HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS “It was a tough win. I really am impressed with Phoenix. They really turned around their season in a short amount of time. It’s certainly a different team than we played a week and a half ago or whenever it was. They’ve really bought into what Jay is trying to do at both ends of the floor, so I’m happy for Jay especially, but they’re a much better team than they were the first time we played them.” Do you feel like you’re sputtering a little bit? “No. I think the only reason to even suggest that would be that we’re not making shots that we typically make, but other than that – we haven’t gone on big runs or anything, but I would hate to say sputtering because we’re not making shots.” On defense tonight: “A little sporadic. I thought they played really well, they moved the ball. They had some good individual plays. I thought our turnovers in the first half helped fuel them. We had nine turnovers in the first half, eight of them were passing turnovers that just gives the other team a little bit of life. We got some stops when we needed to. Like I said, I thought they made some tough shots in the second half.” “‘Farouq really sparked us in the first half. He got the block, I think he got two blocks, hit a three. His defense along with the three really sparked us in the first half.” On decision to play Collins tonight: “I wanted to get him on the court mostly. He hasn’t had a chance to play. I anticipated playing him last time we played Phoenix. I thought Bender was a good matchup for him and the main thing was just getting him on the court.”
DAMIAN LILLARD On when their offensive rhythm become a concern: “When we start losing a bunch of games because of it. I think we’re just not playing well offensively, I think the ball is moving, we’re getting good looks then when those good looks don’t fall, then we start trying to make things happen. That’s when we have the turnovers, that’s when the low percentage shots come and then we kind of just put ourselves in a hole. I think, once again, the bright side of that is the fact that we have to find ways to win games and not begin on offense whereas in the past that’s kind of been what we leaned on, just have an explosion on offense. We haven’t had that yet but we’ve managed to win some games so we just got to keep fighting, keep grinding until it comes around.” On Pat Connaughton’s play: “I mean, when he sees the Suns I guess that ball just goes in. Even in the games where he hasn’t made every shot, he’s been consistent. Since he’s been on our team he’s been like that even in practice, I’m not sure he was able to come in the game and just do it the way he is now but he’s always just been silent. He’s in the right places defensively, he takes the right shots we get on offense, a good teammate. He’s just one of those guys that you love to have on your team, never doing the wrong things so he’s had a huge impact on our team this season.” On Al-Farouq Aminu’s importance tonight: “Just because he was doing a little bit of everything. Chief [Al-Farouq Aminu], I can remember a few times he’ll come in and blocking shots, getting hands on balls, rebounding, his activity was huge. We didn’t have the energy that we needed to have early in the game and I thought he sparked it.”
INTERIM HEAD COACH JAY TRIANO On if he’s encouraged by Phoenix’s progress: “Yeah I thought we played the right way. We’re pleased with the way we played. I didn’t think we finished our shots down the stretch, but we put ourselves in a position, on the road, to win a game. I give our guys a lot of credit.” On how he’ll respond to teams doubling Trevor Booker: “Different teams will do different things. He turned it over a couple times when they doubled him in the first half, but he did not have a turnover in the second half. We looked at a few things… our spacing for other guys has to be better. When they do that I thought he made the right plays. He got the ball out of the trap and moved it. I thought he had a very good game despite being trapped and having pressure on him all the time.” On the Portland hitting a lot of threes in the first half: “We have to be in a position where we can close out a little bit quicker, and some of that has to do with pressure on the ball, but for the most part, I thought our guys hustled. A couple of them were wide open in transition, those are the ones I can’t live with. I can live with the ones in the half court where maybe we’re caught helping a little bit or a little bit late, because we’re not used to where we need to be yet. This team also has a very good three point shooting team. They’re one of the best three pointing teams in the NBA right now. They’ve got a bunch of guys that can spread the floor, so it’s not like you can lean on one and not the other.” On Alex Len having a strong game: “I thought the first half was shaky, but I thought he responded in the second half, especially when he got the ball in the low post. He took his time. When he’s patient, he’s really helping us. I thought his minutes were good.”
ALEX LEN Thoughts on the game: We played the right way. We were doing the right things defensively. We had a chance at the end, and that’s what coach asked from us – to have a chance at the end to win the game. We did our job today, we just didn’t finish at the end. Did you just miss shots at the end?Yeah. We just missed a couple easy ones that we usually finish, but we were good down the stretch with our defense. We made some tough shots and contested too so that’s what we want. What has changed for you with Jay Triano?Nothing. Nothing has changed since Jay took over for me personally. Just screen roll, keep it easy. Just trying to affect play like getting rebounds – stuff like this. You’ve said patience helps your game, are you taking that extra time now?Yeah exactly. When I catch it down low, I have to take my time. Just have to take my time. On the defensive play:Yeah. That’s what Jay wants from us. He asked us to play hard on the defensive end and execute offensively. We’ve been successful with that the last couple of games. We just have to keep building on it and keep progressing. He wanted us to be up on the screens, up on the dribble and make them uncomfortable, so that’s what we’re trying to do.
DEVIN BOOKER If you continue to play like tonight the wins will come at some point?Yeah, and the right way…offensively and defensively also – playing with effort. That was the biggest thing for us is to play with effort and pride. You had a hot hand but then got the ball taken out of your hand, were you anticipating that late?Yeah. I had a lot of turnovers in the first half off that double team. Made the adjustment, made the extra pass. We missed some open shots, but I’m confident with us taking them. You had open looks, you got the ball to the right spot, it seemed like it was going well:Yeah. That’s what you have to do – just make the right play and live with the results, and I’m living with those shots. What adjustments were made at half time to guard the 3 ball?Good to see us locked in. We stayed in the whole game defensively. Obviously there are some good players over there that they have, and their players make big plays. That’s what Dame did today. He had some clutch shots late in the game.
TEAM • Portland is 4-2 to start the season for the first time since the 2013-14 season. • The Trail Blazers have won five straight games against the Suns, marking the longest winning streak Portland has had over Phoenix since they won seven straight meetings from Nov. 6, 1987 to Nov. 4, 1988. • The Trail Blazers have won three consecutive games against Phoenix at Moda Center. • All five Portland starters scored in double figures for the second straight game. • The Trail Blazers outrebounded the Suns, 53-46. Portland has outrebounded its opponent in five of its six games. • Portland finished with 40 field goals on 27 assists. The 27 assists represent a new season high.
PLAYER • Damian Lillard finished with 25 points (7-21 FG, 3-8 3-PT, 8-9 FT), a season-high nine assists and a season-high tying seven rebounds. • With a three-pointer at the 11:42 mark of the 3rd quarter, Damian Lillard scored his 9,000th career point. Playing in game number 402 for his career, Lillard is the fastest Trail Blazer to reach 9,000 points in terms of games played (Geoff Petrie, 405). • CJ McCollum scored 23 points (9-20 FG, 1-5 3-PT, 4-5 FT) to go with five rebounds and six assists. McCollum has scored 20+ points in five straight games. It is the fourth time in his career that McCollum has had five or more consecutive games of 20+ points. • Jusuf Nurkic tied his season high with 17 points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. • Pat Connaughton led the Portland reserves in scoring with 13 points (4-5 FG, 3-4 3-PT). Connaughton has made at least one three-pointer in eight straight games dating back to last season. • Al Farouq Aminu had 10 points (3-5 FG, 1-2 3-PT), five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. It was Aminu’s first game this season with two steals and two blocks. • Maurice Harkless recorded 10 points, a season-high seven rebounds and two blocked shots. • Ed Davis finished with six points and 11 rebounds. Davis has pulled down 10 or more rebounds in four straight games. • Devin Booker led Phoenix with a season-high 34 points (11-19 FG, 4-7 3-PT, 8-9 FT) to go with six rebounds and six assists.
Wait...what? 4-2 for the first time since 2013, All five starters scored in double figures for the second straight game. The two losses were by a combined total of four points. Yeah, we should definitely fire Stotts and trade half the starters.
