Postgame Notes - January 5, 2018 Portland 110, Atlanta 89 Game #38 • Home Game #19 TEAM • Portland’s 21-point margin of victory makes tonight’s win the second-largest victory of the season (48, 10/18/17 at Phoenix). • The Trail Blazers had seven players score in double figures for the second time this season (10/28/17 vs. Phoenix). • Portland outscored Atlanta in the paint, 48-34, and in fast break points, 16-9. • The Trail Blazers outrebounded the Hawks, 44-39. • Portland shot 43-of-80 from the field (53.8%), the second-best team field goal percentage of the season. • The Trail Blazers recorded an assist on 30 of their 43 field goals, the most assists the team has had this season. • Portland shot 13-of-30 (43.3%) from beyond-the-arc. It is the third straight game that the Trail Blazers made at least 13 three-pointers.
PLAYER • CJ McCollum scored 20 points (8-13 FG, 4-6 3-PT) to go with four rebounds and six assists. It was the 22nd time this season that McCollum has scored 20-plus points in a game. • Damian Lillard had 14 points (6-15 FG, 2-6 3-PT), four rebounds and six assists. Lillard has handed out six or more assists in four of his last five appearances. • Al-Farouq Aminu recorded 14 points (5-10 FG, 1-6 3-PT, 3-4 FT), four rebounds and three assists. The three assists matched Aminu’s season high (three times). • Jusuf Nurkic scored 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Nurkic is shooting a combined 14-of-20 from the field in his last two games. • Evan Turner finished with 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-2 3-PT), four rebounds and one assist. Turner has made a three-pointer in five consecutive games and scored in double figures in three straight games. • Ed Davis had 12 points (5-6 FG, 2-2 FT) and five rebounds off the bench, scoring in double figures for the sixth time this season. • Pat Connaughton registered 12 points (5-6 FG, 1-2 3-PT), three rebounds and two assists. It was second time in the last three games that Connaughton has scored in double figures. • Shabazz Napier recorded nine points and six assists. Napier has had five or more assists in five of the last seven games. • Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 14 points and four assists.
HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS “I was really, really pleased with primarily the second half. I thought the first half was solid, but our focus and energy in the third quarter was really good. We got hands on a lot of balls. We got out in transition. It was surprising at the start of the fourth quarter, they went small and we stayed with the lineup they had and kind of broke it open which was good to see. It’s nice to have one of these at home.” On ball movement and season high 30 assists: “It’s three games in a row where our passing has been improved and we’ve just got to continue that. Our passing has been below average for most of the season, so it’s encouraging between Chicago and Cleveland and tonight, that we’re making some passes. That being said, I thought our turnovers in the first half – we had 11 and a lot of those led to their offense. But the assists were there all night.” On Collins providing quality minutes: “Yeah he did. He challenged shots, he’s aggressive defensively. I thought the back-to-back plays where he got a block defensively then got a rebound and kicked it out for a three was two big momentum plays for us. But yeah, he continues to improve.” Do you like the momentum you have heading into a tough schedule? “I like the fact that we’re playing better. I think that’s the biggest thing. You’ve got to move on to the next game. Momentum can come and go, you’ve just got to keep trying to play as well as you can.” On Ed Davis shooting a high percentage in last five games or so: “Ed, I love the way he’s finishing around the basket. I think he’s been the beneficiary of some good interior passing. He’s an uncanny player being left-handed and how he gets shots off, I think he surprises people. It’s a little unorthodox but it’s very effective.”
DAMIAN LILLARD What allowed you to break away: “I just thought we tightened up. To start the third quarter, we came out right. We got our hands on balls, we contested shots, we continued to get to spots and share the ball offensively and we was able to sustain that. I think in Atlanta, in the first half of that game, we did the same thing but then that third quarter, we gave them life, they started believing and they fought and they went and took over the game. I think tonight was the exact opposite. We had a little bit of a bump in the second quarter and then in that third quarter, we came out, we got stops, we got out in transition, we hit each other for open shots and basically pulled off of them.” On moving the ball better the past few games and 30 assists tonight, what do you like? “Just being able to be consistent at it. I think one thing our coaches are always harping on is our growth and being consistent and continuing to improve. This is the way that we want to play. We want to share the ball, move the ball, get guys high quality opportunities and I think over the past few games, we’ve done that. Because of it, you see a higher level of offense.” Why do you think it wasn’t there earlier in the season? “It takes time. It takes time – I mean, typically we’re a really good offensive team and we’re not a great defensive team. This year, we came in and we’ve been really, really good on defense and I think our offense has been a step back I guess and it’s taken a little bit longer to find that rhythm and for guys to understand what plays need to be made, when to make the extra pass, who to make the extra pass to, but we’re figuring it out. All we can ask is to continue to work in the right direction and I think we’re doing that.” On balance and 7 players in double figures tonight: “It was really good, but I think that also speaks to how well we’re moving the ball and how much we’re playing for each other on that end of the floor. It’s easy to go out there and take tough shots and try to shoulder a bigger load, but I think when guys set screens, come off screens hard, we share, we have faith in each other, guys are in the right spots, guys are focused, I think you’ll see that type of balance like we had tonight and it led to a 20 point win, we sit the fourth quarter and a big win too.”
HEAD COACH MIKE BUDENHOLZER Opening thoughts: “Obviously in the second half Portland played really well and we just weren’t good enough on either end to match their execution offensively, their aggressiveness defensively, so a lot of credit to Portland. I think there were times during the game where we were competitive, times during the game when we were making enough plays on both ends and we need to keep that momentum going, keep our heads up but a lot of credit to Portland, they played well. Hopefully we can learn from it and get better going into Sunday.” On the third quarter: “It felt like at the start of the third quarter we literally couldn’t get a stop and for the first four or five minutes we may have been scoring and it was relatively close but we just couldn’t get stops. Sometimes [Damian] Lillard, he’s a great player and I give a ton a credit to them, a ton of credit to Lillard. They played well but I think we’ve got to do more to make it hard on them, we’ve got to do more to make them uncomfortable and I don’t know what they shot in the third quarter, what they scored but I just felt like we just didn’t get any stops.” On Damian Lillard’s presence: “He commands a lot of attention and he shared the ball well and their bigs made a few plays, [Evan] Turner hit a few threes, [Al-Farouq] Aminu hit a few threes so he changes the game. He commands a lot of attention and that puts pressure on your defense and they made the right plays tonight, they made shots. A lot of them.” Positives from Mike Muscala, Luke Babbitt and Tyler Dorsey some getting playing time: “Especially with Mike Muscala who hasn’t been able to play in an NBA game for, I don’t know, it feels like a long, long time so for him to get to play. I thought Tyler Dorsey was good in his minutes, got some good looks, moved well. Then Luke Babbitt playing a little bit of a different spot and we may look at him some there so definitely you don’t want to be in that situation but you’ve got to find a way to take advantage of all 48.”
TAUREAN PRINCE Turnovers were an issue tonight, what do you think happened there? As far as turnovers, we just have to slow down and do what we do best. Moving the ball and getting each other the ball. If we do that we have the least turnovers, we’ll be the best in the league at that. We just have to continue to do what we do. Take the mistakes and learn from them. Then applied what we learned to the next game. Any other goals on this long trip? Just to win games. That’s the only reason we’re on the road. That’s our only goal. Did it feel like a different team with Damian in the lineup? Yeah. Most definitely. He gave them a spark at certain times. I don’t think he scored 30 or anything, but the things that he did gave his teammates the ball - those little things, and being active on defense. He’s a good player, so we expected him to make a difference, but we also made a lot of mistakes that didn’t allow us to give us a chance to win the game. Did you like the ball movement tonight? It seemed like some shots just weren’t falling. Yeah. Most definitely. Especially in the third. It happens. You’ve got 82 of these things, and you just have to keep going.
MIKE MUSCALA Being a young player in the league, wanting to get minutes, you saw Tyler get out there and do some stuff – What’s going through your mind? Yeah. It’s cool to see that, and I’ve been there. As you know, getting into the end of the games, and being anxious to get out there. I think he came off some fresh plays and knocked down the shots. That’s cool to see, and it’s not easy to do that. I think all of us just have to keep playing together, keep playing the pass and being there for each other on defense.
