Postgame Notes – December 4, 2019 Portland 127, Sacramento 116 Game No. 22, Home Game No. 8 TEAM • The Trail Blazers had four starters score 20+ points for the first time this season. It was the second time this season that four Portland players scored 20+ points. • Portland had 28 assists, marking their 11th straight game of 20+ assists, and tying their second-highest total of the season. • Portland’s 11-point margin of victory marked their fifth double-digit win of the season. • Portland recorded double-digit blocks (10) for the third time this season. • The Trail Blazers shot 56.0% from the field, marking their second-best shooting performance of the season (57.7%, 11/2/19 vs. PHI). • Portland outscored Sacramento 28-17 in transition. Portland’s 28 fast break points was a season high. PLAYER • CJ McCollum led Portland with 33 points (9-18 FG, 3-11 3-PT, 7-9 FT), to go with four rebounds and four blocks in 37 minutes. It was his 10th straight game with 20+ points, which tied his career-high. His four blocks were also a career-high. • Damian Lillard recorded 24 points (7-12 FG, 4-6 3-PT, 6-7 FT), four rebounds and 10 assists over 37 minutes. It was his fourth double-double of the season. • Hassan Whiteside scored 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting (6-8 FT) to go with 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks. He is the first player in the NBA with that stat-line or better this season, and his seven assists were a career high. • Carmelo Anthony had 20 points (8-16 FG, 2-4 3-PT, 2-2 FT), five rebounds and one block. It was his fourth game with 20+ points this season. • Kent Bazemore finished with a season-high 15 points (5-9 FG, 3-5 3-PT, 2-2 FT), six rebounds, one assist and one steal in 23 minutes off the bench. His three 3PM tied a season-high. • Rodney Hood finished with six points on 2-of-7 shooting (2-4 3-PT), to go with three rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes. • Nassir Little scored four points (2-3 FG), and had one rebound and one steal in 12 minutes off the bench. • Richaun Holmes led the Kings with a career-high 28 points (11-14 FG, 6-8 FT), to go with 10 rebounds and steal. It was the seventh game of his career with 20+ points, and his seventh double-double on the season. • Buddy Hield added 23 points on 8-of-24 shooting (3-12 3PT, 4-6 FT), to go with seven rebounds and seven assists in 40 minutes. His seven assists were a season-high. • Nemanja Bjelica added 17 points (7-15 FG, 3-7 3PT), to go with seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 27 minutes.
HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS Overall thoughts… “You know it was a good win, a back to back and travelling getting in late last night. The defense wasn’t necessarily what we needed it to be in the first three quarters, but we were able to get some stops in the fourth quarter. The offense was won most of the night, CJ (McCollum) obviously had it going, I thought Dame (Damian Lillard) did a nice job managing the game, finding Hassan (Whiteside) on the rolls, we moved the ball well on the perimeter, got a lot of open shots from the perimeter. It was a good-looking game.” On the increase in assists… “I thought we had some other ones where the ball swung to the corner and we had some open shots, but when they give that much attention to Dame (Damian Lillard) and or CJ (McCollum), that opens up a lot of passing opportunities.” On Hassan Whiteside’s career high 7 assists… “What was his career high before, 3 or 4? 4. Yeah so, he almost doubled it. I think Dame (Damian Lillard) did a nice job finding him in the lane and at that point you become a decision maker, whether you go to the basket or find the weak side. He made some nice back door passes, so that was good to see. I said he was gonna get a triple double sometime this year, I thought he might get it tonight.” On bringing in Kent Bazemore late in the fourth quarter… “Rodney’s (Hood) achilles was bothering him a little bit.” On Kent Bazemore’s performance… “Arguably one of his better games of the season, defensively he was locked in, it was good to see him making shots, he’s been a good three point shooter, and I thought he kind of played within himself and took the shots that were there.” On the significance of this home stretch… “Well, we can’t take it for granted, there aren’t any easy ones. It is nice to be home, we did have a lot of road games, but it doesn’t guarantee anything. It is certainly better than the alternative.”
DAMIAN LILLARD On offensive performance tonight: “I thought we moved the ball well, we got quality shots. I thought offensively, it was a complete game. It was a really good game for us.” What about defensively? “Obviously, to start the game, the first three quarters, they played comfortable. We just didn’t do a good enough job in that stretch of the game and I think it showed because it was obvious toward the end of the game when we stepped it up and tightened it up on that end, got separation because of it. So I think it was obvious that it wasn’t good enough the first three quarters or so. The fourth quarter, we stepped it up and that was when we won the game.” What did you think of McCollum’s four blocks, a career high? “Early in the game, I just kept seeing him getting his hands on guys’ shots. I think part of it was them just not expecting him to contest them so strong. But he was active. He came out with a lot of energy on the defensive end and on the offensive end.” After a slow start, it seems like McCollum has quietly been putting together consistent performances? “Like you say, he started off slow and even then, I was saying you never worry about him because you know he’s going to find it. I think he has and he’s been able to play at the level we need him to since then.” What did you think of Whiteside’s passing? “I thought it was pretty good. He had a few backdoors. He was catching it in the pocket under control, finding the weak side and that led to some quality shots. He could have had ten if he didn’t get too anxious on some of them and some of them got tipped, but he passed the ball really well tonight.” On ball movement: “It’s something we want to continue. When it’s a lot of attention on the ball like it was tonight, especially they just kept sending two guys to the ball – we get it out and once we do that, they’re up against it. We’ve got numbers basically outside of the trap so when we can make the right plays and take advantage of it, get quality shots, I think it can be a night like tonight.” On balanced scoring tonight – how important is that balance? “It’s really important. When we can get that type of performance of one, two, three, four guys, you’re going to have a chance.” Was it good to bounce back after a loss last night? “It was a big deal. When you go on the road, a road-home back to back, it’s tough. You’ve got to play against a really good team like the Clippers, get on a plane, get up to play the next day against a really good team, a young team that’s really competing right now. So I was proud of the way we responded. You don’t want to let one loss or the game the night before affect the next night and I thought we handled it well.” Earlier in the year you were struggling in crunch time defense; has that been a big emphasis? “We haven’t really talked about it. I think the emphasis has been more just us not defending at the level that we need to to win games. In a game like tonight where we didn’t defend great for the first three quarters or so, it was a constant topic in our huddles. Like, ‘We’ve got to get stops. The offense is doing well, but we’re not getting enough stops.’ When the game was on the line, I thought we stepped up and did what we had to do.”
HEAD COACH LUKE WALTON On the game Our guys fought tonight, especially for being shorthanded. Tough place to play up here. We made too many mistakes, I felt like, throughout the game that ended up costing us. Tip your hat to Portland, they shot +50% from three, (Damian) Lillard got hot down the stretch, Cj (McCollum) did what he’s been doing lately, it’s a talented team. We put ourselves in position to have a chance to win, which is what we are trying to do in the final 5 or 6 minutes. They just took over and showed why they have had so much success over here with that group. Do you think this Portland team is better than their record? Yes, I think this team is much better than their record. You watch them play, and you know them from just being around, what they’re capable of. We know that, and it’s our job to come in and try to win games anyways, but that’s a good team. Do you feel like your team ran out of gas a little bit? I thought our guys fought pretty hard throughout. At the end, I’m sure our guys were a little tired, but their guys were tired too. They had the home crowd, some of their threes went in, some of ours didn’t and it just got away from us a little bit. Our guys were playing some heavy minutes, but that’s the NBA. What’d you make of Richaun Holmes’ game tonight? He’s impressive, with his ability to anchor that defense for us, even though our overall defense wasn’t great tonight. He’s up there shocking CJ (McCollum), and then they swing it to (Damian) Lillard and he’s running to the other side of the court and yelling out the coverages. Doing everything we want our big man to do for us. The offensive stuff, I’m happy for him individually, but he’s continuing to grow and really know where to get his points from. What positive do you take from the game tonight? I have to watch it again, but I’m sure watching the tape we did some things good, some things bad and we will put that type of edit together and keep working. How do you like your team’s progress this season? I love it, we have a good group. We’re scrapping, unfortunately we’ve been hit with a good amount of injuries, we got off to a slow start and we just have to keep fighting and keep working. That’s a good mentality to have and that’s what our group is about. On the players they’ve lost to injury You don’t want any of your guys to get hurt, but a lot of what we built we built around having certain guys, and they haven’t been with us. Again, that’s why I go back to giving our guys credit, they’ve adjusted, adapted, continued to work. The NBA is tough, and the West is a monster, and even with that our guys are out there giving everything they have most nights.
Richaun Holmes What has the opportunity to get starts been like for you? “Just looking to get better, looking to grow with this team. We’re working hard every day and I think me personally I’m getting better chemistry with the guys. I’m knowing the spots I’m supposed to be in and they’ve been doing a great job of finding me. It’s all been coming together.” On what the team needs to do to get through all of the early season injuries “We just have to stay strong and stay together. Everybody has to be ready to play while we’re missing some key guys. De’Aaron (Fox), Marvin (Bagley III), and Bogdan (Bogdanovic). Everybody has to be ready to play, nobody is going to feel sorry for us. You just have to continue to go out there and try to get wins. Most important thing is winning ball games. Did you guys run out of gas tonight? Or did they just start to hit shots? “I don’t think we ran out of gas. We were competing and they made some shots. They made some tough shots tonight, especially there late in the 4th (quarter) to break our backs a little bit. I feel like we competed all the way through. Just have to be a little bit smarter in possessions. On taking pride defensively “I think my role on this team starts on the defensive end. To be there in the pick and roll coverages, help protect the rim, and rebound. My job starts on the defensive end always.” Has that push shot always been a part of your game? “Definitely, it’s always something I’ve worked on. You can’t dunk everything so there’s always something to work on. I’ve spent a lot of time on it and tried to be consistent. Some people online say you look like a 6”10 Tony Parker out there “That’s love right there, that’s love, that’s love. I always love being compared to a legend.”
Cory Joseph You guys are playing short handed, you guys hung tough throughout (the game). How difficult is it to play against a team like that, that has so many shooters and that can get hot at any time? It’s difficult. They did a good job. Dame (Damian Lillard) did a good job of getting his team involved early. We were hedging on him, he was ready for it this game because he adjusted for it from last game. He was trusting his players to make good plays and they started to knock down a lot of triples (threes) which they are a good shooting team. We didn’t rotate good enough and contest good enough. How difficult is that team when they add Carmelo (Anthony) as he’s another scorer? He’s definitely adds another dynamic. He shoots the ball really well. He had it going from three, he was making those threes which made it difficult on us. Richaun Holmes had another big game, are you seeing the confidence building in him? For sure. He just knows his game and plays to his strengths well out there. He sets good picks and rolls, obviously we know his athletic ability. Me and him can find a nice little rhythm using the pick and roll game. I’m understanding him more and he’s understanding me more. He’s getting that little floater that he likes to do and he’s been steady for us, not only on offense but he’s providing good defense for us whether it’s in the pick and roll or rebounding or contesting and blocking shots. How difficult is it to go in these games again shorthanded? You just don’t know when you’re going to start getting players back. It’s difficult. (We’re) banged up. We are all banged up but it’s the NBA, it happens. It’s the next man up mentality, we just got to figure out how to put a couple wins together.
Yup. Same here. I thought this was kinda interesting for Walton to say too.... Do you think this Portland team is better than their record? Yes, I think this team is much better than their record. You watch them play, and you know them from just being around, what they’re capable of. We know that, and it’s our job to come in and try to wingames anyways, but that’s a good team.
