Exclusive GAME# 27: BLAZERS @ ROCKETS - DECEMBER 11, 2018 - Quote Book

[SlyPokerDog]

·With the win tonight, the Rockets even the season series against the Blazers 1-1 with one game remaining at Portland on 1/5. Houston snaps a three-game losing streak and has won six of its past seven home games after losing the first four at Toyota Center. Portland has lost seven of its past 10 after starting the season 12-5.

·Houston held Portland to 103 points tonight. Over the past six games, opponents are averaging 106.8 ppg after averaging 122.0 ppg the six games prior.

·The Rockets outshot the Blazers 49.4% to 43.7%. Houston is 9-2 when outshooting the opposition this season. Opponents have shot below 45.0% in three of the past five games after doing so once the 10 games prior.

·Houston only attempted 29 3-pointers tonight. Is it just the fifth time the Rockets have had fewer than 30 3FGA in a game since Mike D’Antoni became head coach in 2016-17.

·The Rockets had 7 turnovers tonight and are averaging 9.5 tpg over the past two games after averaging 21.0 tpg the two games prior. Houston has recorded 12 or fewer turnovers in nine of the 26 games this season (30 of 82 games in 2017-18).

·Houston had three players score at least 10 points off the bench: Gerald Green (13), Danuel House Jr. (12), and Nenê (10). It is the first time the Rockets had three reserves score in double-figures in the same game this season (twice in 2017-18). Houston’s bench has outscored the opposition’s reserves in three of the past six games after doing so three times over the first 20 games of the season.

·The Rockets won despite trailing by as many as 15 points in the first quarter. It is Houston’s second win in a game in which it has trailed by 10+ points this season (14 at Brooklyn on 11/2/18). The Rockets were 11-13 in games in which they trailed by 10+ points in 2017-18.

·Chris Paul had 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists marking the 15th triple-double of his career and his second as a Rocket (18/10/10 vs. Utah on 12/18/17). He also had just one turnover tonight and has 18 assists with 3 turnovers over the past two games after having 12 assists with 10 turnovers the two games prior. The Rockets are 6-0 when Paul has 10+ assists this season (15-1 in 2017-18).

·James Harden had a team-high 29 points with just 2 turnovers tonight. He averaged 6.3 tpg over the four games prior. Harden is averaging 32.5 ppg on 47.0% shooting (39.2% 3FGs) over the past 12 games after averaging 27.3 ppg on 41.2% shooting (35.2% 3FGs) over his first 11 games played this season.

·Clint Capela had 13 points before fouling out on the fourth quarter. It is the sixth time he has fouled out in his career and the first since vs. the L.A. Lakers on 12/31/17. Capela has scored in double-figures in each of the past 25 games after not having a streak longer than 11 games prior in his career.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

ROCKETS HEAD COACH MIKE D’ANTONI

(On the Rockets bench player tonight) “Well, they took the pressure off of them [starters]. They won the game for us. They turned it around when we were down 15, and they came in, and Nenê, Danuel House, Gerald (Green) put a lot of energy. Their defense was excellent. Obviously, we would like to have it every game, but we’ll take as much as we can, and they can do that, they’re good enough to be able to do that.”

(On closing the game in the fourth quarter) “Winning’s hard in the NBA, and we almost forgot how hard you have to play, and today we did it. Today we played hard. You know, you start off with Chris (Paul) when he came back in there. He was ticked off, he was mad. He got into people and posed his will, and everybody kind of took the cue from him. You know, it felt good tonight. Tonight’s the way we should win. That’s the way we should play, and if we do that, we’ll get a lot of wins. If not, we won’t. The West is tough. So, it’s a good encouraging start, but it’s one little baby step, and it’s a long ways to go.”

(On Nenê’s performance) “He was good. We wouldn’t of won this game without him. He was tough, and (Jusuf) Nurkic is tough, and when you have a man in there like that, then it really helped us a lot. Everything, his energy, you know, he played 20 minutes, probably a little bit too much. Clint (Capela) fouled out, he probably wouldn’t have played the last four minutes if Clint hadn’t fouled out, but we need both of them. We need both Clint and Nenê to be like they are.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

ROCKETS GUARD ERIC GORDON

(On starting tonight’s game) “It really doesn’t matter whether I start or come off the bench, I just like our effort today, we really got after it today and offensively we moved the ball better and defensively we really got after it. That’s what really got us to win.”

(On the Rockets bench tonight) “Major lift, they changed the game. Daniel House (Jr) and Gerald Green, they changed the game for us. Because they came in, knocked down shots and made big plays defensively, they both did. They were the real game changers and Nenê, Nenê made a lot of big plays too. So those two guys were terrific tonight.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

ROCKETS GUARD/FORWARD GERALD GREEN

(On if he could tell a difference in his team when they turned things around) “You could definitely tell the difference. I think you could really tell the difference (in) the second half I thought. I thought that we didn’t give up a lot of offensive rebounds that was really killing us in the first half. Our pace was really good tonight. I feel like we were playing faster. We were getting out in transition a lot more than we did in the last few games. I think it was something we can build on.”

(On the pregame energy tonight) “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know. I feel like tonight we were flowing. We had a really good practice yesterday, probably one of the best practices we had. I feel like that kind of put a little spark on us too. But, you know, sometimes it happens; sometimes that’s where great teams find energy. I feel like today we found it and we kept it up.”

(On what was different about yesterday’s practice) “It was tough, it was tough. It was just competitive, attention to detail, I think everybody was getting on each other, but it was kind of more of a confident thing. It was like – I can’t really explain it, but we just went after it.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

ROCKETS GUARD JAMES HARDEN

(On the Rockets coming back after trailing by 15 points in the first quarter) “Yeah, we did a good job of just competing, playing harder. That was really it. (We) Played harder and got into them. We were more aggressive and good things happened. (That) Tends to happen when you play harder, for everybody.”

(On whether this is the type of win to build upon and get going) “Yeah, it was good for us. We’ve been on the road. It seems like a lot, and it felt good to be at home, and get a win, and we’ve just got to continue to build off of this.”

(On the bench performance tonight) “Great, great. From top to bottom. Everybody came in and did their part on both ends of the floor. When you get after it, especially on the defensive end from everybody, it creates opportunities for everybody. (Danuel) House (Jr.) got out in transition; Gerald (Green) made some good shots. Everybody played well, Nenê.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

ROCKETS FORWARD DANUEL HOUSE JR.

(On the energy his dunk brought to the team) “I think like I said when I first got here, my job was to always bring the energy and play defense. And of course the offensive end will take care of itself at the pace that the way we play, when you have good ball handlers and distributors like EG (Eric Gordon), James Harden and CP (Chris Paul).”

(On contributing with the second unit) “Oh nah, nah, we’ve just practicing hard. Yesterday before this game we had a good practice as a unit, so guys were just bouncing energy off each other, and we just told each other we’ve got to compete harder.”

(On being from Houston and playing for the Rockets) “It’s a fun thing of course, you’ve got two Houstonians representing the Rockets, our hometown team. It’s always a good joy to play with one another, especially him (Gerald Green). Like I said before, I’ve been knowing Gerald since middle school. So to be able to watch him on T.V, blow the cupcake out on his dunk, to sitting on the side of him in the locker room and talking to him and him coaching me up and keeping it real with me, it’s an honor, it’s a blessing and it’s a memory that’s going to last forever for me.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

ROCKETS GUARD CHRIS PAUL

(On the second unit with him as the point guard) “Yeah, we just tried to pick up the energy. We sort of changed our defensive scheme a little bit, got into the ball, I mean we switched at times, but not as much, but it’s one of those things where sometimes you can impact the game and not with scoring, and that’s energy. And I think that, that unit we brought a different energy.”

(On the Rockets defense moving forward) “Yeah, I mean we’re going to keep trying different things on different nights. Obviously, we know switching is our bread and butter, but just throwing different schemes at teams (too) keep them unbalanced.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

TRAIL BLAZERS HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS

(On the game) “I thought Houston played pretty aggressive defense honest. We took some possessions for granted and some turnovers led to their transition. Obviously, their bench came in and had an impact on the game. I thought they were very aggressive at the defensive end, their switching certainly affected the style of the game, and we weren’t able to run a lot of offense. They just outplayed us in the second half. The style of play, with all the switching led to a lot of one-on-one and isolation, especially for Damian (Lillard) and CJ (McCollum). Our bench struggled to score the ball a little bit in both halves. To be honest, I was more disappointed with our defense. We gave up way too many points in the paint. They shot a great percentage at the rim, even though (James) Harden is a really good player, I thought they (Rockets) made a lot of energy plays. Their bench was 15 for 22, so they really impacted the game on their offensive end.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

TRAIL BLAZERS GUARD DAMIAN LILLARD

(On the game) “We dug ourselves into a hole and with the style that they play, you’re going to have a chance to get back into it, but it’s a tough battle when you have to fight back into the game, and those last few minutes, you have to damn near be perfect to actually win it. We found ourselves in that position once again, after a run again in the second half.”

(On if this game took a lot out of him) “I thought there was a lot of contact out there. I was on the refs, and I was asking them a question on how was that not a foul, and they explained what they thought, and that was it. I go in there to score, and I play the game to score, and I’m not trying to sell this or sell that, but I thought there was a lot of contact. It’s hard when they’re trying to trap you and guys are helping. They’ve been physical, and not penalized all the time and they get a little more physical. That’s the kind of game it was.”

(On the team’s recent play) “We just played two good games. We just won two games, so it’s not going to happen like that. I didn’t think tonight was a bad game. I don’t think this was a step in the wrong direction. We lost the game.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

TRAIL BLAZERS GUARD CJ MCCOLLUM

(On what happened in the second half) “They went on a run and that’s what changed the game. I think we got it down 10, 15 at one point, and 17 at one point, and didn’t get stops, and that changed the game.”

(On if he was surprised with Houston’s bench performance) “They played well and made some shots tonight, and played with energy. (Danuel) House (Jr.) made some plays for them, and ultimately that changed the game.”

(On if it was tough with the second unit not making shots) “You want to be aggressive at all times. We had a couple of good looks, but then the turnovers hurt us, and allowed them to get out, and run a little bit, and that makes the game a little bit more difficult, and you have to give yourself a chance, by at least getting up a shot attempt. At times, we didn’t, and that hurt us.”

 

[hoopsjock]

TRAIL BLAZERS HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS

(On the game) “I thought Houston played pretty aggressive defense honest. We took some possessions for granted and some turnovers led to their transition. Obviously, their bench came in and had an impact on the game. I thought they were very aggressive at the defensive end, their switching certainly affected the style of the game, and we weren’t able to run a lot of offense. They just outplayed us in the second half. The style of play, with all the switching led to a lot of one-on-one and isolation, especially for Damian (Lillard) and CJ (McCollum). Our bench struggled to score the ball a little bit in both halves. To be honest, I was more disappointed with our defense. We gave up way too many points in the paint. They shot a great percentage at the rim, even though (James) Harden is a really good player, I thought they (Rockets) made a lot of energy plays. Their bench was 15 for 22, so they really impacted the game on their offensive end.”

Stotts thinking to himself during the game: Hmm, they are being really aggressive on defense and harassing our guards forcing us into isolation.

Stotts to his team: I think if we keep running the exact same play eventually they have to stop defending it so well right? Yeah, lets just keep doing what we always do.