HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS “We played a very good defensive second half. We limited their points in the paint, offensive rebounds, second chance points. I thought obviously the third quarter made a big difference. We got a rhythm to our shots, got out and played in flow a little bit. We picked up the pace of the game in the second half. The second half was the way we needed to play. On season low turnovers: “We talked about it today. Turnovers has been an issues the last couple weeks. Since we don’t necessarily create a lot of turnovers, it’s important that we take care of the ball even more so. We know that. To do it against a team like Miami that does force turnovers and create steals, that was encouraging. On Matthews playing with knee brace: “I thought he played well. If you hadn’t known that he had an issue last game, I wouldn’t have said I noticed anything.” On third quarter: “We just came out with a little more energy, a little more focus. I thought LA and Damian were very aggressive. I thought Chris Kaman played a good defensive game, challenged some shots, blocked some shots and made a difference. Meyers obviously came in and made a difference. We stayed away from the smaller lineup in the second half, stayed big, and I think that helped us as well.” On Leonard: “I thought he was very steady. Last game, obviously he made his shots and made his threes, but I talked about his rebounding last game. I thought he had good timing on his rebounds again tonight. They only had I think one offensive rebound in the second half until the last four minutes, and he had something to do with that. He and Chris and LA particularly.” On limiting Bosh in second half: “I just think we guarded him a little bit better.” WESLEY MATTHEWS On what changed in third quarter: “I think we got to our tempo. Through the first half, we kind of played at their pace, almost methodical, we weren’t really pushing as much. We were missing shots too. Didn’t really get a chance to get the crowd in the game, but we continued to fight, continued to grind it out and it turned to our style of game.” On knee: “It’s sore. It’s sore right now. The brace is uncomfortable as hell. I don’t like it, but I’ve got to do it.” “It’s a mental thing but definitely some physical components to it. I mean it’s heavier. My left leg is heavier than my right leg. It was awkward a little bit with some of the cuts and spotting up and when I tried to slip out of screens quickly and getting my body square. But nothing I can’t get used to for the time being.” On message at halftime: “Just continue to get stops, move the ball and try to get it to our tempo. It was methodical in the first half and they really controlled the game. It was their style of play. When we were able to get up and down, we were able to break the game open.” On injuries providing opportunities for other guys: “That’s the hidden blessing with injuries. You never want anybody to be hurt, but it’s hard to replicate game reps and game experience in practice. As the season goes on and practices shorten up, you don’t get as much live stuff, so they’re getting game reps in meaningful games. It’s only going to pay dividends for us when everybody comes back healthy.” On season low in turnovers: “Especially after the past few games when it seemed like we were trying to see how many holes we can dig ourselves out of with our turnovers, but we were taking care of the ball tonight. That’s what we’ve got to do if we want to be elite.” On physical game tonight: “That’s the game. It’s basketball. It’s definitely a physical game and you’ve got to be able to win those games, those grind it out games.”
Somebody bringin' it on tweets of the night! http://www.nba.com/blazers/tweets-night-trail-blazers-vs-heat
