HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS “I think we struggled most of the night but the fourth quarter was terrific. A lot of good defensive performances. Obviously AC’s shooting was fantastic for us, got us back in the game. I thought Evan Turner’s defense was solid. We had a lot of good performances – Noah, Chief – anyway, glad the defense kicked in the fourth quarter.” What did you like specifically about fourth quarter defense? “We were a little bit more aggressive. I thought we locked in to our coverages a little bit better. We rebounded the ball better. We did a lot of little things that make a difference.” On Crabbe’s performance: “Well, I mean I love seeing a shooter get on a roll like that. The shot he hit in transition, and the way we are in transition, I’d rather pull up for threes than go to the basket… We weren’t very good in transition offense – shoot threes in transition.” On importance of the win: “With four games left, with three games left, it’s an understatement that every game is important. There’s not a lot of leeway.”
DAMIAN LILLARD On key to comeback win in the fourth: “The way we defended. I don’t think they had a field goal until the last two or three minutes it felt like. They got to the free throw line but we buckled down on the defensive end. We played physical, we communicated, we helped each other out and that led to us getting out and getting some transition threes and just getting the energy into the game. I give all the credit to what we did defensively.” On Crabbe’s game: “I mean he was big. I think he was the reason we won the game. I don’t think we played great offensively or defensively for consistent amount of times over the course of the game but when we did start to defend, on the offensive end, he was what we could turn to. He knocked down shots off pin downs, hitting contested threes, deflecting passes on the defensive end. I thought he really gave us a lot tonight as far as a spark of the bench. Exactly what we needed, it was right on time. He was hitting shot after shot. It was big. I think he was definitely our MVP tonight. He carried us tonight.” What was the message coming into the fourth quarter? “When we broke the huddle we just talked about how important the game was for us. It wasn’t about who our opponent was or anything like that. It was about us and what we want to get done. Coach said we want to be a playoff team and we’re not playing playoff basketball, this is our playoffs so we’ve got to decide if that’s what we want to do. I think we understand that we had a rough trip and things is going to get harder before it gets better. You’ve got to get over the hump and you’ve got to be willing to stand up to it when it gets harder for you to be get that result that we got tonight. When we got down 15 in the third, we didn’t pack it in, we kept coming. We got tighter on defense, we came together, we talked to each other more, and we overcame that. I think that showed our character, it showed how we can overcome and that we really want it. Getting that win was huge and I’m proud of what we showed.”
HEAD COACH TOM THIBODEAU What happened in the fourth? The start of the fourth we got hit pretty good. We tried to fight it out and fell short. What’s more damaging, not making a shot, or Crabbe going off? I thought we did a pretty good job overall with the rebounding and the defense. Then we let Crabbe get loose. We got off his body and were giving him airspace. That was a problem. Does a 4-point play have momentum of its own during the game? Yeah. It’s transition, floor balance… it’s a tough shot. You had good momentum, what happened at the end? Same thing. We had to give the starts a break to start the fourth, and we couldn’t score. We had some foul trouble that changed the rotation a bit. Then we couldn’t get going after that. Why didn’t Towns get many shots in the fourth? Their double teams.
ANDREW WIGGINS On tonight’s game: “One thing that hurt a lot was (Allen) Crabbe got hot, got loose and we kind of lost him a couple times. He was eight out of ten from three.” On missing their first 13 shot in the fourth quarter: “That hurts too. That plus the shots that Crabbe was hitting dug us a hole.” On Allen Crabbe: “We’re aware of him. He’s a good player and a really good shooter. Just got to find him in transition.” On Crabbe’s four point play: “Especially with the run they were on, it was huge. The momentum was on their side anyways and that four point play kept it going.” On his third season in the NBA: “I think it was okay. Could have done a lot of things better.” On his consistency: “I believe so. Every game I came in and played hard. You know, I did my thing.”
Postgame Notes - April 6, 2017 Portland 105, Minnesota 98 Game #79 • Home Game #38 TEAM • The Trail Blazers have won six straight games at the Moda Center, extending the longest home winning streak of the season. • The Trail Blazers have won at least three games against the Timberwolves in four of the last five seasons. • Portland allowed 11 points in the fourth quarter, the fewest points Minnesota has scored in a quarter this season and the fewest the Trail Blazers have given up in a quarter this season. Minnesota shot 3-of-23 for the quarter and had zero assists. • The Trail Blazers are 10-5 in divisional games (best in the Northwest Division), including 7-0 at home. • Portland’s bench outscored their Minnesota counterparts, 37-13. PLAYER • Allen Crabbe (25 points, 8-10 3-PT) became the second Trail Blazer ever to make 7+ 3-pointers off the bench (Nicolas Batum, 9 vs. Den. 2/4/12 ). • Allen Crabbe’s eight 3-pointers are tied for the most by any NBA player off the bench this season (Bogdanovic, Gordon, Korver). • Allen Crabbe is the second Trail Blazer to make 8+ 3-pointers on 80%+ 3-PT shooting (Wesley Matthews, 8-10 at Sacramento, 4/15/12). • Damian Lillard now has 1,965 points this season (22 tonight), the seventh most by a Trail Blazer in franchise history. • Damian Lillard has made 474 free throws this season (7-7 tonight), the third most for a Trail Blazer in a single season. He trails Clyde Drexler (476, 1987-88) and Kiki Vandeweghe (523, 1985-86). • Damian Lillard recorded five rebounds and four assists in the fourth quarter, finishing with 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. • CJ McCollum (18 points, five assists) averaged 27.5 points in four games against the Timberwolves this season. • Al-Farouq Aminu (15 points) has scored in double figures in six straight games for the first time in his career. • Andrew Wiggins scored 36 points, his career-high against the Trail Blazers • Karl-Anthony Towns (24 points, 16 rebounds) recorded his 58th double-double of the season, the third most in the league.
