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Postgame Quotes: Trail Blazers vs. Bulls

HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS“Obviously Chicago didn’t have three of their main guys, but I liked our demeanor, I liked our disposition, the way we came out of the gates. Our defense was solid. To hold them to 22 or less every quarter was a good sign for us. The offense kind of came and went but I thought our defense was pretty solid all night.”

On play of starters tonight:“The starting group, when you get off to a 16-3 lead, that’s a pretty good thing. The run that we made in the third quarter with that starting group was very good. If you look at the plus minus, obviously that group had it rolling pretty well at both ends.”

On defending Butler:“I thought the guys guarding him, we made him work. I thought there was some fatigue. I thought Chicago was a little tired from last night. They had a tough game last night. I thought Butler had a play last night against Sacramento where his shoulder was bothering him, I don’t know if there was some ill effects from that, but I don’t want to take anything away from the guys, Wes and Allen and Nic, as far as what they were doing defensively.”

On Lillard’s game:“Damian was very efficient offensively. Defensively, he was good. His threes were very timely. I can’t remember the exact number of plays, but I thought in the second quarter when it got down to about five, he made some key plays when those guys came back in. But to score 21 points on 9 shots, it doesn’t get much better than that offensively. Like I said, defensively, he keeps showing that he’s certainly improved.”

On Batum’s first game back from injury:“It was good to have him out there. I thought he played better in the second half. I don’t know how he felt, but I think he showed a little bit of rust from not being out there, but it felt like we had our team back.”

WESLEY MATTHEWSOn win:“Definitely a big win. Not only was it a good team, but it was next on the schedule. We took care of business from the jump. It was one of our better defensive nights. We’d like to take care of the ball a little bit more than we did, but it was a good all-around performance.

On coming out to quick start after 3 days off:“They just came off a back to back and we were fresh. Sometimes three days off can do more harm than good, but it didn’t tonight. I’m proud of the way that we fought. I’m proud of the way we came out and played tonight.”

How do you feel you’re playing going out on three game road trip?“Good, but we can’t be content. No matter who you’re playing against, it’s always tougher on the road. We’ve got to bring that energy that we’ve been playing at home over this last stretch of basketball, we’ve got to bring that on the road with us. We’ve got to continue to play defensively. Sometimes your shot doesn’t come with you, doesn’t make the trip, but defensively you can always leave an impact on the game.”

On getting off to good start tonight:“With D Rose out and with Pau out, a lot of their iso game was going to be out. We knew Jimmy was going to get his touches and his isolations, but it was going to be a team. We were going to play against the Chicago Bulls team, we were going to play against a lot of movements, a lot of cutting, a lot of screening, so defensively we all had to be in unison and we really stepped up to the challenge.”

BULLS HEAD COACH TOM THIBODEAUOn Taj Gibson’s injury:“Taj rolled his ankle. We’ll see where he is tomorrow.”

On if Taj Gibson’s injury seems serious:“I don’t think so but we’ll see tomorrow. I don’t know if he had x-rays.”

On the fact that the same thing happened last time they played the Blazers:“I don’t get caught up in that stuff. Injuries are a part of the game. If a guy gets hurt, he gets hurt. It’s not the building or any the stuff like that. Injuries are a part of the game so you just deal with them.”

On the second unit:“Just played with energy. Niko was really good, but each one did a good job. Tony was solid. Doug was solid. I thought Nazr did a good job.”

On if this is something Niko Mirotic can build on:“He can build on every game, and that’s what you want him to do. You want him to continue to improve. The winning part is important.”

On Nikola Mirotic:He played with a lot of toughness. He’s not hesitating. He’s letting go, putting it on the floor, making plays. It’s the other end we have to continue to work on. I got to get him to concentrate more on body position, and not reach as much because the foul troubles and what it’s leading to…”

Joakim NoahOn tonight’s game: “You can’t really say too many positives about tonight except that our bench competed… Our bench competed. But we’ve got a long way to go.”

On Taj Gibson’s injury:“It sucks that guys get hurt, but you’ve got to keep moving forward because games keep coming. Nobody feels sorry for you, so you’ve got to keep going and keep getting better and hopefully Taj will be alright.”

On building upon Nikola Mirotic’s performance: “I think that Nikola was definitely positive for us tonight. He competed hard and he’s definitely a difference maker on the offensive end.”

E’Twaun MooreOn his performance: “I played alright for my first game. The more you play, the more you feel the game, the better you get.”

On which guard position he’s most comfortable with:“Either or, one or two it doesn’t matter. As long as I go out and play I can make anything work.”

On if he thinks he’s a point guard or shooting guard: “I’d say combo guard. Point guard, shooting guard… Either one.”