Postgame quotes and notes: Blazers 102, Pacers 79
Official postgame quotes and notes following the Portland Trail Blazers’ 102-79 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday evening at the Rose Garden.
BLAZERS POST GAME QUOTES
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 – Final Score: Portland 102, Indiana 79
COACH NATE McMILLAN
“…Just a nice job. This is a tough game to play after being on the road for so long and having success, then coming in a day – it felt like another road game. I thought our guys were business right from the start. 48 minute [game], we won every quarter and both units played well.”
Gaining momentum with Camby and Batum?
“It’s starting to come together where they’re starting to get a feel for one another and the sets. Camby seems to be getting a little more comfortable with where he needs to be out there. Defensively, a team like this is a challenge because they can shoot the ball. Only one guy tonight really was able to score for them. We forced them to do what we wanted them to do. That rhythm on both ends of the floor seems to be coming. I like what the second group did tonight – Bayless, Rudy, that group, Howard, DC came in and was on Granger. We are getting a rhythm and a rotation that we’re comfortable with.”
On scoring off of multiple passes to open shooters:
“It’s a good sign – to move the ball, set good screens, and don’t ball fake an open man. We’ve got guys who can put the ball in the basket. Once we understand our spacing and we understand giving guys opportunities to play – Brandon and LaMarcus and Miller for the most part – then you’re going to have open shots and it’s up to us to knock them down.”
On playoff race:
“I think it’s going to be a tight race. For us, our focus is on us. We’re in the driver’s seat regardless of what they do. If we take care of our business, we’re going to be okay. To start watching the standings like that – we know where we are and it’s like watching the market. It goes up and down and you can go crazy with that. The focus for me and the team is on ourselves, making sure we take care of business and try and have a strong finish.”
On key to success coming off long road trip:
“What you need in situations like that is your bench – those guys who are coming off the bench and haven’t played a lot of minutes – to give you a lift. That’s exactly what happened. Bayless was great on the ball, pressuring the ball and setting the tone. Rudy got to running around. DC came in and helped us with Granger. He didn’t score when DC was guarding him. I thought our second group came in and did some good things. First group came back in the third and fourth quarter and did a nice job. You need everybody in situations like that. The fact that we were able to get every quarter, did a nice job of taking care of the ball, rebounding the ball, and not turning the ball over – it was a good effort.”
ANDRE MILLER
“It’s tough to come back off a road trip and get that win. It could have easily went the other way after the slow start.”
On final stretch of the season:
“It’s a favorable schedule. We’ve talked about making up some of these home games that we lost. This is a good start. Now we get a few days rest and get some practice in and hopefully it will carry over to a good March.”
Key tonight:
“Just more aggressive to the basket and playing good team defense tonight. Forced them to shoot over hands and not give them offensive rebounds, that gave us an opportunity to get out in the open court and make some plays.”
Finding a rhythm?
“We’re trying. Brandon is getting back into his groove, Camby is getting rebounds, and we’re just trying to get everybody playing on a high level at the same time.”
PACERS POST GAME QUOTES
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 – Final Score: Portland 102, Indiana 79
COACH JIM O’BRIEN
ON GAME
“Danny had a good game. We turned the ball over too many times, that’s a credit to Portland’s defense, they really got under our chin and we didn’t respond to that…I think they are a heck of a defensive team. I think they took us out of a lot of our plays. We had a difficult time getting the ball into the low post. They, for the second night in a row, played us a very physical brand of defense and that’s why they are ten games above 500.”
ON ROY HIBBERT
“He’s having a difficult time when they front him getting the basketball. I guess he is struggling right now with his offense and he’s fouling a lot now, as was the case last night.”
ON MIKE DUNLEAVY
“He’s had a tough year. He’s had a tough year shooting the basketball. He’s had a tough year defending. We’re hoping as his legs get stronger he can come back the player he was next year. He’s not having any pain in the knee. He says it feels fine his legs just don’t seem as strong as they were to me.”
TROY MURPHY
ON ROAD TRIP
“It’s a tough road trip because they are all playoff teams but we have to come in with a better effort than we did tonight. We turned the ball over way too many times…Portland did a good job defensively but we just had some ridiculous turnovers.”
ROY HIBBERT
ON GAME
“We didn’t play as a team that is the only thing I can say…We’ve been trying to figure it out all year. Sometimes we play perfectly, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we are five individuals on the court, sometimes we’re all connected as one and extensions as each other and we’re playing well…You got to tip your hat off to the guys that were guarding me, they were veteran big guys that really knew how to use their bodies and they played extremely well.”
POSTGAME NOTES
Portland 102, Indiana 79
March 3, 2010
— Tonight marked the 104th consecutive Trail Blazers sellout at the Rose Garden (including playoffs), dating back to Dec. 21, 2007.
— The Trail Blazers made 34 consecutive free throws, dating back to Feb. 27 at Minnesota, before LaMarcus Aldridge missed a pair with 5:16 to play in the second quarter … The 34 straight free throws are the most by any team in the NBA this season … Brandon Roy made 14 of the team’s foul shots during the streak … Portland has shot at least 80.0% from the foul line in four straight games.
— Portland scored 100 points or more for the sixth straight game, the team’s longest such streak since equaling that mark Feb. 4-17, 1998.
— Portland has swept Indiana in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1990-91 and 1991-92 … The Trail Blazers have now won four straight games against the Pacers for the first time since a four-game streak from 2001-03.
— The Trail Blazers recorded more steals than their opponents for the 10th consecutive game, posting a 97-45 margin over that stretch … In the 10 games, Portland has turned the ball over 111 times while its opponents have totaled 178 turnovers.
— The Trail Blazers won by 19 points or more for the eighth time this season … Portland has lost by that margin just once this year (20, Feb. 19 vs. Boston).
— After Indiana took an 18-11 lead into the game’s first timeout (5:45 remaining in first quarter), Portland used a 30-9 run to take a 41-27 lead at the 8:53 mark of the second quarter … The Trail Blazers closed that stretch on a 14-1 run.
— Portland improved to 7-4 when playing against a team in its second game of a back-to-back … The Trail Blazers are a league-best 12-3 (10-2 on road) in the second game of their own back-to-backs.
— Portland’s 64 games played so far this season mark an NBA high … Portland’s 55 first-half games were its most since equaling that mark in 1979-80, while its 29 home games before the break were the most since 1976-77, when the Trail Blazers won the NBA Championship.
— Jerryd Bayless grabbed a career-high six rebounds, one game after setting a then career best with five rebounds March 1 at Memphis … He made his first five field goal attempts in the game, missing for the only time with 10:21 left in the fourth quarter.
–Dante Cunningham’s four steals mark a new career best and are tied for the most steals by any Trail Blazer in a game this season.
— Rudy Fernandez tied a season high with five three-pointers, one shy of a career mark.
— LaMarcus Aldridge scored Portland’s first six points in the game and converted on his first six field goal tries.
— The Pacers are now 1-12 on the road against Western Conference competition this season.
— Danny Granger was the only Pacer to score in double figures (30).
