve been the type of team when things go a little bit wrong, people start asking questions and then we get back up and we get going. We shouldn’t be satisfied and not care for games like this when they do happen, but I know the type of team we have and I know how we respond usually when we have bad efforts.”
HEAD COACH QUIN SNYDER On his use of a young lineup: “Anytime you see guys get an opportunity like that, you feel their excitement and it’s quite great. Trevor Booker was amazing and he scored a lot but also got into the flow of the game, he was patient. Bryce [Cotton] and Eli [Millsap] and Chris [Johnson] and Jack [Cooley] came in and gave us good minutes and Jeremy [Evans] was terrific as well. It’s fun to see those guys do that.” On trusting his bench: “Depending on how you frame it, we might’ve gone for it harder than we’ve gone for it in a while. It’s almost like during a game you play certain guys that are playing good and you feel can give you something. You feel that before the game too, you’ve got two of our best players in Fav [Derrick Favors] and [Gordon] Hayward but it’s a good time to let them regroup and rest a little bit and show confidence in other guys.” On Trevor Booker: “He plays so hard and he’s such a team guy and sometimes he puts pressure on himself to make shots or play well. In some ways you just want him to relax and he found that tonight, he was in a really good place and that’s what he’s capable of doing. He’s one of those guys that when he plays, the whole team feels good because he’s such a committed part of the group. I’m happy for him.” On Rodney Hood: “He anchors you, when he’s in the game it allows you to have some different lineups because he gives you some scoring and he can create a shot. When the clock is winding down and you have a guy who can get a good shot or get to the line, I thought late in the game his ability to get to the foul line was really big.” TREVOR BOOKER On if he had any idea that he’d have the feel and touch when this game started: “It was just one of those games where I got going early. I hit my first shot, came up with my second shot, and that’s where it all started. My teammates put me in good position and we just got it rollin’.” On what he saw on the floor tonight: “A lot of space. If I’m knocking down my shot it’s going to give me room to drive because they have to close out on me. So my teammates did a good job of penetration and kicking out to me, and I got a couple drives, got a couple shots, and we got the job done.” On the mindset of the team tonight after a tough loss at home against Memphis: “It was a tough loss but we knew we had to bounce back. That’s the thing about the NBA, you lose one night and you got a game the next night\, we had a chance to bounce back. Coming here and getting that win without G [Gordon Hayward] and Fav [Derrick Favors], that’s big for us.” On Rodney Hood: “Rodney is a special player, and to think he’s only a rookie and he’ll only get better, that’s scary.” RODNEY HOOD On how they approached the game: “We knew with [Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward] being out we had to play even harder and be connected with each other on both ends of the court. We just gutted out a win. Book [Trevor Booker] was amazing, he was all over the boards and he was getting shots, getting to the rim, he pushed the tempo, it’s a great team win.” On Trevor Booker: “Most definitely. I’ve been working with him in practice, getting shots in, he’s just good. He put in a lot of work and to see it pay off tonight was great to see.” On where he is: “Just trying to play hard, play with energy and finishing out strong. I think the whole team had great focus and they’re trying to be aggressive.”
