DAMIAN LILLARD
Can you describe the feeling when the game was over and you had won?
I was just happy. A game like that – a hard-fought game, four overtimes. Each overtime it seemed like one team had the edge and was going to close it out and allowed the other team to have life and get back into it. Then we did the same thing that they did. We was coming to the bench saying it’s two teams fighting for their season. Nobody said it was going to be pretty. Nobody said it was going to be easy. The team that was willing to go a little bit deeper is going to win the game. I thought we did that down the stretch.”
What is it like to watch McCollum have a game like he did?
“I always enjoy when CJ gets rolling because it’s not just the fact that he’s doing it for our team, it’s just the way it looks. Guys like him and Kyrie Irving, they have games that just look good – smooth, crossovers, crafty, tough shots – so to just watch it was great as a teammate and as a friend. The time that it came – it was big shot after big shot after big shot. For me, my job is to allow that. When he’s rolling, let him keep rolling. I know he’ll come to me when he’s tired and say, okay you take the ball this time or whatever, but he came through big time for our team tonight, especially in such a long, tough, hard-fought game.”
What does it mean to you and your team to have players like Kanter and Harkless play through injuries and big minutes?
“I mean, it doesn’t surprise me. We all depend on each other. We lean on each other. Those guys know how important they are to our team, so the fact that they’re out there playing through injuries, I think it just shows how tough they are for one, and it also shows how bad they want it, how much they’re invested into our team, how much they care. They’re willing to go out there not 100 percent, banged up, and still fight with the team. They know how much we need them. Not only are they playing through, but they’re out there giving us productive minutes and super impactful minutes. Enes, what he’s done out there since Nurk went down has been great, changed our season. We don’t have anybody else on our team capable of the things that Moe is capable of. He’d be out there basically on one leg, coming up with those big rebounds, in the paint getting us extra possessions, finishing around the rim, deflections, chasing small guards around, playing through screens. For him to be doing that and knowing that he’s doing it through an injury, I think it just shows his commitment to the team and how bad he wants it. Same with Enes.”
Could you describe how big it was to watch Hood hit big shots late?
“It was huge. Looking back at the first round, I don’t think he had the kind of series that he wanted to have, but in that series we had different guys come in and come up big for the team. I think in this series, every game he’s come in and given us a huge lift. I thought tonight it was fitting that he was able to come through big for us and it was at a big time in the game. At one point we were down two, coach called a play for him and he scored it and the next time, I was like, ‘same play’ and he looked at me like ‘what are we doing?’ and I was like, ‘same thing, let’s keep it rolling.’ And he hit another one. I think what he did for our team tonight was huge. Same thing in game two, but I think us trusting him and continuing to play through him in big moments, it made him feel that much better about the three pointer he shot. He rose up with confidence and hit a big shot, so it’s been great to see him coming up for the team, especially tonight.”
With the starters logging so many minutes, how big is the bench going to be in game four?
“I mean, it’s always huge for your bench to be able to come in and produce in the playoffs. In our past two wins against Denver, it’s been our bench that’s come up big for us. But as far as the minutes, everybody is tired. We’re built for what’s happening right now. That’s what we had to do to win the game, now we have to go do our jobs away from the floor to make sure that at 4:00 Sunday we’re ready.”
How tired were you at the end of that?
“I was really tired. You start to cramp up a little bit, get a little bit tired, but we knew that they were going through the same thing, so it wasn’t like we were just out there having a long practice. It was a game, there was another team out there going through the same thing that we were. So like I said earlier, it was just a matter of who’s going to fight through and get that one extra rebound, that one extra stop, that one loose ball, make that free throw. Who’s going to be the team to do those things in those last two, three minutes of the overtime? Tonight, we were that team.”
Do you see the difference in a guy like Hood who comes in with fresh legs?
“I mean, I think you could look at it that way but it’s also tough for a guy who hadn’t been in the game to come in when everybody else has been running around and they’re fighting. Everybody was tired but it wasn’t like nobody was giving an inch. They’re a team that’s there for physical contact and coverages – everything was there, both teams was competing hard and on top of that stuff. [Hood] came into the game off the bench stiff and came up big right on the spot for us, so I think that made it even more impressive.”
Is there a point in the game where you think to yourself, what’s going to happen if we lose this game?
“For sure. I think that’s what even though I wasn’t making shots in spots, I was like I’m going to be aggressive. I’m going to attack the rim. I just remember, I think it was maybe the third overtime, we was down 4 with 30 seconds left and I was just like, I know it’s not a lot of time, we’re probably going to having to foul, something is going to have to work out because I started thinking about how I would feel when I got home tonight. I was just like we just can’t have this right now. I’m sure everybody was thinking that same way, about how they would feel if they went home tonight and knew that we left this game out there and didn’t take care of business. We got it done.”
