Postgame quotes: 76ers-Blazers
BLAZERS POST GAME QUOTES
Monday, Dec. 28, 2009 – Final Score: Philadelphia 104, Portland 93
COACH NATE McMILLAN
“The first thing is that we didn’t establish ourselves on the defensive end all night long. I thought we played on our heels. We are a team that we have to be the aggressors from start to finish. Tonight, I thought we were on our heels and once again we’re down in the fourth quarter, we’re trying to make a run and come back. We’re not good enough to do that every night. We give up 61 points in the second half. They get 60 points in the paint. We never established ourselves defensively. Then offensively, some of the guys who were making shots late, didn’t make shots. I thought we tightened up a bit going down the stretch.”
“We were a step slow, I thought, all night long. The movement, the ball movement, setting the screens, getting up, getting the hits… We walked the ball up the floor. There was a lot of taking the ball out after the basket, but the tempo – I didn’t think we got to our tempo. They played their tempo, walking the ball down the floor, running the Princeton offense, then attacking us.”
“Elton Brand came off – we really didn’t have any defense for him or their bigs tonight coming off the bench.”
Discouraging loss?
“It’s a loss. We didn’t play as well as we are capable of playing. I didn’t think we came with that sense of urgency that we’ve seen. It’s a loss, and if it was another team it would be the same. This team beat us last year twice, so we can play better. We didn’t tonight and just like we won those games, we lose this tonight. We have to put this behind us and get ourselves ready for another team that is going to be under .500 and has got some guys who can play.”
BRANDON ROY
“We just didn’t have that extra gear. They just were stronger down the stretch and we didn’t have that extra gear to put them away. Coach said he could see it early and they just did a good job of scrapping down the stretch. We just didn’t make shots. It seems like we kinda had tired legs a little bit tonight.”
“ We know we have to play at a high level. If you look at their roster, they’re a good team. Their record doesn’t reflect that but we have to come out and play almost great to win games. Tonight we just didn’t have it so I think it’s important that we come out ready to go against the Clippers from the beginning of the game.”
“…They hung around long enough to make a run and we just couldn’t really bounce back.”
LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE
“I don’t think we played down, I just think it wasn’t our night. We have to figure out a way to have our rhythm and to bring it every night. We didn’t have it tonight.”
“It wasn’t really effort; we just couldn’t find a rhythm.”
JEFF PENDERGRAPH
“I was waiting for us to start making our run, but it seemed like every time we could get kind of close, we’d miss a shot and they’d get an easy bucket. The momentum never really fully turned our way. It’s only one game, and you can’t win them all so just bounce back and have fun.”
