Exclusive GAME# 21: HEAT @ BLAZERS - DECEMBER 3, 2016 - Quote Book!

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by SlyPokerDog, Dec 3, 2016.

  1. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS
    “I was really pleased with the way we finished the game. To hold them to one point in the last three minutes was pretty impressive. We got a little roll going on offense there at the end, but Miami really scrapped. They played hard. Whiteside had an impact on the game. It was good to get a win before going on the road. Other than the first quarter, I thought our defense was pretty solid on Dragic’s pick and roll. The first half, they only had two offensive rebounds. So there were a lot of good things. It was disappointing to get down six late in the fourth but it was good to come back.”


    What clicked in final three minutes?

    “Well I think CJ coming out of the timeout and hitting a three kind of gave us some life. CJ had been on the bench, he hit a shot and he made another player. I think we made two or three quick plays that got us right back into it right away. I think we fed off that momentum the rest of the way.”


    On Harkess getting offensive rebound late:

    “Moe getting the extra possession – I really thought the fourth quarter, late fourth quarter was about possessions. They came up with a lot of scrambling rebounds. We played good defense, they got a tip with one or two seconds on the shot clock. There were a couple loose ball long rebounds that they came up with. I thought that kind of made the difference when they made their run, so Moe getting that possession, I thought Mason made some good effort plays on the boards as well. So that helped, not only with his extra possession on the offensive end but defensively as well.”


    Could this be categorized as a defensive win?

    “I don’t know. I think holding a team to one point in the last three minutes, I think that speaks well. Holding a team to 92, that speaks well. We got off to a slow start, that was disappointing but like I said, the rest of the way for the most part we were pretty locked in.”


    DAMIAN LILLARD
    What did you like best about that win?

    “I just think it was our first win that we didn’t – not our first win that we defended well in, but our first win where we defended well and we didn’t shoot the ball well. It wasn’t a pretty game. We had to grind it out on the defensive end and find a way. So I was happy with that.”


    On final three minutes of game:

    “Just the fact that like I said, the offense wasn’t going. We didn’t get great looks. We didn’t knock down some of the shots that we usually make, and we were at a deficit. I think we were down six and we hadn’t been shooting the ball well. We get stops, we get more physical, we come up with rebounds and loose balls and we just find a way. When you’ve got to gut one out like that and find a way, when your offense isn’t there, I think that shows great character for our team and it shows growth. It shows that we’re growing.”


    ALLEN CRABBE
    Third time this year holding other team under 100, do you feel like you’ve made strides defensively?

    “Definitely, I think we have. What were we down, 6 with like 3 minutes left? I felt like we did a really good job of getting stops down the stretch. CJ came in after that timeout and hit a big 3 for us. We came down and really got a lot of stops that we needed to get. It’s showing growth for us and improvement. I think we’re making a more conscious effort of locking up the opponent on defense.”


    Thoughts on road trip:

    “I feel confident. It was good to get these last two wins here at home and go into the road trip with some momentum. We know how difficult it is to win but I feel like if we just continue to focus on what we did all week, which is defense. If we carry that over, we’ll be in a good position.”


    They shot over 60% in the first quarter, what was difference after that?

    “Nothing really. We knew it would come to us. No team is going to shoot 60% the whole game, and if they do, they did a good job of shooting that well for the night, but I felt like we locked in more. Like I said, defense is really a priority for us now and we find that us being 28th to 30th in defensive rating in the league, that’s crazy for us. We just are finding ways to get stops and I feel like it’s coming around for us now.”
     
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  2. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    HEAD COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA
    On players being exhausted towards the end:

    “None of us are making any excuses for it. We were there at the end, we were up six with three minutes to go and you have to credit Portland, that’s what they do so often is play well in those clutch last two or three minutes and it becomes make or miss. They started with [CJ] McCollum hitting that three, we missed some chippies that could go, I love those looks. I love Goran Dragic going downhill, had an opportunity for a runner or a layup. I love Hassan [Whiteside] on any type of put back opportunity, he missed that and then fell into the camera and then they got a transition one going the other way but our guys earned their ice tonight. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t come out with this but it was a good road trip and ultimately you want to put yourself in the best chance and opportunity to win at the end on the road and we did give ourselves that chance, we just couldn’t get it done.”


    On going 2-1 on this road trip:

    “By the time we get on the plane I’m sure we’ll feel that way, right now it stings. You get up six and we really started to clamp down against a very dynamic, talented, well-schooled, and experienced offensive team. They bring a lot at you but our guys were not backing off and making it as tough as possible. We just couldn’t make enough plays down the stretch but again you do have to credit Portland.”


    On the growth that he saw in his team on this trip:

    “Yeah it always is and I think when you have opportunities under adversity those are your biggest opportunities for growth but this process has been happening. So even two weeks ago while we were losing games we were building some toughness and you could feel it and guys were gaining confidence from it. Our offensive organization and confidence now is getting better, guys feel much more comfortable so that’s why you can’t just as much as this business is about the win and loss, and we get that as much as anybody, it has to be about our process and getting better. You see our team getting better, nobody will recognize it with our record but the team is getting better. Hassan [Whiteside] from the first two weeks of the season to where he is now and where he’s going to go, it’s night and day, this guys coming.”


    HASSAN WHITESIDE

    General thoughts on the game:

    I came out there and had plenty of chances, and the guys just came out there and played hard. Damian and CJ made some really tough shots. Those guys are explosive.


    Were you happy with the looks you got?

    Yeah. We had some good opportunities at the end. Sometimes that’s what happens. Sometimes they go in, and sometimes they don’t. Even with me. Sometimes they don’t and sometimes they roll in like that.


    What are your thoughts on this three-game road trip?

    You would love to go 3-0, but anytime you go positive on a road trip it’s always motivational. I think we built on this. We have to play like this at home. We have some building blocks to build on. When we get back to Miami, we can build on this.


    TYLER JOHNSON

    On the loss:

    I mean, mental toughness. We’ve been sideways before throughout the season, and we weren’t able to come back from it. Throughout this whole road trip, I think things haven’t really gone our way in certain situations, but we need to get back and get these wins. Going from Denver to Utah, on a back to back… two tough places to play, and then grinding those out and getting a win, and then putting ourselves in a position knowing this was our third game in 4 nights to get a win all on the road, I think we gained a lot of experience.


    The losing record at home:

    I think sometimes we rely on the crowd to get us into it, instead of us bringing the crowd into it. I think if we continue to play with the habits that we played with, we’re going to go home and you’ll see things start to change when we get there.
     
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  3. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    Postgame Notes - Dec. 3, 2016
    Portland 99, Miami 92
    Game #21 • Home Game #11

    TEAM
    • Trailing by six points, the Trail Blazers outscored the Heat, 14-1, in the final 2:57 of regulation.

    • Portland has won consecutive games for the first time since back-to-back wins on Nov. 11 vs. Sacramento and Nov. 13 vs. Denver.

    • The Trail Blazers have now won six of their past eight contests at the Moda Center.

    • Portland is now 9-0 this season when the team owns a lead at halftime. The Trail Blazers led Miami 55-49 after two quarters tonight.

    • The Trail Blazers limited the Heat to 92 points, snapping a streak of 13 straight games in which Portland’s opponent has scored at least 100 points. Portland is 3-0 this season when its opponent scores less than 100 points.

    • Portland’s nine blocks tonight are its most in a single game this season (8, three times).

    • The Trail Blazers bench outscored Miami’s reserves by 17 points (31-14)



    PLAYER
    • Damian Lillard’s fifth field goal tonight was the 2,500th of his career (342 games). He is the third-fastest Trail Blazer to make 2,500 field goals (Petrie, Wicks).

    • Maurice Harkless scored 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, and has now scored at least 10 points in nine consecutive games. That is his longest such streak as a Trail Blazer and his second longest streak in his NBA career (10, 2/19/13 to 3/6/13 with Orlando).

    • Maurice Harkless has now scored at least 17 points in four consecutive games. Harkless has averaged 19.3 points on 58.8% shooting (30-51 FG) during that four-game stretch.

    • Mason Plumlee finished with 11 points, marking his fifth straight game with at least 10 points. Plumlee has averaged 58 points over that five-game stretch.

    • Allen Crabbe scored 16 points, marking the first time that he has scored in double figures in consecutive games since doing so in each of the first three games of the season (Oct. 25-29).

    • Allen Crabbe (16 points) has scored at least 15 points in consecutive games for the first time this season (15, 11/30 vs. Indiana).

    • Miami’s Hassan Whiteside registered 28 points and 16 rebounds (both game-highs), and is now tied with Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook for the most double-doubles in the NBA this season (16).
     
  4. Boise Blazer

    Boise Blazer Thread Lightly

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    MAX HIM OUT! MAX HIM OUT!
     
  5. blue9

    blue9 Well-Known Member

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    I don't know that allowing a team to shoot 1% over their average can be considered good defense. That's the definition of average, which is a huge step in the right direction for us.
     
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