HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS “It was nice to see the ball go in the basket. It was a little frustrating with the second quarter, it was a little frustrating with a 15 point lead and we kind of got away from some of the things we were doing, but offensively it was a very good night for us all night. We moved the ball, made shots, played with confidence. So that was very encouraging. The defense was tough – they did a good job of pushing it. You know, they did what they do. They pushed it, they’re a fast paced team, they shoot threes. I thought we could have done a better job but give them credit for playing well.” On Aminu: “Loved the Chief tonight.” “I’m glad he had a night like tonight when all those people in December were telling him to stop shooting. It was good that – I think he’s about 40 percent over the last 15 games from three. It looks like he’s in a really good rhythm, a good groove. Obviously he shot the three well, got to the basket and you can always count on his defense. He’s playing at a very good level.” On Lillard’s game: “I thought it was a good game. I think with Dame, it’s more than scoring. Everybody is talking about his scoring and obviously he’s a great scorer, but I think Dame has become more and more of a floor general, a leader on the court. Obviously he’s a scorer, but I think he does a good job of calling out plays, getting people involved, seeing the game, so I thought tonight was one of those games.” On this being the type of game you have to win at this point: “We have to. We don’t have a lot of wiggle room anyway, but with all due respect to Brooklyn, this was a home game we needed to win. That’s why it was frustrating at halftime that we didn’t keep our foot on the pedal and be consistent. We’ve talked about our consistency all year. We stopped playing and we stopped doing the things we were doing that got us a 15 point lead. We can’t hide or shy away from the fact that we’ve been inconsistent and we all have to be aware of it and we have to understand.”
MAURICE HARKLESS What did you like about this win? “I think the way we were playing offensively – I mean, we moved the ball really well. Everybody was pretty much feeling it tonight. Everybody got going. I think we did a good job sharing the ball. We could have been better defensively, but I think our offense is what helped us win tonight.” Do you feel more in a groove being back in starting lineup? “It’s just like – I started coming off the bench and I only came off the bench a few games before Evan got hurt. It takes some time to get in the groove when things change. I’ve been starting since the beginning of the year so I think I’m more comfortable right now in that position, but when Evan comes back whether I start or come off the bench, whatever it is it doesn’t matter.” What do you see differently from Aminu? “He’s been very aggressive. He’s been great – shooting the ball really well, he’s getting to the basket, getting to the free throw line. He’s been great.” On Nurkic: “I think he’s a really good player. He’s unselfish, he can score on the block, he can pass really well, he can shoot. I mean, he defends the rim pretty well too surprisingly. I think he’s really good.”
HEAD COACH KENNY ATKINSON On the loss: “I think turnovers were the story, early. I just think, our margin of error, we can’t have periods like that and it really hurt us, we dug a hole. Then we came back, we competed and played some pretty good basketball.” On their defense: “We only gave up 25 [three point] attempts so that’s a positive but [Al-Farouq] Aminu goes four for five, he’s a 30 percent three point shooter. Obviously [Damian] Lillard, [CJ] McCollum are going to get theirs. That was part of the game plan to guard the three better, I’m glad we didn’t give up a lot of attempts but they made a high percentage so we’ve got to do a better job there.” On the bench effort: “The bench has been really good lately and our young guys are giving us a boost. Quincy Acy gives another boost tonight so I’m proud of the bench, they’re playing better.” On the Trailblazers scoring on 10 of their last 12 FGA: “I thought we got hurt in transition, we missed some shots and then they got out in transition and then they’re a fast team, they’re tough to keep in front and I thought they got too much penetration. We came and helped and then they were kicking for threes. So our individual defense can be better, our transition defense can be better and then we’ve got to run out to the line and get better contests.” On the Trailblazers making tough shots: “They make tough shots and that’s why they’re excellent players. I just told the coaches that it seemed like we got some pretty good contests but with those guys there’s another level of contests, there’s another level of physicality that you have to have against the elite players of the NBA and they make those type of shots.”
BROOK LOPEZ On Brooklyn shooting well tonight: “For the majority of the game it was. I know I took two or three bad shots in the fourth quarter and that led to their offense. We have to get better at that, no question.” On Portland scoring on 10 of their past 12 possessions: “I think some of it could be because of bad shots, like the bad shots I took. I thought we did a pretty good job on the pick and roll, they do a great job of coming off and reading all their options. When you have shooters like CJ (McCollum) and Dame (Damian Lillard) coming off of those pick and rolls, you have to honor those guys and then they do a great job of penetrating or finding the open man on the pick and roll.” On how much of Portland’s offense was them making tough shots: “(Al-Farouq) Aminu was super hot tonight, he was just knocking it down and one Meyers’ (Leonard) turn around was tough. I thought we had that great energy on the defensive end. We were up, we were ready for it and they did make some tough and difficult shots.”
JEREMY LIN On how difficult it was to control Portland down the stretch: “Just got to find a way to get stops when it really counts. I feel like they did a good job with Dame and McCollum, just extremely talented offensive players and I felt like the other pieces filled in well too. They hit big shots too. Like Al-Farouq Aminu. We just need to go back, take a look at the film and figure out when we need that stop, what do we need to do to get it done.”
Postgame Notes - March 4, 2017 Portland 130, Brooklyn 116 Game #61 • Home Game #29 TEAM • The Trail Blazers have defeated the Nets in four straight games and seven of the past eight meetings overall. • Portland’s 130 points tonight are one shy of a season high (131, Nov. 30 vs. Indiana). • The Trail Blazers have won back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game win streak from January 21-27. • Portland’s 40 fourth quarter points were a season high for fourth quarter scoring. The previous high was 37 points against Golden State (1/29). • Portland’s 37 first quarter points were its most in the first quarter since scoring a season-best 44 at Indiana (12/10). PLAYER • Damian Lillard (2-6 3-PT) has now made a 3-pointer in 41 consecutive games, tying Cliff Robinson’s single-season franchise record set in 1995-96. Lillard’s streak also matches Ersan Ilyasova for the longest such streak in the NBA this season. • CJ McCollum (31 points) notched his third straight 30-point game against the Nets. • CJ McCollum (4-5 3-PT) has made 150 3-pointers this season. Of the 13 NBA players with 150+ 3-pointers, his 42.0% mark is the best. • Damian Lillard (19 points, 11 assists) recorded his 10th double-double of the season. • Al-Farouq Aminu (23 points) scored 20+ points for the second time this season. Five of his six career 20-point games have come as a Trail Blazer. • Al-Farouq Aminu (23 points) has scored in double figures in six of his last seven games. • Al-Farouq Aminu made five 3-pointers (5-6 3-PT). It was the second most he has made in his career (6, 3/31/16 vs. Boston). • Maurice Harkless (18 points) scored in double figures for fourth time in the last five games. • Jusuf Nurkic (17 points) is averaging 14.5 points through his first six games as a Trail Blazer. • Jusuf Nurkic has scored 15 points or more in three straight games for the first time in his career.
