Exclusive PLAYOFFS: ROUND 2, GAME 2: BLAZERS @ NUGGETS - Quote Book

[SlyPokerDog]

INDIVIDUAL

➢ Nikola Jokic registered 16 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and one steal in 37 minutes … Jokic’s seventh playoff double-double tonight leads the NBA in total double-doubles in the playoffs this year.
❖ Jokic joins Curry, Embiid and Green as the only four players in the playoffs this year with 16+ points, 14+ rebounds and 7+ assists … He is the only player to post those numbers twice this postseason.
➢ Paul Millsap finished with 14 points, a playoff season-high 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 32 minutes for his 23rd career playoff double-double and his first in these playoffs … This is Millsap’s sixth career playoff game with 14+ points, 11+ rebounds, 2+ steals and 2+ blocks.
➢ Jamal Murray posted 15 points, a playoff career-high seven rebounds, one assist and one steal in 35 minutes … Murray has scored 15+ points in eight of the nine playoff games this year … Denver has lost every game Murray scores less than 20 points (0-4).
➢ Malik Beasley finished with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal in 27 minutes off the bench … This is Beasley’s fourth playoff game with 10+ points (1-3).
➢ CJ McCollum tallied 20 points (3-7 3FG), six rebounds and six assists in 41 minutes … This is McCollum’s second career playoff game with 20+ points, 6+ rebounds and 6+ assists, both coming this season … McCollum has scored 20+ points in five playoff games this season (4-1).
➢ Al-Farouq Aminu registered 11 points, 10 rebounds and one assist in 31 minutes for his seventh career playoff double-double and his first of the playoffs this year.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

TEAM

➢ Denver’s three game playoff winning streak against Portland comes to an end, as the series is now even at 1-1 … The loss also snaps the Nuggets four game home playoff winning streak.
➢ The Nuggets shot .347 from the field, tied for the third worst FG% in franchise playoff history … The only time in the playoffs the Nuggets shot worse at home was vs. SEA on 5/1/88 (.322 FG%).
❖ The .357 FG% by Denver was the second lowest allowed by Portland in playoff history (.340 @ SEA 4/23/78).
➢ Denver secured 23 offensive rebounds tonight, tied for the most offensive boards in the playoffs in franchise history (third time).
❖ Denver grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter alone, the most offensive boards in a single quarter by any team in the last 20 years.
➢ The Nuggets registered a playoff season-low 20 assists … Denver’s starting backcourt only accounted for three of those.
➢ Denver lost despite holding Portland to just 97 points … The Nuggets in both the regular season and playoffs are now 27-3 when holding opponents to under 100 points.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Denver Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone:

On cold shooting night:

“You go 6-of-29. At halftime, we were 4-of-20, got some good looks. If you’re not making shots, maybe attack
the basket, maybe get to the rim, maybe get to the foul line. We were getting such open looks that I understand
our players shooting the shot, but when you’re not having a night where you’re making shots consistently, you
got to attack the basket, you have to put pressure on the rim, you have to think attack instead of settle and I
thought in that first half we didn’t have that mindset. I thought they were the aggressor in the first half. They
were much more physical in the first half, but extremely proud of our guys in the second half. We fought. I
think Torrey Craig is the unsung hero of the game. That guy’s got some balls, he’s toughness, I’ll go to war with
that kid any day. He leaves it all on the floor every night and we can’t pick our spots when we do that. That’s
got to be for 48 minutes and that’s the most disappointing thing about tonight. We brought it in the second
half, but in the first half, it wasn’t there.”

On effort level tonight:

“Our defense was great. We held them to 97 points, 42 from the field, 31 from three. They shot 48 percent in
that first quarter. After that, it was 40 for the rest of the game. Really, it’s just about us making shots. We had
90 points. If you think about the four losses we’ve had in the postseason, we’re shooting 32 percent from three
in our losses. Not to oversimplify it, but it’s a make or miss league. We couldn’t make a shot. Gary [Harris] and
Jamal [Murray] go 2-for-13 from three. Our starting backcourt got some good looks, the shots didn’t go down.
I do love the fact that our guys competed at such a high level, at least gave ourselves a chance and played the
way we need to play. Now, the challenge is doing that for a close to 48 as possible.”

On Torrey Craig returning from nasal contusion:

“They were checking to fit him for his mask, see if he was going to be able to breathe okay, stop the bleeding
and to test his movement out and how his head felt. I told him, ‘if you can’t go, you don’t have to be Willis
Reed for us, we got Game 3 coming up on Friday.’ What I love about him, that kid is not going to allow me to
keep him off the court. He goes in the game, first play he comes up with a rebound, he hits a three – I hope
that’s contagious. Will Barton had 11 rebounds tonight. We did some good things, but not making shots over
four quarters was really the big difference in the game. We played good defense, we outrebounded them by
11, we didn’t get hurt with points off turnovers, but couldn’t make a damn shot.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Denver Nuggets Center Nikola Jokic:

On what Portland did differently defending him tonight:

“I think, it’s not just how they play me. They were aggressive as a team, as a group. They were coming on my
post-ups, but that doesn’t really change how we play. The energy was kind of bad. I say that and we have 23
offensive rebounds. It was a weird game for us. They didn’t even play that good, to be honest. They can play
better than that. It was kind of a weird game where they were more aggressive than we were.”

On team shooting just 8-of-24 on 23 offensive rebounds:

“I think, it’s the last quarter. We had a couple tips miss out, we missed a lot of put-backs. Still, 23 offensive
rebounds is a big number. And, we couldn’t make shots, especially in the first quarter and first half. We
[created] a lot of open shots and we just didn’t make those.”

On physicality in the fourth quarter:

“It’s playoffs. We want to win, they want to win. I think it’s normal. We just need to be aggressive and more
physical.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Denver Nuggets Forward Paul Millsap:

On Wednesday night’s game:

“They came out more aggressive, more physical, and we learned our lesson our last series. So, I think we’ll be
good. We come out with the same mentality we finished the game with, we’ll be fine.”

On if the Nuggets were caught off guard:

“A little bit. They made adjustments, and that’s what the playoffs is all about. So, we’ll make our adjustments,
and we’ll come out with a better mindset, a more aggressive mindset, and we’ll be fine.”

On Torrey Craig returning to the game after injury:

“He’s a warrior, man. He fights,he’s a fighter. Hate to see something like that happen, but for him to come
back and be inspiring like he did, it was unbelievable.”

On dominating the offense glass, but unable to score:

“I’m not worried about putting the ball in the hole. I think we’ll be fine on the offensive end. I think the mindset
was right on the defensive side of trying to get stops. We hold Damian Lillard under 20 points in the playoffs,
and I think that’s really good. [CJ] McCollum had 20. I think defensively, we did really well. I’m proud of the
way we fought on the defensive end, and we just have to put a whole game together and mix our offense in
there with it.”

On the altercation in the fourth quarter:

“It’s playoffs, man. It’s playoffs. Things like that happen, emotions are flying, both teams are fighting for
something, so yeah, things like that happen.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Denver Nuggets Guard Gary Harris:

On Portland coming out with more energy:

“They came out with their backs against the wall in that first quarter. They played really well.We really didn’t
make shots today, that was pretty much our downfall. But, they definitely came out with intensity. We need
to match that from the beginning.”

On Portland getting bigger contributions from role players than in Game 1:

“They did a great job of spreading it around. I felt like we did a great job on Dame [Damian Lillard] and CJ
[McCollum], but those other guys did a great job. They stepped up, they were huge tonight.”

On cold shooting night:

“It’s a little frustrating because those are great shots that we want to get. We just didn’t knock them down.
But, next play mentality, we just have to keep shooting them and those are going to fall next game.”

On whether tonight was simply a matter of missing shots:

“It comes down to a little bit more than that, but if we hit a few of those shots, hit a few more free throws, you
never know how the game ends up. We just have to be better, we have to come out more physical, be ready
to play in Portland, and those shots will fall.”

On Torrey Craig battling through nasal contusion to return to game:

“He’s huge. Most guys wouldn’t even come back in the game after that. He took some hard hits and he kept
playing for us. That’s why we love playing with Torrey and he’s huge for this team.”

On the series going back to Portland:

“It’s 1-1. We can go take home court advantage back by winning that next game, so we’re still in a good
position. We just have to come out and be ready to play.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Denver Nuggets Guard Jamal Murray:

On how his leg feels:

“Those screens hurt. It is what it is, it hurt for the rest of the game; couldn’t move, obviously, and coach had
to take me out. I’m just going to get treatment and just be ready for Game 3. It was definitely hurting.”

On what the difference was between Game 1 and Game 2 tonight:

“They definitely brought some fight, they were really physical, but it didn’t really affect us too much. We got a
lot of open shots we didn’t knock down. I mean, shot for shot. I missed a ton in the first half where I was
completely wide open. We just missed, we had our opportunities to close the gap over and over, but we just
didn’t. I think our effort defensively in the second half was really great, but it came down to us putting the ball
in the hoop.”

On if it surprised them that the Blazers went to the post early in the game instead of the pick-and-roll:

“Yeah, that’s their game plan, we’re going to adjust. Like I said, it just came down to us putting the ball in the
hoop. We were right there the whole game, even with how well they were playing and how bad we were
playing. We were right there, and we just couldn’t make open ones.”

On being frustrated not making threes and attacking the basket in the third quarter:

“I just think we have to learn to adjust earlier. Shots aren’t dropping for the whole second and we have to be
able to go to the rack and get some fouls, get to the paint, get some easy shots. I think it’s a matter of habit
when you’re that open, you just have to shoot it. But, if it’s not dropping, then you have to change it.”

On Nuggets Forward Torrey Craig battling through his nose injury:

“That’s him. He’s a fighter, he goes out there, plays his heart out there defensively, makes those shots, gets to
the rim. He’s one of those guys that is so crucial to our team for that reason when he’s on [Trail Blazers Guard
Damian Lillard] Dame throughout the whole game and he’s just trying to make it tough on him. Kudos to him
and all the credit. You can tell by the way the fans appreciated him, he was doing well.”

On if they are optimistic when they aren’t hitting shots because they are still getting open looks:

“Yeah, like I said, it’s a fine line, it’s a balance. Shooters shoot, but at the same time, you’re still shooting and
they’re not going down. We made some changes in the third and, obviously, they still didn’t go down for a
while. Like I said, we just have to make some adjustments earlier, whether it’s mixing it up inside-out or trying
to play a faster game, but we have to change something.”

On if they are just going to forget about this game and move on to Game 3:

“No, we have to watch film and learn about it. We have to go over, defensively, what we did and the first half,
especially the first quarter. It was really easy for them to score, they had a lot of dump off passes and a lot of
layups. That’s something we have to change. I think we just have to come out, be aggressive, and be tougher.
That’s something we have to change.”

On his vantage point when he got into it with Trail Blazers Center Enes Kanter:

“I thought he hit Torrey again. It is what it is.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts:

On the game:

“I really like our approach in the first half, particularly the first quarter. I thought, defensively, we were much
better than Game 1. I thought we did a better job on the ball, they didn’t get a lot of the easy things that they
got last game. I thought we sustained it really well during the first half. Third quarter, too many fouls. Fourth
quarter, too many offensive rebounds by them. I liked the tone that we set early in the game.”

On Damian Lillard:

“I thought we had a lot of good contributions on both ends of the floor. I’m sorry that Mo [Maurice Harkless]
twisted his ankle, I thought that he got us off to a good start with his defense on [Jamal] Murray. Chief [Al-
Farouq Aminu] set the one with his defense on [Paul] Millsap early. Enes [Kanter] continues to do the things
that he does for us. Rodney Hood was really good off of the bench. Zach Collins, his contribution on the
defensive end, affecting shots, really made a difference. The offense kind of bogged down a little bit in the
fourth quarter. Again, I thought our defensive focus for most of the game was the difference.”

On the Trail Blazers’ defense on Nikola Jokic:

“I thought we pressured him a little bit more. We didn’t give him the clean looks that he had in Game 1. Enes
[Kanter] did a good job, Zach [Collins] had good minutes with him, individually. He got too many offensive
rebounds, particularly in the fourth quarter but I just didn’t think we gave him the freedom to make the plays
that he made in Game 1.”

On the Nuggets offensive boards:

“The good news is, they had all of those offensive rebounds, but they didn’t convert a lot, they were 8-24 on
second-chance points. We were very fortunate that we came away not hurt as badly as we could have been on
the offensive boards. [Paul] Millsap and [Nikola] Jokic were playing volleyball with it. They are both excellent
offensive rebounders. They are a top-3 offensive rebounding team anyway, so we have to make sure they don’t
have those opportunities next game.”

On the Trail Blazers wearing bowties:

“For those who don’t know, Jon Yim, our video coordinator and development coach was in a serious accident
last Wednesday with his mom, sister, and sister’s husband. It was a pretty serious accident. They’ve all been in
the hospital. I think Tabatha, his sister was released yesterday, the rest of the family is still in the hospital. Jon
had some physical damage but anyway. It was for Jon Yim. On Wednesday, he would wear bowties to the
game. I think the bowties are undefeated this year. Today is bowtie Wednesdays in honor of Jonathan Yim.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Portland Trail Blazers Forward Maurice Harkless:

On his injured ankle:

“It’s alright, it swelled up a little bit. It’s kind of a bad roll, I think. I tried to walk it off, but pain just wouldn’t
stop. So, I went to the back, took a look at it, was little swelling, and we tried to give it some time and see if it
felt better, but it was a little too painful to go back out there.”

On thoughts on Game 3:

“I’ve got to just take it day byday, just see how I respond tomorrow and then just go from there.”

On how the injury occurred:

“When I went up to…Jokic drove to the basket, his guy was guarding him, Zach [Collins] contested, I went up
to contest as well, and I think I landed on Zach’s foot. The replay I saw, it wasn’t a good angle to really see if I
hit his foot or his ankle, but it looked like I rolled it.”

On tying the series:

“Oh, it feels good. It feels great. We definitely had to gut this one out tonight, the guys did a great job. Rodney
[Hood] stepped up big. He was huge. We did what we came here to do. We wanted to get one, we got one.
Now, we’ve just got to take care of home court. Like I said, take it day by day, game by game, and just stay
focused.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Portland Trail Blazers Guard Damian Lillard:

On what you saw from the players around you that lifted the team up tonight:

“Just making timely plays. I thought in the first half, our team did a great job of picking up our physicality. We
were much sharper in our coverages and the things that we wanted to do, even in Game 1. Everything, we just
took it up a level. I thought we wore them down in the first half even though we weren’t shooting the ball
particularly well, and then in the second half it was just a grind it out kind of game. In those games you just
have to be the tougher team. You have to want it more and then you have to have a few plays go your way. I
thought CJ [McCollum] had a few big plays at the end, Enes [Kanter] had some big plays, and Chief [Al-Faruq
Aminu] just competed in the paint with those big guys. Rodney [Hood] in there competing, Enes competing on
their offensive end. Even when they kept getting tips and second and third opportunities, they were having to
work for it and we were getting shots contested down there, so we were able to get stops. In this type of game
I think that’s what you need – a tough group effort. You just need a few guys to make a few big time plays and
I thought CJ, Chief and Enes did that at the end of the game.”

On having six guys in double figures and how the team played better in Game 2:

“In Game 1 the ball was moving early. Wedidn’t shoot the ball well to start that game either. Tonight, I think
it was just a much better group, team game. We had so many guys involved taking advantage of the post-ups
with the smaller guards guarding Rodney [Hood] and ET [Evan Turner], Mo [Maurice Harkless] early in the
game, we took advantage of those things and that led to so many other guys touching it (the ball). They tried
to double on the block, we hit other guys on the weak side and they were attacking and dropping it off for
layups and weak side open shots, so when you play that way it leads to more guys touching the ball and you
get that type of result. More guys having double-digit scoring and more production.”

On the sense of urgency going into Game 3:

“They say the series starts when someone wins a game on the road and we were able to do that tonight, so
our goal is to just take it one game at a time and protect our home floor. We have two games on our home
floor and we have to be just as sharp, if not better because you know they are going to come back better.
That’s our main focus, just take care of our home floor.”

On how well the Trail Blazers did getting Nikola Jokic under control:

“I thought we did really well, just making him work, picking him up higher so he is not just walking into their
offense. When he’s dribbling the ball up, pick him up and make him work. Don’t just allow him to move at his
own pace and play comfortable. Once again, I thought Chief [Al-Farouq Aminu], Enes [Kanter], Mo [Maurice
Harkless], Zach [Collins] had a huge game tonight, had a huge impact on the game, and just making him [Nikola
Jokic] work. When he does get on the block, making him see bodies, stunting on the post, double team him,
having active hands when he is trying to make plays. When he’s going up at the rim, contesting all his shots. If
you’re out of position, make him make those free throws. Don’t let him just get the ball in. I thought over 48
minutes, we were there. We made him work the entire game and I thought it worked in our favor.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Portland Trail Blazers Guard CJ McCollum:

On the game:

“I was just trying to be aggressive. I think that was the biggest thing – be aggressive, take what the defense
gives me. Obviously, looking to score but if it’s not there, being aware of the weakside, being aware of the help
defender, and trying to make the right play.”

On doubling Nikola Jokic tonight:

“Did you see Game 1? He almost had 40. So, we have to try different stuff on a player like that, of his caliber,
make him uncomfortable, give him different looks. I think we did that tonight.”

On conversations he has while playing with Damian Lillard:

“Sometimes we have conversations, but it’s more of a feel now after six years. He knows when I want the ball,
we kind of make eye contact, and I know when he wants the ball. Other times, we’ll verbally express it, or I’ll
be like ‘look, go take it. I need one, I need one.’ Or, I’ll tell him, ‘I’m ready, come on.’ That’s kind of how we
play, and tonight down the stretch, we kind of alternated. A couple of times, I had it. A couple of times, I told
him to go get the ball, take advantage of the match up and make the right play. That’s the type of player he is,
that’s the type of person he is. If he sees I have the hot hand or the advantage, then he defers and if I see he
has the hot hand, or the advantage, then I tell him to go to work.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Portland Trail Blazers Center Enes Kanter:

On how the shoulder is feeling:

“Not bad. I mean, I don’t really feel a lot because I’m on a pretty heavy pain medication. So, I don’t really feel
it. I’m probably going to start feeling it, probably in the next two hours. That’s why it keeps me awake all night,
but it’s playoffs.”

On how the shoulder is feeling:

“Not bad. I mean, I don’t really feel a lot because I’m on a pretty heavy pain medication. So, I don’t really feel
it. I’m probably going to start feeling it, probably in the next two hours. That’s why it keeps me awake all night,
but it’s playoffs.”

On the physical play:

“Very physical, of course. With my position and how I play, it’s just all a physical game, so I’ve got to take some
medicines.”

On slowing down Nikola Jokic:

“The most important thing was just getting stops. He thought it was just going to be sweet and he’s going to
get his 35 every night, but I think we know we just start the game very physical, and still (it’s the) playoffs, man.
You’ve just got to give it everything you have and sacrifice whatever you have.”

On getting more double-team help tonight:

“Yeah, like I said, defense all of our trust and communication, and it’s just not one man’s job, it’s a whole five-
man job. So, I think we did a really good job on, not just [Nikola] Jokic, but everybody.”

On the altercation in the fourth quarter:

“It was a free throw box out and then this dude just literally just pushed me into his teammate, and then I
knocked somebody down. Then they started getting into my face. I’m like, ‘I didn’t do anything, your teammate
just pushed me into you’, so I like that. That for me is what the Playoffs are all about, just out there and just
give everything you have. You either win or you go home.”

On how the team feels heading back to Portland:

“Confident and feeling more comfortable out there, especially on defense. I think we’re reading each other
very well. We’re communicating and we’re trusting each other.”

 

[BonesJones]

Thanks Sly!

 

[Haakzilla]

"Now it's time to rip their fucking souls out in Game 3!!" ~Me