Exclusive GAME# 57: JAZZ @ BLAZERS - FEBRUARY 11, 2018 - Quote Book

[SlyPokerDog]

Postgame Notes - February 11, 2018
Utah 115, Portland 96
Game #57 • Home Game #27

TEAM
• Portland made 21-of-25 free throws while Utah connected on 20-of-22 free throw attempts.
• The Trail Blazers recorded seven steals and four blocks while the Jazz notched eight steals and four blocks.
• Portland scored 14 points off of 13 Utah turnovers while the Jazz scored 11 points off of 13 Trail Blazers turnovers.
• The Trail Blazers season-best nine-game winning streak at Moda Center came to an end.
• The Jazz extended the longest active winning streak in the NBA to nine games and won their seventh consecutive game on the road.

PLAYER
• Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 39 points (12-25 FG, 2-8 3-PT, 13-13 FT) to go with three rebounds and one assist. It is the first time in his career that Lillard has scored at least 39 points in consecutive games.
• Damian Lillard shot 13-of-13 from the free throw line, marking the 11th time this season that he has made at least 10 free throws. It ties the second-most games with 10 or more free throws in a season in his career (14, 2016-17).
• With his first three-pointer of the game, Damian Lillard (1,193 career three-pointers) passed Stephen Curry for the second-most three-pointers by any NBA player in his first six seasons (Thompson, 1,328).
• CJ McCollum scored 22 points (8-22 FG, 2-5 3-PT, 4-6 FT) to go with three rebounds, four assists and two steals.
• Shabazz Napier had 10 points (2-6 FG, 2-4 3-PT, 4-4 FT) in 17 minutes off the bench. It was the 23rd time that Napier scored in double figures this season, matching the total number of games that he scored in double figures during the first three seasons of his career.
• Ed Davis logged eight points and 12 rebounds. Davis has pulled down double digit rebounds in two straight games and seven of the last 12 contests.
• Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 27 points (10-24 FG, 2-5 3-PT, 5-5 FT) while Joe Ingles added a career high 24 points (8-12 FG, 6-9 3-PT, 2-2 FT).

 

[SlyPokerDog]

HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS

“I think Utah played a really good game. It was a defensive first half and then they got it going in the third quarter with threes. They got their rhythm going. For the last two or three weeks, they’ve shown how good they can be offensively and they showed that tonight. We struggled offensively most of the night. Credit to their defensive. Part of that, I thought we could have executed better, passed the ball better, taken better care of the ball, but Utah beat us. Simple as that.”


What did you think of Mitchell:

“Good young player, very good young player. He had a very good game against us in the first game in November. He’s just gotten better. I think he’s expanded his game where he can not only score but make plays for others.”


Was Turner’s calf not well, or?

“I probably could have gone back with him but with the score the way it was, I thought it best to not extend it.”


How disappointed are you with the performance tonight?

“I’m disappointed with the loss. The first quarter started out great, it was basically a one-point game at halftime, it just got away from us in the second half. You start to look at the standings and this was a big game.”


How do you think Crowder fits with them?

“He’s a great fit. I really like him as a player. I was in Dallas when we drafted him. I think he’ll fit in perfectly with them.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

DAMIAN LILLARD

On third quarter tonight:

“It was just a bad quarter. I thought we just had a letup. They carried over the momentum from the second quarter to the third. It went from a one-point lead to a sixteen-point deficit real quick. Guys got corner threes and they got to the loose balls, they got second and third opportunities. We didn’t make shots. I thought they did a great job defensively. We needed to be able to get stops and get out and push it at them in transition, not allow them to set up their half-court defense, because not just this year but over the past few years, they’ve been great in the half court. We had to play against them in the half court and they got to the nail, they took away the roll guy, they took away a lot of the options so they had a really good defensive night, especially in the second half.”


You took some hits tonight, how are you feeling?

“I feel alright. My back is a little sore. I kept telling the refs that when I’m jumping in the air, they’re shoving me in my back and I’m looking at the rim trying to finish so I can’t control my landing while I’m looking at the rim, so I took a few falls that way, but I mean, I’ll be alright.”


Do you feel like West race has changed now that Jazz are coming in conversation?

“I mean, they had a little rough stretch were they kind of dropped out but I think at the beginning of the season, everybody had them included. It’s always a tough run for those last spots in the West. There’s no reason why they wouldn’t be in it. They’ve got some good players, so I don’t think anybody’s surprised they fought their way back in. After tonight, a nine game winning streak, that’ll definitely do it, so I guess they make it a little bit more interesting even than it was before.”


What did you think of Mitchell?

“I think he should be Rookie of the Year for sure, not just because of his numbers but his impact on their team. He’s basically leading them and it’s special to see a rookie be able to do what he’s doing out there. He’s able to get to the rim, he shoots the ball with ease, just not afraid – really aggressive. He’s a really, really, really good player not just for rookie but just as a player in this league period.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

HEAD COACH QUIN SNYDER



How did you like the way your team responded there in the third quarter, particularly at the start?

I thought we defended the first two quarters as well, but they’re capable of scoring points in bunches. We felt like the beginning of that quarter we just needed to be really sound defensively, and then got some stops and got some things on the offensive end.


What did you think of Crowder in his debut tonight?

I saw a guy that’s part of the team and threw himself into the group. When you’re a smart player that has feel it’s easy to blend with a group of guys and play selflessly, and that’s what he did.


We always talk about the next man up, and Royce got the start tonight:

I don’t care who starts, but Royce tonight had to fill in for Ricky. More than even starting the game, how he played the game, you wouldn’t look at his line and say “great game” but defensively he was solid, and we executed a game plan. He rebounded again, which is a big thing tonight to keep them off the offensive glass. I was happy with how he played, and happy with how our team played obviously.


With Ricky out, Donovan had to paly with a bit more responsibility, and he showed up particularly at the end it seemed:

Yeah. I mean honestly, I thought Raul was terrific. Donovan and Joe got into foul trouble in the first half, and we had some matchup situations, but Raul did a great job coming in. He played with Donovan late in the game. They were trapping, and we tried not to put ourselves in situations where we could get trapped, and that meant Donovan was able to try to create off the dribble, and he did that.


Do you feel like Joe, as much as anyone, loosens things up offensively when he starts to feel his shot?

Yeah. I mean, we want to shoot the ball. That’s who we are, and we want to drive the ball. We want the rim first, and hopefully that can collapse the defense and get shots. When Joe is aggressive, that confidence is something your team can feel. I want the same thing from Jonas, Raul. I want guys to take shots when they’re open, and if we miss them we need to guard again.


Is it inevitable when a team goes on a streak like this they’re looking at every start, and that first half seemed a little blah…

Yeah. We’re not thinking about… to me, this is the NBA regular season. I’m not counting when we have a losing streak. I’m not counting when we have a winning streak. It’s nice that there’s a streak because that means we won, but as far as tallying things, no one is taking chalk and putting anything on the board or carving something on a tree. We just need to play basketball, and that’s what we need to keep doing.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

RUDY GOBERT

On their defense:

“We just kept doing what we’ve been doing. They hit some shots early and got on the free throw line early. We just have to keep going. We started making shots in the second half, we started sharing the ball… it was fun.”


On the halftime message:

“Just start focusing defensively, don’t let them get going. And then offensively, just attack. Share the ball, attack and find the open man.”


On Jae Crowder:

“It’s been great. He doesn’t know all the plays, but he’s been great defensively and he’s knocked down some big shots. He’s a smart player, so he’s going to fit in pretty well.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

ROYCE O’NEALE

On the halftime message:

“It was just focusing on defense. We knew they were going to come out hot and more alert, so we just knew we had to be more alert and active on defense and that was going to lead to easy offense.”


On his first NBA start:

“It felt good, we got the win. I was a little nervous at first starting my first NBA game, but once the ball went up, that went out the window. Us just getting the win and playing as a team… keep it moving.”


On Jae Crowder:

“He’s a great shooter. I think he’s going to fit into the team well, playing multiple positions, knocking down opens shots, attacking the basket, rebounding, playing defense. He’s just one of those guys that’ll fit in and bring leadership because he’s been around.”