Exclusive GAME# 51: MAVERICKS @ BLAZERS - FEBRUARY 3, 2017 - Quote Book

[SlyPokerDog]

HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS

“We didn’t do enough good things to win the game, obviously. Ferrell had a terrific game, shot the ball great. The first half, they hardly had any points in the paint and the three point line was the difference. They really had a rhythm, particularly in the first half with shooting the ball. Then they made big shots down the stretch. We came out and competed pretty well in the second half. I’m not so sure our first half was as much about our defense as their shot making.”


What do you do when a team gets hot like that from three?

“You want to get into them. They cause a lot of problems with the way they can space the court. They play a small lineup which opens up the court. That’s part of what they do offensively. Ferrell got open at the end, we over-helped and he made a three. Dirk makes a tough three in transition. Wes makes a three in front of our bench. They did an outstanding job of making threes tonight.”


On frustrating loss given recent momentum:

“It’s frustrating. I mean, there are a lot of frustrating losses throughout the season. It’s not so much about the loss as we didn’t play as well as we have been playing. It seemed like we were a little bit of a step slow. We couldn’t really build any rhythm offensively because they were scoring. You hate to lose the game, but you want to keep playing at the level that you’ve been playing up to that point.”


On Ferrell’s performance:

“You know, I think anybody can come in and have a game, but he’s come in and had an impact on four games. Being a minor league guy, I’m happy for him. To get an opportunity to get a ten-day, get an opportunity to get into the NBA and you make the most of it. As disappointing as this loss is, I root for those kind of guys.”


On Matthews:

“Wes competes. What he did tonight we saw how many times for three years, my first three years here that’s what he did. I don’t think it was a surprise to anybody whether it was posting up or shooting threes or defending. Wes is a competitor and he finds ways to help his team.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

DAMIAN LILLARD

On performance from Yogi Ferrell:

“Like I said yesterday, we respect everybody, but our game plan coming in was we were going to go under pick and rolls and try to keep him out of the paint. He came off, he hit a few early and got his confidence up. A lot of them were off the ball. He was off the ball. We’re in a help position and they set a flare or they just skip the ball. He saw it go in early and he started catching and raising up. He got them up in a lot of different ways. So he had a great game, but anybody playing in this league and they get a couple shots to fall early, you never know what can happen. His came right on time.”


What does this do to the momentum you were building?

“I mean, obviously we felt like this was a great opportunity for us to get on another streak, get this one tonight on our home floor and move on to this two-game road trip and try to make something of it and go into the break strong, which we still can do. We can still go into the break strong, but this would have been a good one to have. So it sucks to let this one slip.”


What did you do in the second half to get back in it?

“We got more aggressive. We got into their bodies, we played more physical, we were sharper in our communication, and of course you do that when you’re down double digits. We fought back into the game and like I said, we had our opportunities. Even at the end, we cut it to one and we had two stops in a row – stop, score, we got another stop and then I tried to skip it across to Chief, turnover, and they come down, bang, three and it goes from one to four and we’re in a completely different position. We had opportunities, we just didn’t take advantage of it.”


Is this loss more deflating than others?

“I mean, it’s just a tough one because you feel like it’s a game that you should have. It’s on your home floor. They’re shorthanded. You come out and the start of the game just wasn’t how we needed it to be. We needed to come out sharp, we needed to jump on them instead of having them jump on us, so the way we’ve been playing, it sucks to not have this game.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

HEAD COACH RICK CARLISLE

On Yogi Farrell’s game:

I love the way he’s playing. He’s got a great team vibe to him, he’s got great energy, he’s taking advantage of the way they’re playing him and playing Dirk (Nowitzki) and other guys in pick and rolls. He’s an opportunistic guy and it’s pretty clear that he’s out to prove a point.


On his team responding well after Portland battled back:

“We talked about it at halftime, they’re going to make a big run at some point. The building’s loud, it’s a place rife with adversity. We just talked about the fact that when that happens, and we figured it would happen sooner than later, we’ve got to embrace taking on that challenge and find a way to conquer it. If we’re going to make this run and get where we want to go, we’ve got to dial into these types of situations and love the challenge of coming through. It’s difficult, the NBA on the road is tough.”


On Wesley Matthews’ game:

“Wes is so into it when we come here, it’s hard to keep his emotions under control. He’s just so aggressive and exerting so much energy. Without (Devin) Harris tonight it was really a challenge to find rest for him. He played 40 minutes or 40 and change and it easily could’ve been 45. (Justin) Anderson gave us three really good minutes in the first half that gave (Matthews) a spell, plus a timeout. Second half we just didn’t have the luxury of getting him out. They made huge runs at us, our guys stood up to the adversity and held the line. This is a very important moment for us and we’ve just got to keep going.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

WESLEY MATTHEWS

On the win:

“It felt good. It seems to be a trend; get a decent lead, blow the lead, got to be a tough game at the end. I guess it makes good for TV, huh? We played hard, we never hung our head. I can’t say enough about Yogi’s [Ferrell] performance, man, big time, big time play. Seth [Curry] sitting the whole first half because of foul trouble and then making big plays in the second half and then everybody else just doing the work that needs to be done to get the win.”


On being a game and a half out from the eighth seed in the West:

“Yeah, we knew that going into it, we’re not going to quit. We believe and we’re going to keep fighting. We’re going to keep competing and we have another tough one against Denver who’s ahead of us too. Couple that up with Portland again so it’s not going to get any easier but we’re doing some good things and we just got to continue to build on the good things.”


On Yogi Ferrell:

“Man, I think he’s got more in the tank. I think he’s got some more in him so we’re going to need it and he was big time.”


On Yogi’s team play:

“I still think he got a couple of turnovers because he was still looking to pass. He had it going, he was aggressive early and that really sets the tone for us. His speed is something that’s unique. He gets in the paint and he creates problems.”


On if Yogi’s confidence surprises him:

“No, no, his demeanor is not that of a guy in his situation. He plays extremely confident, he plays poised, he plays like he loves the game and he’s confident in himself. We’re confident in him and he’s got some toughness to him.”


His thoughts on the Trail Blazers:

“I’m not in that locker room. I don’t really have a comment on it.”


On going back and forth with Evan Turner:

“Just basketball.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Postgame Notes - Feb. 3, 2017
Dallas 108, Portland 104
Game #51 • Home Game #25


TEAM

• The Trail Blazers finish up their season-long five-game home stand with a 3-2 record.
• The Mavericks have now won a season-best four consecutive games, and are 9-3 over their last 12 contests.
• Portland trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half, before rallying to tie the game, 92-92, with 4:17 remaining in the fourth quarter.
• Portland has held a 144-74 advantage in points in the paint over the past three games (40-20 tonight).
• Portland’s bench outscored the Mavericks reserves by 18 points (26-8). Trail Blazers reserves have outscored opposing reserves by 32 points (16.0 ppg) over the past two games (81-49).
• The Trail Blazers outrebounded Dallas, 44-36, and have now finished with more rebounds than their opponent in each of the past three games.


PLAYER

• Evan Turner scored a season-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting (20, Jan. 5 vs. LAL). 16 of Turner’s 24 points came in the second half on 6-of-10 shooting (3-3 FT).
• Evan Turner’s 24-point performance represents his highest scoring output since scoring 30 points vs. Orlando on March 13, 2015 as a member of the Boston Celtics.
• CJ McCollum scored 16 of his 28 points in the second half (11 pts in fourth quarter).
• Al-Farouq Aminu’s four 3-point field goals (of eight) represents a new season high (3, Nov. 4 at Dal.). Aminu connected on three of his four triples in the second half.
• Mason Plumlee (nine rebounds) snaps his streak of seven consecutive games with at least 10 rebounds (career high).
• Mason Plumlee (407 rebounds, 214 assists) finishes tonight’s game as one of six NBA players with 400+ rebounds and 200+ assists this season (Antetokounmpo, Cousins, Durant, Harden, Westbrook).
• Damian Lillard has now made at least one 3-point field goal in a career-high 31 consecutive games.
• Dallas guard Yogi Ferrell scored a career-high 32 points on 11-of-17 shooting (19 pts, Jan. 30 vs. Cle.). Ferrell’s nine 3-point field goals is the most made by any Mavericks player in a single game this season.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

 

[Dougnsalem]

That's pretty darn cool. I'm really liking this guy more and more

 

[Cippy91]

 

[Minstrel]

I wonder if we could trade Lillard or McCollum for Ferrell.

 

[Cippy91]

I wonder if we could trade Lillard or McCollum for Ferrell.

Trade both for him

 

[BBert]

Thanks Dame!

 

[BBert]

Thanks Dame!

Really that's not completely fair. Stotts deserves a percentage of that contact too.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

I wonder how many picnic baskets he got?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Thanks Dame!

Damn, you know things are not good in Blazer world when @BBert starting bringing the heat.

 

[BBert]

That shrimp was wide fucking open all night. I remember one 3 point shot he made that was actually contested. It was truly a team non effort.

 

[BBert]

I wonder how many picnic baskets he got?

Awaiting word from his agent, Boo Boo

 

[Minstrel]

Yogi Ferrell has actually been pretty good for the Mavericks since he took over for an injured Deron Is Deron.

He probably will only be an MVP candidate against Portland, though.

 

[BBert]

I would be utterly shocked to hear Stotts say in the post game that the other team made shots because our players played poor defense on their shooters, or that we should have switched up our defensive scheme sooner.

Likewise, instead of only talking about how great his team played, I'd love to hear a coach say: Yeah, the other team's defensive effort was poor. If they aren't going to come out and guard us, of course we're going to make shots.