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[FONT="]HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS[/FONT]
[FONT="]“After a disappointing first half probably at both ends, I really liked the way that we defended the second half. We stuck with the things that we needed to do. I thought we were more aggressive in the second half. The unit that was in the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter – I think it was four guys off the bench plus Allen – did a really good job of getting energy, being physical, getting the crowd into the game and we were able to feed off of that. Being down 23 and coming back to get a win no matter how it happens, is pretty good.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“We weren’t doing the job defensively. It wasn’t necessarily about making adjustments, just locking in. They made a lot of perimeter jump shots in the first half. I think about 65 percent of their shots were midrange jump shots. The biggest thing was contesting them a little bit better. They were probably a little more open than they should have been, but give them credit. They were making their shots and kind of put us back a little bit. Like I said, I thought Steve Blake did a very good job in the second half of guarding the ball and keeping the ball where he wanted it to go. Joel Freeland obviously came in and did a good job defensively. He finished a couple plays, but I thought those two guys’ energy was obvious on the court in the second half.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On playing Freeland down the stretch:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“I thought he played well…. He was going to play. I just like the way he was guarding Jefferson. I liked the energy he was providing and I just felt like we were best when he was on the court.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On Lillard looking for shot more than last game:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Without Nic in the game, dynamics change a little bit. Shots are going to be there. We scored 116 last game, so the offense was fine. I don’t think you can look at every game. It’s a long season. We need Dame to be aggressive and LA. To be honest, we had some shots that guys were turning down that we need them to take.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On decision to start Crabbe:[/FONT]
[FONT="]One, he’s a good player. Two, I liked his length as far as his defensive ability and his length at the three. He’s worked really hard and deserved an opportunity. He’s a very good player. I felt like starting him, it’s easier playing with the starters than coming off the bench. I thought he’d be a good mix with them. [/FONT]
[FONT="]DAMIAN LILLARD[/FONT]
[FONT="]“They came out and shot the ball really well. We kept them on one side of the floor and we contested shots. We played physical but we got called for fouls and some of them were fouls. They made shots and we just had to stay with it. We kept telling ourselves that eventually it would come back around in our favor and it did.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On staying with game down 23:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Because it was early and that’s not what we do. I think we’ve been in that situation before with it in the fourth quarter and we still tried to fight and give ourselves a chance. Tonight was just a matter of us understanding that hey, they’re making shots, we’re not making [/FONT]
[FONT="]“After a disappointing first half probably at both ends, I really liked the way that we defended the second half. We stuck with the things that we needed to do. I thought we were more aggressive in the second half. The unit that was in the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter – I think it was four guys off the bench plus Allen – did a really good job of getting energy, being physical, getting the crowd into the game and we were able to feed off of that. Being down 23 and coming back to get a win no matter how it happens, is pretty good.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“We weren’t doing the job defensively. It wasn’t necessarily about making adjustments, just locking in. They made a lot of perimeter jump shots in the first half. I think about 65 percent of their shots were midrange jump shots. The biggest thing was contesting them a little bit better. They were probably a little more open than they should have been, but give them credit. They were making their shots and kind of put us back a little bit. Like I said, I thought Steve Blake did a very good job in the second half of guarding the ball and keeping the ball where he wanted it to go. Joel Freeland obviously came in and did a good job defensively. He finished a couple plays, but I thought those two guys’ energy was obvious on the court in the second half.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On playing Freeland down the stretch:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“I thought he played well…. He was going to play. I just like the way he was guarding Jefferson. I liked the energy he was providing and I just felt like we were best when he was on the court.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On Lillard looking for shot more than last game:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Without Nic in the game, dynamics change a little bit. Shots are going to be there. We scored 116 last game, so the offense was fine. I don’t think you can look at every game. It’s a long season. We need Dame to be aggressive and LA. To be honest, we had some shots that guys were turning down that we need them to take.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On decision to start Crabbe:[/FONT]
[FONT="]One, he’s a good player. Two, I liked his length as far as his defensive ability and his length at the three. He’s worked really hard and deserved an opportunity. He’s a very good player. I felt like starting him, it’s easier playing with the starters than coming off the bench. I thought he’d be a good mix with them. [/FONT]
[FONT="]DAMIAN LILLARD[/FONT]
[FONT="]“They came out and shot the ball really well. We kept them on one side of the floor and we contested shots. We played physical but we got called for fouls and some of them were fouls. They made shots and we just had to stay with it. We kept telling ourselves that eventually it would come back around in our favor and it did.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On staying with game down 23:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Because it was early and that’s not what we do. I think we’ve been in that situation before with it in the fourth quarter and we still tried to fight and give ourselves a chance. Tonight was just a matter of us understanding that hey, they’re making shots, we’re not making [/FONT]
