HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS “Well I didn’t think we’d see a game where both teams struggled offensively. I thought both teams really played pretty good defense for the most part. We were able to pull away in the fourth quarter. The group that was in the game at the beginning of the fourth gave us a nice jump and got the lead out and then we were able to expand on it. Obviously it was a good win against a Western Conference team that we have to play a couple more times.” On Batum’s game: “He made big shots. Again, I thought he mixed it up. He took the ball to the basket a few times. They were going under his screens and he still made aggressive plays to the basket. He took jump shots that were there. He started defensively well. We started him on Bledsoe and he was locked in defensively, so he had a good all around game.” On effort by Batum: “I don’t know if he’s made more of an effort but any time he gets a rebound, I know he likes to bring it up and we like him to bring it up. I don’t know. When you get stops, its easier to get out in transition. We got a lot of stops, especially in the first half.” On Lopez: “I don’t know how many second chance points he got, but he got six offensive rebounds. It was kind of a different lineup for both teams. He finishes around the basket, he’s a big target and he was finishing around the basket. So offensively, that’s what he gave us.” On defense early and forcing turnovers: “It looked like after six minutes it looked like we were going to set a record for lowest scoring game. I thought we were really locked in on what we needed to do. We talked about penetration, transition, pick and roll defense and one-on-one defense going into the game and I thought we did a very good job with that. We were active with our hands. Some of their turnovers didn’t necessarily have anything to do with us, but again, I liked our focus.” Thoughts on Aldridge becoming Portland’s career leader in double-doubles: “I think it’s tremendous. He’s had such a remarkable career already with the Blazers. The Blazers, it’s a great franchise and to be on the top of any of these lists, and he’s on the top of a lot of them already, but I mean, he’s had a great career so far and he’s got a few years ahead of him too. “ WESLEY MATTHEWS Feels good to win two in a row again: “Absolutely, it feels good. It was an ugly game. It was ugly but we weren’t shooting well and I looked up and it was 4 to 6 at one point and we still found a way to finish with 108 points. That’s just our defense. That’s what we’ve got to get back to and that’s what we have been getting back to and it helps to have the big fella back.” On impact of having Lopez back: “It’s a huge difference – offensively, defensively, he’s just that staple in the middle. He’s consistent. You know what he’s going to give, you know he’s going to bring it. There’s certain things that you guys don’t see that he does for us on the court.” ROBIN LOPEZ On difference tonight: “I think we did a very good job of playing through things on the defensive end. We stuck to our principles and I think we played really smart on that end and when that happens, we’ll always have a good chance to win.” Do you feel like being out there you give team confidence on defensive end? “I don’t know. I know I’m very comfortable and confident they have a lot of faith in me and it’s easy to perform that way.” CJ MCCOLLUM On finding offense: “I think we did a good job of moving the ball. I was aggressive. Coach called my number a couple of times and gave me some pick and rolls and I was able to get to the hole and finish in the lane, use a couple floaters. The game was the same as a lot of games have been, I just made some shots.” On getting opportunities tonight: “[Coach] called some pick and rolls for me. I got it going a little bit. It was good to touch the ball and watch the ball go in. Just have to continue to be consistent and just take advantage of it. I got 20 minutes tonight and I’ve played pretty well this season when I’ve played close to 20 minutes or more than 20 minutes, so I’ve got to take advantage of it if I get 20, or if I get 5 or 10 or whatever.”
HEAD COACH JEFF HORNACEK On Alex Len’s injury: “He’ll get treatment on it. I don’t know how long he’ll be out. With the All-Star, if it’s a bad one, I’m guessing he’ll be out through the break to give him the extra rest but I think we’ll know more tomorrow…Aaron said when he landed, he rolled it, and so it’s a twisted ankle.” On what went wrong: “We started the game and we were dribbling out of bounds, not making good passes, missing easy shots. Until the half you’re only down 11, you probably couldn’t play worse. They came out in the third quarter and played pretty well and I thought it was the type of effort that we usually get from those guys – the scrappy get after it. Every team we play is bigger and stronger, and we have to play that way. They did in the third quarter but then in the fourth quarter, they were the aggressors and took it right to the basket. Then Goran came back in the game and dominated us for a little bit.” On the first half: “You saw guys tripping and falling. It was a bizarre first half. The coaches were talking about that we were going to have a good game during shoot around this morning and that they were pretty intense and ready to go, and that just didn’t happen tonight.” BRANDAN WRIGHT On the team’s performance tonight: “We just didn’t play a complete game. We started out with eight turnovers in the first quarter and that’s not a winning recipe, especially against one of these top teams on the road. We’ve just got to be better and stick together. It was a tough loss for us, but we have to move on, we’ve got Utah tomorrow night, so that’ll be a big game for us.” On the toughness of the Western Conference: “Teams are right on our heels. Every game is important. We stress and emphasis these last three or four games really well. Right now we’re on a three game losing streak, so we have to figure some stuff out. We have to win tomorrow night against Utah at home. That’ll be a tough task coming off of a back to back, but we just have to keep playing.” On Alex Len’s injury and how it affected the team’s play: “It was big, he started off the half really really well. He made his presence out there. I don’t know his prognosis or anything like that, but it looked bad from the picture. Hopefully he’s not down for too long, but if he is we have to step up and play better.”
