Exclusive Celtics at Blazers, 3/31/2016 - Quote Book

[SlyPokerDog]

HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS

On Aminu’s performance:

“It was good to see him have a breakout game. To be honest, I was surprised, he’s been in the league as long as he has and 20 was his career high. He had a good rhythm shooting the three, made some great defensive plays during the stretch that we needed them. He played the whole second half defensively both help side and on the ball he was good. I thought if not the best, one of the best games he’s had as a Blazer.”



What fueled turnaround?

“Our defense was what started it. I thought Ed and Chief primarily, but that group on the court, Gerald, AC, and CJ defensively, we got some stops, we got some momentum, we got out in transition. Certainly it helps to make some shots along the way, but during that third quarter, that triggered everything but the momentum we got with some threes also helped.”


On guys stepping up when defense focused on Lillard and McCollum:

“When you think about that group that made the run, AC made some shots and defensive plays. Gerald made some clutch shots for us. Chief was really good throughout. They were into Dame, Dame was struggling a little bit. But I’ve said this before, when we get scoring off the bench and it takes some of the pressure off of Dame and CJ, it makes us a better team.”


What makes Boston’s defense so tough?

“Their perimeter defenders are really good, they get into you, they’re physical, they contain penetration. Their bigs are very smart help defenders – Amir Johnson, Sullinger, Crowder are good help defenders – but I think it starts for them at the point of attack with their perimeter guards.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

ALLEN CRABBE

“I feel like Chief had a hell of a game. Our bench came in, brought some energy, made plays, but I just feel like the team chemistry and the way coaches trust and believe in everybody’s abilities, I feel like that right there plays a big part in it too. When certain teams take Dame and CJ out of certain things, it opens up a lot of things for us, so when we have nights like this, it’s up to us to make plays.”


What fueled turnaround tonight?

“I think we just dug deep and got the stops that we needed to make. The way we got a couple stops in a row on the defensive end in the fourth quarter, it allowed us to get out on the break, allowed us to get some easier things and I feel like we just rode that all the way to the end.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

MASON PLUMLEE

“Guys played really big on both ends of the floor. I mean, Chief’s performance obviously was second to none. The way he shot the ball, the way he attacked the basket. Then defensively, he made plays. I don’t know what the numbers are but he blocked shots, he influenced shots and he was tough on the ball – tough help side and tough on the ball. I thought he played just awesome tonight.”



On playing from 12 down in the third quarter:

“You know, I think shows weren’t falling. We got good looks, we had a few mental errors. But that group that came in halfway through the third, they played their butts off and they really got after it defensively and they got some easy ones in transition and I think that opened things up for us.”


How does this prepare you for what you might see in playoffs?

“Well I thought it was a big game plan game. They came in and they said CJ and Dame aren’t going to beat us and they showed a lot of trust in other guys to make plays. I think that’s what you’re going to see a lot in the playoffs and some of these games down the stretch.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

HEAD COACH BRAD STEVENS

On Al-Farouq Aminu:

“Well first of all his (3-point) percentage is pretty good, but it’s the volume + percentage that you look at. Hey, if he’s going to shoot eleven threes in the game and Lillard’s going to go 3-for-16, then you hope you’ve got a better chance. But to his credit, and he’s made four out of 12 in a game before in a game this year and everything else, he stepped out and knocked those down, so he deserves credit for that.”


On each team going through big runs throughout the game:

“I thought that other than that 3rd quarter when I thought we were making shots and kind of stemmed the tide at the start of the 3rd quarter, I thought the more aggressive team won each run. I know that sounds obvious, but it was clearly a more aggressive team during each of those runs and that’s why it was so dramatic. When we went up 12-0 or whatever the case may be, I felt like we had them on their heels and certainly vice versa. Middle of the 3rd through the start of the 4th we were on our heels the whole time. (We were) slow to the ball and they out asserted us at that moment for sure.”



On how he thought Jae Crowder looked:

“I thought he was fine, he made a big shot there. He’ll continue to play better as he gets more opportunity and the days go by.”



On his team’s execution in the last couple minutes:

“The one where obviously Isaiah just lost the ball, but our spacing was going to be okay, it’s just an unfortunate play. I thought it was really good on Avery’s three that he shot off the top of key off the side… And then we were scrambling from behind after that.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

AVERY BRADLEY

On his play in the 3rd quarter:

“I was just trying to make plays for my team. I was trying to be aggressive, I knew my team needed me to be aggressive. That’s all I was trying to do and I was able to make shots.”


On what went wrong down the stretch:

“They were making shots, they were getting stops and scoring on the other end. (Al-Farouq) Aminu, he had a great game. We wanted him to shoot threes, he was knocking it down but it was the other players that were beating us with offensive rebounds, kick outs, you saw those low plays and that’s what ultimately beat us.”


On if they forced some shots:

“Yeah but that happens whenever you’re trying to come back. You don’t want to point the finger or anything, we know that we all wanted to win the game but at the same time we ought to be mature to know that we need to make smart plays for one another so we can be successful on the offensive end of the floor but we just have to learn. We’ll get a chance to watch film in the morning and learn from our mistakes because we’re playing a great team tomorrow.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

ISAIAH THOMAS


On having Jae Crowder back in the lineup:

“It felt good, he showed signs of what he does. It might take a couple games but I’m just glad to have him back in the routine, it just sucks that we couldn’t get the win.”



On his shooting struggles tonight:

“I guess they let them play physical today but you can’t blame the refs on how they did. I had a few turnovers that I shouldn’t have had and I think I just drove in the lane too deep sometimes and got myself in trouble and I just got to watch the film tonight and look at the things I can get better at as a point guard and play a better game tomorrow.”


On Avery Bradley’s 3rd quarter:

“He played a hell of a game overall but in the 3rd quarter he was very aggressive. He did what he does and that’s the Avery that we need and I was happy for him in that 3rd quarter because in the first half he didn’t play too well but he didn’t put his head down and he kept his confidence.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

TEAM

• The Trail Blazers have won a season-high six straight home games, and are 15-2 in their past 17 games at the Moda Center (25-12 overall).

• Portland improves to 21-10 in its past 31 games.

• Tonight marked just the third time in the past 43 games that Portland has won when trailing at halftime (3-15).

• The Trail Blazers are now 12-3 when playing on two or more days of rest.

• Portland has won five of its past seven games against the Celtics.

• Six Portland players scored in double figures, marking the eighth straight game in which at least five Trail Blazers scored 10+ points.

• Portland’s bench outscored Boston’s bench, 37-32, marking the 27th time in the past 38 games that it has accomplished that feat (+201 pts).

• Trailing 109-108 with 1:07 remaining, Portland ended the game on an 8-0 run to win 116-109.

• The Trail Blazers blocked 10 shots, marking the first time that the team has blocked 10+ shots in back-to-back games since Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, 2012.

• Portland ended the final 2:10 of the third quarter on a 10-2 run.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

PLAYER

• Al-Farouq Aminu scored a career-high 28 points (prev: 20, twice) and made a career-high six three-pointers (prev: 4, five times).

• Al-Farouq Aminu became the first Trail Blazer with 28+ points, 9+ rebounds and 6+ three-pointers in a game since Derek Anderson on April 4, 2003 (at GS).

• Over his past three games, Al-Farouq Aminu has averaged 20.7 points on 22-of-41 shooting (53.7% FG). Aminu has made 11 of his 25 three-point attempts (44.0% 3-PT).

• Gerald Henderson finished with 15 points, and has now scored in double figures in 14 of his past 16 games. Henderson has had 10+ points in 22 of his past 31 games, after doing so seven times through his first 36 contests.

• Gerald Henderson (15 points) has now scored 10+ points in 14 of his past 16 games against the Celtics.

• Allen Crabbe has averaged 16.0 points on 11-of-16 shooting (6-10 3-PT) over his last two games.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

 

[Chris Craig]

Isiah Thomas has the audacity to imply that the refs let us play physical and did not call enough calls on us....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!