HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS “Well, that was a good one. I thought it showed a lot of character of our team. Obviously the travel – Cleveland had a lot of travel too – but to win the game last night, go through what we did today and beat one of the best teams in the league, that was a special game. I’m proud of our guys, how they played and how they competed all four quarters. Defensively it was one of our better games and to do it against a team like Cleveland makes it even better.” On energy: “I shouldn’t say amazed, but NBA players are special athletes and they can really summon the wherewithal to compete in games. I think part of it is physical but most of it is mental and they showed that tonight.” What did you like defensively? “Our activity on pick and rolls was very good. We let some transition get away but I don’t know if it’s necessarily one thing, it’s overall. We did a lot of good things. We helped, we challenged shots, we rebounded, we got loose balls. We just did a lot of good things.” On contributions from whole team: “I thought everybody who played obviously contributed in their own way. Evan did a nice job of facilitating. CJ scored like he’s been scoring. Chief – we didn’t have Chief the first time we played them, and having him match his minutes with Kevin Love, I thought was effective. Mason – you go up and down, the eight guys who played primarily all did pretty well for what we needed them to do.” On 200th win coaching in Portland: “I’m very proud of it. A lot of players and coaches obviously went into it, but if you had told me when I got the job in 2012 that I’d have 200 wins, I don’t know if I would have believed you. I’m very proud and happy to be here.”
DAMIAN LILLARD You didn’t seem to lack energy tonight: “We didn’t. When we got up this morning and we was leaving Seattle, we got on the plane and on the bus and it was just good energy around the team. We was laughing and joking and I think we was all just tired so we was goofy or whatever. Before the game, when we huddled up, I said we’re not tired. It’s mental and this is a game we’ve got to come out here and get. Knowing we’re going against the defending champions, we’ve got to be sharp. Our team, we came out and we didn’t shoot the ball great but we were really good on defense and I think that won us the game.” What did you like defensively? “We defended for a full game. From the start of the game, they scored 20 in the first quarter and from that point on, we sustained that level of focus and energy on that end of the floor against a really good offensive team. They had 80 on us the first time we played them in one half and we did a much better job tonight, so I was proud of how consistent we were.” Was the level of energy surprising under the circumstances? “I don’t think you should ever use that as an excuse because once you get out there, you’re out there. I know for me, I just let it be what it is and we’re out here, let’s play. We’ve been in worse conditions, worse things have happened, so I don’t think that was too much of a thought for us.” You have to be proud of how you came out: “I am. Not just tonight but over our last six, seven games the way we’ve been able to start playing basketball the way we want to play. We’ve been playing winning basketball and it’s starting to turn into wins. That’s the most fun part. A lot of things go into question, what’s going on with this, what’s going on with that – we’ve just continued to be true to who we are and keep working, and I think we’re finally starting to learn to be more consistent than we were the start of the season, and it’s working in our favor.” Thoughts on 200th win for coach: “I think last season, I presented him a ball and it was for his 150th win at some point last year, it was early in the year, and I told him he should give me a piece of it because I’ve been a part of a lot of his wins, and just joking with him. But I mean, it’s a great accomplishment for any coach and I’m sure, speaking for myself and every other guy in the locker room, he’s a great, great guy to play for aside from just a coach. We all appreciate the kind of coach he is.”
HEAD COACH TYRONN LUE On his team’s shooting performance: “Yeah, we missed shots that we normally make. We just didn’t make them. I thought we did a great job defensively on McCollum and Lillard in the first half, and then Crabbe kills us. They shot 43 percent and we shot 34 percent, but coming into halftime we were shooting 29 percent and down were eight. We could just never get over the hump. Offensively, right now we’re not scoring the basketball, we’re not moving the basketball like we’ve been accustomed to doing.” On whether lack of practice because of their schedule was partly to blame for tonight’s loss: “Schedule, Injuries, sickness, a lot of stuff. But that’s no excuse. We know what we’re doing and what we’re supposed to do. You’re not going to have assists if you’re not making shots, and if you shoot 34 percent, how many assists can you really get. We’ve just got to do a better job of making shots, but also finishing around the basket when we get in the paint. Instead of taking tough shots we need to kick it out for open shots. We’ve just got to read and play the game the right way.” On whether this game is a product of missing JR Smith: “Anytime you lose a starter, you miss them. Our mentality is no excuses, next man up. We definitely miss his defense and his shooting ability in the starting lineup. Defensively, (DeAndre Liggins) is doing a good job. Offensively, just got to be able to knock down some shots.”
LeBRON JAMES On the team needing to practice: “We’ll get one on Sunday, in Golden State. Tomorrow obviously we don’t go back to practice, we have the day off, we play Friday so we’ll get one on Sunday in Golden State, we need it. Just get on the court, get re-acclimated on what needs to be done, get Kyle [Korver] acclimated on what needs to be done. There’s only so much film, watching film and getting an opportunity to have to walk through this situation. We need it.” On if their offense is struggling without JR Smith: “Just having another guy to spread the floor on our sideline helps. What Liggs [DeAndre Liggins] brings to the table, his defensive pressure and things of that nature. He’s getting better and better offensively but obviously having one of our big guns out of our starting lineup has hurt us a lot. We can’t continue to have more turnovers than assists in those games we never win those games.” On their outside shooting since New Year’s: “It’s only been like five games, that’s not a big sample enough to talk about that but we just have got to be better.”
KYRIE IRVING On seeing patterns in the teams’ tough shooting recently: “Not really, tonight in particular just getting to the basket. I don’t know how many left hand finishes I was supposed to have tonight but it was close to double digits. As many as I took I should’ve made a lot more but that’s on me, just the responsibility of putting the ball in the hoop and hopefully the momentum of the game will shift. A few layups here and there, they get out in transition leads to CJ [McCollum] running out to the three point line or Allen Crabbe or them getting out and getting easy layups so just take the responsibility like I said. Just make shots.” On if he feels in rhythm: “I would say that if I didn’t come back and have 32 and 27 and then you get two wins and two losses then all of a sudden I’m not in rhythm. I don’t know, a few good shots that I hit especially in Utah, in the Utah game I could’ve been a lot more aggressive than what my shots or my shot chart even fell through. Then tonight getting in the paint, I’m never good when I’m playing in between so just being decisive going forward. You just try not to have these nights and let it turn into a consistent thing. You just put it behind you, see where you can learn, obviously just watch film and get better.”
Postgame Notes - Jan. 11, 2017 Portland 102, Cleveland 86 Game #41 • Home Game #19 TEAM • Tonight’s win marks the 200th victory for Terry Stotts as Portland’s head coach. He becomes the fourth coach to win 200+ games in franchise history (Ramsay, Adelman, McMillan). • The Trail Blazers have now won consecutive games for the first time since winning three straight contests from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5. • Portland limited Cleveland to 86 points, the lowest point total by any opponent against The Trail Blazers this season. This is the sixth time in the past 11 games (second straight) that the Trail Blazers have held their opponent to less than 100 points. • This marks the fourth time in the past eight games that the Trail Blazers have held their opponent to less than 90 points (one time through first 33 games). Portland is 4-1 when its opponent scores less than 90 points. • Portland has allowed its two fewest point totals of the season in the past two days (86 vs. Cle. on 1/11,87 at LAL on 1/10). • Portland has won its fourth consecutive home game against the Cavaliers, and is 6-1 in its past seven matchups vs. Cleveland at the Moda Center. PLAYER • CJ McCollum scored a game-high 27 points, marking his career-high seventh consecutive game with at least 25 points scored (Dec. 28 to Jan. 11). McCollum is the first Trail Blazer to score 25+ points in a single season since Clyde Drexler did so in nine straight games from Nov. 20 to Dec. 6, 1987. • CJ McCollum joins Anthony Davis, James Harden and Russell Westbrook as the only players with at least seven straight games of 25+ points in the NBA this season. • CJ McCollum has now scored 20 or more points in a career-high nine straight games (12/26 to 1/11). • Allen Crabbe scored 24 points to record his second game of 20 or more points this season (twice in past three games). Crabbe is averaging 27.0 points on 80.8% shooting (8-10 3-PT) over his last two home games. • Evan Turner dished out a season-high 11 assists, the most by a Trail Blazers reserve since Mo Williams (11, 3/27/14 at Atlanta). Turner has averaged 7.3 assists over his past three games. • CJ McCollum logged a career-high four blocked shots, and became the first Trail Blazer with four 3-pointers and at least four blocks in the same game since Nicolas Batum on Nov. 16, 2012 vs. Houston. • Al-Farouq Aminu recorded his second double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Aminu has now scored in double figures in three of his past five games (2 games of 10+ points in first 15 contests). • Al-Farouq Aminu’s 12 rebounds represents his third game with 10 or more rebounds over the past four contests. Aminu has averaged 11.5 rebounds over his past four games.
