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Postgame Quotes: Trail Blazers at Suns

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS (On the game tonight)“I was really proud of the way we continued to compete. You know, we were struggling shooting the ball, missed free throws and the offensive end wasn’t very easy for us. LA (LaMarcus Aldridge) obviously made a lot of clutch shots late in the game that turned the tide for us. But I liked the way we kept competing, playing hard defensively until it turned around for us.”

(On if it’s hard to win a game with having a poor shooting performance)“Well it depends on how well you’re playing defense and that’s what I am saying, I thought a lot of times… When things aren’t going well at the offensive end, you get frustrated and there was a moment there that in transition we missed a basket and they pushed it on us. I think that was a turning point for us as far as getting our heads back in the game.”

(On this being their first victory at US Airways center since 2010)“Yeah, I don’t put too much in what happened a year or two, three years ago. You know, the fact that we did lose to them the first time we played them, you know, they jumped on us pretty big and we responded with a nice win at our place. But this is… What happened last year, two years ago, three years ago, really has no impact. But the fact that we, how we won the game against a team that’s competing for a playoff spot and at this time of year, that’s the biggest thing for me.”

FORWARD LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE (On if he felt like he needed to carry his team)“I was just trying to find a rhythm and I made one shot and I kind of played off of that. I thought Dame (Damian Lillard) did a really good job of coming back to me. I thought my teammates kept looking for me and I was just trying to make shots for us.”

(On what they learned from their losing streak)“That we weren’t just doing all the small things. You know, we were playing defense, but we weren’t doing smart things for us.”

(On if he was impressed with their defense tonight)Yeah, I thought everybody competed. You know, from the starters to the bench, I thought everybody brought energy, I thought everybody tried to cause havoc and tried to make shots tough for them. I thought that was big for us down the stretch.

CENTER ROBIN LOPEZ(On why he didn’t play with his glove on and if he felt better with it off)“I was consulted by a panel of a select few people associated with the organization and that was the final decision we came to.”“I guess so. It’s honestly hard for me to tell.”

(On how he felt about his game tonight)“Okay. We won.”

PHOENIX SUNS HEAD COACH JEFF HORNACEK (On LaMarcus Aldridge down the stretch…)“Well, he made a couple. We went to trap him in late, but they did that late in the first half when we did it and then he kicked it around for three, so you’re kind of picking the poison. Give him credit, the guy is one of the top players in this league. He made the shots. We had several opportunities. I thought the end of the third quarter, beginning of fourth quarter, we missed five or six wide-open, easy shots. We make those, we build it up to 10, 12 points and then maybe a different story. But we couldn’t make any shots. They looked wide open to me. They made them, we didn’t.”

(On looking to Gerald Green again for a spark off the bench…)“Shooting. We needed more shooting in there. We’re not making shots. Our shooting percentage has been horrible since the All-Star break. Wanted to see if we could get some shooting. Gerald made some shots for us. He got tired there, and maybe could have put him back later, but at that time, we were still getting good shots. We were right there, and then obviously, Aldridge made those last four or five and then we didn’t make any. That’s the 10-point or six points that made the difference.”

(On the strategy behind defending LaMarcus Aldridge…)“Again, you don’t think that these other teams are doing stuff on Aldridge that he just throws it out and they make 11 three-pointers a game or something. For most of the game, two points – keep him off the free-throw line. He had 27 points. That’s a good night, but he had to make 13 shots. We didn’t give him any free throws, so we kept him out of there. That’s why we were coming late. If he was going to overpower us inside, then we had help over there. But then when you also do that, now you’ve got a three-man or sometimes depending on how they set up, maybe a guard trying to box out Lopez. Lopez – what did he have? Five or six offensive rebounds. That’s the poison. That’s why they’re a good team. They’ve got those weapons they can throw to and they get you out of kilter that way.”

(On missing Brandon Knight…)“Yeah, the way they play back, we’ve had good success in the past of just coming off and shooting it in. Eric didn’t make many and Brandon wasn’t in there to do it either. That’s what they’re going to live and die with, giving you that shot. If we had another shooter there, that position would come off and maybe it was easier.”

PHOENIX SUNS FORWARD MARCUS MORRIS (On the game tonight)“The game came down to LaMarcus hitting turn-around J’s. That’s the bottom line. He’s a good player. I mean, we stuck to the game plan and we gave him tough shots, fading away from the elbow. I think he had like five in a row. That’s what it came down. He made a lot of shots and we missed our shots.”

(On whether the Suns were taking good shots)“I thought so, man. They were in-and-out. They just didn’t fall in. I thought that we defended them well the entire game and the fourth quarter could have went either way.”

PHOENIX SUNS FORWARD GERALD GREEN (On him playing the last couple of games)“Honestly I’m not even worried about it because the next game I might not play. I’m just preparing myself like I’m going to play and if I do, I’m just going to try and be ready and if I don’t, I’m just going to encourage my teammates to go out there and give it all they got. You know what? We’re still in the fight. I know it kind of looks like a long shot, but hey, we’re still in it. So, until it’s 0.00 on the clock our season, until the season is completely over, I think we’re just going to keep having faith and keep believing in each other and keep trying to fight.”

(On LaMarcus Aldridge at the end of the game)“That was unbelievable right there the way he kept hitting jumpers like that. I mean, you can’t do nothing about that. They always say a great offense is always better than a great defense, so that was a great example of that tonight.”

(On them struggling on offense but playing well defense)“Yeah, it’s like that. I mean, I think we are doing a good job of trying to emphasize defense and try to help each other out and try to make sure the other opposing team is making it difficult for them to score. But, the name of the game is put the ball in the hole. We just got to try and find offense somewhere these next two games.”

PHOENIX SUNS GUARD ERIC BLEDSOE(On the game tonight)“They got the ball to one of their players that ended the game for them and he did a terrific job of what he’s been doing all year long and that’s making shots, especially tough shots.”

(On if the shots they were taking were good looks)“I thought they were great jobs, they just didn’t fall. Everybody got a good look at the rim and they were missing, especially me.”