HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS “Damian was phenomenal, it was our best defensive game of the year and we played our asses off. Any questions?” Can you elaborate on ‘phenomenal’? “I should have got my thesaurus out but no, I wanted to use the word ‘phenomenal.’” On keeping Lillard in to start the fourth quarter tonight: “I was going to keep monitoring him in the fourth quarter and he did get tired in the fourth quarter but he was having a night and we needed the win.” On defensive tonight: “I really thought the lineup with Moe, Chief, Evan and Noah – our switching was really effective. We were locked in on assignments. We didn’t give up too many easy ones. We were rebounding the ball really well….I thought that group was really good. Evan and Moe particularly did a nice job with Hayward. Noah did a really good job rebounding the ball. Then when Meyers was in with Gobert, I thought he zoned up off of Gobert well.” On low turnover night: “I guess we tied the franchise record for lowest turnovers in a game, so that was a positive. We’ve been kind of on a low turnover binge lately, so hopefully we’ve shown improvement. Earlier in the season, we’d go on binges where we’d have a few turnovers in a row, but taking care of the ball has really been helping us.”
DAMIAN LILLARD When did you know it would be a special night? “I knew in the first quarter. I knew coming into the game that I was going to come out and I was going attack them, just knowing how important the game was. I decided early that I’m going to come out here and impose my will on them and see how it goes. I saw the ball go in, I was able to get rolling in the first quarter and usually if I have a big quarter, I kind of take a step back and move the ball and things like that. But tonight, I never did. I stayed on the gas the whole time and that’s what I felt like needed to happen to make sure that we won this game and we was able to get it done.” What will you remember the most? “Missing two out of three free throws to get 60 points. I can’t believe I did that.” Did you know where you were point-wise? “It was my fault because I had an opportunity but I blame Noah because when I had 56 I think, he was running down the court and he was saying, “Get 60, get 60.” And I said how much do I have, and he was like 55 and I said I’ve got what? And he said 55. So after I hit two free throws I thought I had 57 and that’s why I kept trying to go for the three. So when I went to the line I missed the first one and I was like, alright well I’m going to finish with 59 even if I make the next two. When I missed the second one and everybody was like oooh, I was like, what happened? So then I made the last one and I looked up and I had 59 and I was like… it’s Noah’s fault…” Does it mean more that this was against one of the best defensive teams and at this point in the season? “I think the timing of it – tonight was a game we absolutely had to have. Especially with the way the last two times we played them, they defended us really well and they defended me really well. They defended me really well, they’ve done a great job and tonight being able to overcome that and have a great offensive performance against them in a much needed game at the right time, I think that meant a lot to me, but I was really proud of how we defended. That might have been our best defensive game of the year and that also came at the right time.” On feeling in a zone like this before: “I’ve felt like this a few times, but like I said, even when I do, I take a step back instead of just kind of pressing for the whole game. Tonight, I pressed for the whole game and that’s why I ended up with the most points I ever had.” On Blazers tying franchise record with only 3 turnovers: “I mean, it’s huge. Any time you turn the ball over, you’re getting less opportunities and you’re giving the other team an opportunity to get out and get some easy baskets. But we valued the ball, we got shots. Whether that’s make or miss, we got shots up instead of giving the ball to the other team and that’s huge. In a big game like this, you need to take care of the ball and try to get as many opportunities as you can and I thought we did a great job of it.”
HEAD COACH QUIN SNYDER On the difficulty of stopping Damian Lillard: “Well we talked about that before the game. George [Hill] didn’t play, Raul [Neto] got knocked out, had x-rays on his ankle, I think he’s okay. Dante [Exum] also got knocked out of the game so of our four point guards we’re down to one guy in Shelvin [Mack]. So that made it hard on our guys, we need to do a better job obviously but he scored in so many different ways, tip your hat to him.” On having only 19 three point attempts: “We weren’t attacking on the way to the rim and as a result, a lot of mid-range jump shots. I thought we did get to the rim and got some fouls but we didn’t play well, it wasn’t our best game. Played well last night on a back to back and a lot of guys still banged up, we gave it an effort, Portland has better than us tonight.” On being healthy rather than getting the four seed in the west: “I don’t know if we’re going to go into the playoffs with three or four guys out, that doesn’t do us any good where we’re seeded. We’ve got to step back and see who’s healthy, had some guys who got knocked out tonight and see some of the guys that have been playing in Derrick [Favors] and Rodney [Hood] and if they’re able to play on Monday, there’s a chance they won’t be available and hopefully they can be available Wednesday.” More on Lillard’s career night: “He was terrific. You know a lot of the questions I was asked before the game were something to do with how we guarded him well last time and that just shows you what he’s capable of doing. We tried to do a number of different things against him, tried to trap him in the pick-and-roll but he just scored in so many different ways and on an individual level we weren’t able to guard him.”
RUDY GOBERT What was Quin’s message for you after the game? Just be ready for the next one. Early, Dame got easy shots off, anything you could have done to slow that down? Communication. I think early in the game we were late communicating, and he got to the line a lot. He some tough shots too, but he got it going mostly at the line. Are you missing George Hill right now? Yeah. I mean, it’s pretty obvious. We need him 100%. Right now, health is important, but with two tough games ahead, what are you thinking? We are still thinking one game at a time. Whoever is healthy, we go out there and try to get a win.
RODNEY HOOD How hard is it to contain Lillard when he has a night like tonight? It’s very difficult. He came in, I think he kind of knew in the back of his mind he struggled last game against us, and he came in on a mission. He started off hot, and it was hard to slow him down. Once a guy like that gets hot, there’s only so much you can do. We have to do a better job not letting him get started. He was scoring in so many different ways, what was working so well for him (Lillard)? When the jumper is going for any player really, it’s hard to contain. Especially for a guy who can get to the rim and draw fouls. I think he was like 9/14 from 3. He shot the ball really well. When we tried to be up, he attacked our bigs. Like I said, we just can’t let him get so much freedom of movement early in the game. Coming off some hot 3-point shooting, what did they do to disrupt your scoring? They stayed at home on shooters. They made guys get in the lane and try to make things happen, and they stayed at home. This night, normally what people do to us is they blitz our ball screen, they stay back. So we have to be more aggressive initially.
Postgame Notes - April 8, 2017 Portland 101, Utah 86 Game #80 • Home Game #39 TEAM • The Trail Blazers recorded their seventh win in a row at the Moda Center, extending the longest streak of the season. • The Trail Blazers have finished undefeated (8-0) at home against Northwest Division opponents for the first time since the 2008-09 season. • Portland’s three turnovers tonight match a franchise record for the fewest in a game since turnovers began being tracked in 1983-84. • The Trail Blazers have beat the Jazz at least two times in each of the last four seasons. • Portland outscored Utah in the paint, 40-36.
Postgame Notes - April 8, 2017 Portland 101, Utah 86 Game #80 • Home Game #39 Some guy named Lillard • Damian Lillard (59 points, 18-34 FG, 9-14 3-PT) set a new Trail Blazers record for points in a game. He is the only Trail Blazer in franchise history with three games of 50+ points. • Damian Lillard is the only player in NBA history with 59+ points and 9+ 3-pointers in a game. He is the third NBA player since 1983-84 with 59+ points and zero turnovers (C. Anthony and K. Thompson). • Damian Lillard has scored 2,024 points this season (59 tonight), the fifth most in Trail Blazers history. Lillard is the fifth player in franchise history to score 2,000 points in a season. • Damian Lillard has made 488 free throws this season (14-16 tonight), moving him into second for most free throws by a Trail Blazer in a season (523 - Kiki Vandeweghe, 1985-86). • Damian Lillard’s 26 points in the first quarter matched his own franchise record for points in a quarter (1/7/14 at Sacramento). • Damian Lillard has 27 games of 30+ points this season, a new franchise record. Lillard’s 75 career games of 30 or more tie him with Geoff Petrie for second-most in team history (Clyde Drexler, 130). • Damian Lillard made nine 3-pointers, matching his own franchise record for 3-pointers in a game (Lillard - 3, Batum - 1). His 18 field goals (of 34) matched his career-best.
Postgame Notes - April 8, 2017 Portland 101, Utah 86 Game #80 • Home Game #39 PLAYER • Al-Farouq Aminu had 12 rebounds, marking the 14th time this season that he has had 10+ boards. • Maurice Harkless (12 points, 6-7 FG) reached double figures for the fourth time in the last six games, and the 38th time this season.
