Exclusive GAME# 73: BLAZERS @ THUNDER - MARCH 25, 2018 - Quote Book

[SlyPokerDog]

Visiting Team Quotes

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers

March 25, 2018


PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS:

Overall thoughts on game:

"You can tell (the game) meant a lot to both teams. I don't know, I just think we made a lot of good plays defensively. We were very good when we needed to be. CJ (McCollum) made some incredible shots. Mo (Harkless) had some outstanding plays up-and-down the line. It was a game both teams needed and I'm glad we got it."


On holding Thunder off down the stretch on the offensive side:

"They had a lot of good looks. They had some second-chance opportunities. They missed some shots. It was a battle under the basket, and we were fortunate they didn't convert on some of their second-chance opportunities. We made some key shots that kind of kept our head above water. Dame's three, he hadn't hit a three all night and hits a big three. If you look at our second-chance points I think that speaks to a lot to effort for us. That was part of the game plan going in, to get some second-chance points."


On Oklahoma City making a comeback:

"Credit to Oklahoma City's bench. They really came in and played well. Grant and Felton played well. They really sparked it. We had trouble taking care of the ball. I think we only had one or two turnovers in the first quarter and then got them in bunches in the second quarter. That really fed them here at home. You expect a team to make a run. Especially a team like that. You don't especially expect it to happen that quickly, and especially with the second unit."


PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS GUARD DAMIAN LILLARD:

On what the key was for them down the stretch:

“Just stay together. I thought we did a great job; down the stretch we just continued to make the right plays and continued to hustle for those loose balls, those extra possessions, and on the defensive end we got some fouls. They scored some points but it was hard work for them. We made them earn everything, and it came down to the team that was going to make that one extra play. And I think when it came down to it, C.J. hit a lot of big shots; he really got hot down the stretch. We had that one possession where we got in scramble mode, and we just decided to randomly trap Melo in the corner, and we had an impact on the ball, got a turnover out of it. And we go to the line and we finish the game out, but it was a game that we had to go out there and take, and I thought our team did a great job of sticking together to get that done.”


On if he thinks their ability to grind it out is an element about their team most people don’t know about:

“I wouldn’t say that people don’t know about, I would say it’s an element about the team that people may be surprised by. I think a large part of our growth had been our ability to lean on each other, trust each other, not just when we are playing well and on a winning streak, but tonight was a great example of you build up a lead, they had a run, and now you are in a dog fight. Those are the times that you still have to be willing to make that extra pass. You have to trust the next guy to you to communicate the right coverages on defense, and have each other’s back. And I think we did that on both sides of the ball down the stretch and that’s what allowed us to pull out a tough, tough game like this.”


PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS GUARD C.J. MCCOLLUM:

On what he thought meant the most about this game:

“I think just the way we had to win it, being down, having a lead, them going on runs, coming back, having to get stops down the stretch, having to make plays on offense. They are a good team. They made the game very difficult, but I think we executed well enough to come away with a win.”


On if he felt early on that he was in a rhythm or had a feel:

“It felt like a normal game; I got some good looks, made some threes early. I missed a couple threes I normally make that were pretty open, but overall, I just try to be aggressive. I just felt like it’s the point of the season now where every game is crucial and I have to really make my presence felt.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Home Team Quotes

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers

March 25, 2018



OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER HEAD COACH BILLY DONOVAN:


Opening Statement:

“The game didn’t start certainly like we wanted it to, but I give our guys a lot of credit for fighting their way back to get in the game. Being down 17 or 18, whatever it was, and making it close at the half, you know the game went back and forth in the third and fourth. I really thought the difference in the game was the offensive rebounding. We had a really, really difficult time rebounding the basketball when we did get stops and had opportunities to get out on the break or opportunities to go on the offensive end of the floor. I think they got probably, it was almost over 40 percent of missed shots for the game, and I thought that was really the difference. We certainly had a tough night offensively shooting the basketball, but I think, like I spoke about before the game, that you can overcome those things on the defensive end of the floor. Our defense was good enough tonight in some respects, but it wasn’t on the rebounding part. Obviously, give [CJ] McCollum a lot of credit because he made a lot of tough shots; it wasn’t like he was left wide open, he made some really difficult, tough shots. [Damian] Lillard’s three to put them up two was a tough shot, and even the two that McCollum made to put them back up two was a tough shot, but I think that the play before that shot was all based on offensive rebounding.”


On Jerami’s improvement:

“I think the biggest thing that we have been trying to work on with Jerami is his balance. If you notice, he will struggle in the post when he is off balance, especially against smaller guards that are trying to work around him, or he starts to dribble and they pull the chair on him, or use their hands and reach. When he is on balance, that is when he is at his best. He is very good with his left hand, he can dribble around people, obviously he has great athleticism. Jerami has worked hard on every aspect of posting up and then obviously facing up and shooting. Jerami played great…his threes tonight were a factor and it really helped us get back into the game.”


OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER GUARD RAYMOND FELTON:


On his mentality when he steps out onto the court:

“Just to be aggressive, trying to do whatever it takes to win a game that’s what it’s about, just every night winning. We are in a dogfight to stay in the playoffs and to stay in a good spot in the playoffs so every night is tough but at least we have a couple nights off before we play San Antonio in San Antonio…Get this bad taste out of our mouth and get ready to go again.”


On being a part of the second quarter comeback:

“It was fun and exciting. I mean every game that we’ve been playing the last four or five games have been like playoff games. So down the field has been great, the fans are great here they lift us up a lot by getting loud and being in tuned into the game so it’s fun but at the same time it wasn’t fun tonight because we lost.”


OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER FORWARD PAUL GEORGE:


On whether he takes positives from the game:

“We will take the light of it. We are still playing good basketball. We made shots and missed. I thought we did a great job defending them. It’s a tough team to guard with how well they move it and their guard play. If we make a couple shots, this game is a different story.”

 

[Darkwebs]

 

[Darkwebs]