Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle (On the run at the end of the third quarter) “Yeah, it was a big run. Dwight [Powell] is working hard on his three-point shooting. The first two were great. They were just stroked pure. It gave us a big lift and got the crowd into it. We needed everybody tonight. If you look at the stats, all of our guys were a plus – the guys that started and the guys that came off the bench. It was a tough game against a difficult team. They have a lot of skilled guys that can do amazing things. Our guys did a great job executing the defensive game plan, which was not an easy game plan because we were chasing around guys who are great players thirty to forty feet away from the basket.” (On Maxi Kleber’s growth) “He’s a year more experienced. His three-point shooting has improved greatly. He’s getting consistent minutes as a stretch ‘four’ now whereas last year his minutes were mostly at the ‘five’ position. He hit some threes last year but it wasn’t a comfortable shot for him. This year it’s a comfortable shot for him and the teams know it… they’re coming out on him. He’s a difference maker at both ends. His shot blocking is very unique for a ‘four’ man. There was a huge momentum play when he made the block at their end and started the break for us - that was the beginning of that run in the third quarter.” (On Luka Doncic’s last minute play) “We were in a tough situation. The clock was going down and they had defended us pretty well. He just made a tremendous individual play driving the defender back, pulling back and hitting the three. It’s a shot we have seen him hit and a shot that he works on. But it was very timely.”
Mavericks Guard Wesley Matthews (On how the team is performing at home) “It’s about time. To be the team that we want to be we have to win the games at home. We have half of our games on the road. We didn’t start the way that we wanted to but it took a little bit of time and luckily it was early in the season when we hit that bump in the road. We found that brand of basketball works. Now we are stepping up and making plays…our attention to defense is what’s really doing it for us.” (On the defense) “Just the demeanor about it and our attention to detail with it – it’s like a reward for us. We get the stop on defense, we can go on offense. Part of the reason why we were struggling so much early in the season is because it was a grind for us on offense. It was hard for us to get good looks and get good shots” (On the success from the bench) “Their continuity and the way that they play; JJ (Barea) and Devin (Harris) spearhead it while Dwight (Powell) comes out with his energy. Then you have Dorian (Finney-Smith) with his maturity and his confidence to play with both units”
Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts (On tonight’s game) “This game was very similar to the last two we played. Get off to a slow start, get down at halftime, make a good comeback and fall short. I think we are all getting tired.” (On technical fouls) “No, I attribute them to the players being upset that a call didn’t happen, or they didn’t get a call.” (On their defense in the second half) “On thought, we played much harder in the second half. I thought we played more physical. Defensively we were much better in the second half. Offensively we didn’t score and we had nine turnovers in the third quarter. You have to play b
Trail Blazers Guard Damian Lillard (On tonight’s loss) “We had a loss. We keep piling losses and I think that is the most frustrating part as a competitor. Tonight, I think it made it a little bit more frustrating. When there were loose balls, they were getting to the loose balls. The ball coming off of the rim… they were getting extra opportunities just by getting to it faster than us. They reacted faster than us. When it’s X’s and O’s, execution and making shots, that’s one thing. But, I think it took us too long to start being a team and be more aggressive. We started to get extra possessions, offensive rebounds, and getting more physical on the defensive end. But, at that point, down 15, they are already confident and comfortable. It’s an uphill battle. I thought we still had a chance. Like I said, I don’t know what game it was but I said, “when you create a hole, you have got to fight out of it so hard.” You put yourself in a position that you have got to be perfect down the stretch. You probably can’t miss a shot. You can’t give up a three pointer. You can’t turn the ball over. You basically put yourself in a position to play a perfect game and I thought we did that tonight. We fought…but the same old story.” (On what the team is missing) “I think we just really want to snap out of it. I wouldn’t say “searching’ because we know what it is. We are not defending well. Our urgency, our presence and desire to go out there and just win a game; things you have got to do to win a game. It’s not at a level that it needs to be. When you are struggling as a team, you have got to go that extra mile. You have got to be diving on the floor. You gotta sell out. That might mean doing uncharacteristic things. Not in a negative way but just really stretching yourself and going out of your way to get it to turn around. Teams are good. You have gotta make it happen. Referees are not going to do it. The coaches are not going to do it. The players have got to come from within. You have got to go out there and make it happen.”
I keep hearing about a lack of a 'sense of urgency'. If they don't have it by now, I have my doubts as if they are really able to find it on a regular basis. The familiarity that was supposed to be a strength at the beginning of the season is long gone and now this is looking like last year's team but perhaps worse.
