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Postgame Quotes: Trail Blazers at Thunder

TERRY STOTTS

Opening Statement:“Well, that was a remarkable win. That’s an understatement. I think it just kind of shows the type of character that we have on this team. Damian (Lillard) obviously hit some big shots. Everybody made big plays whether it was Wes (Matthews), Steve (Blake) or L.A. (LaMarcus Aldridge). To put that game into overtime was pretty remarkable.”

On what it says about Damian Lillard’s game when he is able to match Russell Westbrook:“Well, I don’t know. The thing about Damian is that Damian is about winning. I thought he was so patient. Oklahoma City came out and were trapping every pick and roll that he had. He was doing a good job of kicking it out and trusting his teammates. We got down and spaced the floor and it gave him an opportunity to be aggressive and look for his shot a little bit more. I just thought, for a guy who had 22 in the first half, to be patient with the game in the second half speaks a lot about him and how feels about the team and winning.

On what this road trip tells him about this team:“I think we’re a good team. There’s nothing earth shattering. I think we’re a good team. We have a lot of good players and we have good chemistry. We have a lot of belief in ourselves.”

On their free throw shooting:“Well, we’re not a big free throw team but we have a lot of good free throw shooters. Like I said, Damian had a great game. I thought LaMarcus being under the weather, taking a beating, he didn’t shoot the ball well but he provided so much toughness. I don��t know how many free throws he got but he did a lot of other things. The free throw line, like I said, we have good free throw shooters but it’s just that we don’t get there quite enough.”

DAMIAN LILLARD:

On the depth and toughness of the team:“It just shows that we’ve got a lot of guys coming ready. We know we’re a team that can come in and score. We’ve been a lot better defensively this year, but we’ve had some adversity with (players) going down…not being 100%. We’ve got to give a lot of credit to our supporting cast. Guys just being prepared. They’ve been working hard every day before practice. Off days coming making sure they were ready for when their opportunity came, and it came by surprise by some guys going down… Everybody has been prepared for what we’ve run into which is a tough situation with some guys going down, and I think it’s because they’ve been ready that we’ve been able to win games.”

On the mood in the huddle toward the end of regulation: “Everybody was still locked-in, and still willing to fight and that’s all that mattered because we kept defending. We kept moving the ball. We got a couple stops, made a few shots and before we knew it we had a game.”

LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE:

On fighting their way back in this game:“We always feel like anything is possible. I think guys always stay confident in the moment. We understood that if we got some stops in a row and our offense started to get a little bit better for us that it was possible. We got some stops and then we got out and made some big shots down the stretch.”

On struggling from the field but making big free throws down the stretch:“I was wanting to stop shooting, but my teammates told me I had to keep shooting. If I don’t take those shots the offense kind of stalls. Sometimes I missed it, but the guys got offensive rebounds. That always works out for us. I just tried to stay with it. I didn’t feel good tonight but I just tried to stay with it and I ended up hitting some free throws down the stretch that were good for us.”

On his improved free throw shooting:“I’ve grown and I’m definitely more confident at the line now. Tonight, I would have taken my free throws over taking some shots.”

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER HEAD COACH SCOTT BROOKS

Opening statement:“Well, that was a tough loss. Give Portland credit, they came back after a tough loss last night. They came back and made a lot of shot on us, 17 threes. I thought we did a better job in the second half. We made some mistakes down the stretch defensively, transition three, transition put-back, and a switch that did not happen in time. They hit a three and we didn’t keep our composure. You can’t do that, you have to play with composure and poise throughout the game, but give them credit. Actually it was a great game for both teams. We didn’t make a couple of plays down the stretch and they made threes.”

On playing Christmas Day against San Antonio:“It’s always an honor to play on Christmas day. It is a special day for everybody, it is a special day for all families and friends and it’s a great opportunity for our organization and our city to be represented on Christmas day on ABC. We are excited about playing. It is going to be a big test for us. San Antonio is the defending champ, they play great basketball and they had a great game last night. I’m sure they are ready to play.”

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER GUARD RUSSELL WESTBROOK

On how Portland was able to regain the lead:“They did it by making some shots. They made some big three’s down the stretch. We put ourselves in a position to win the game, but just didn’t come out with the win.”

On playing San Antonio on Christmas Day:“Playing on Christmas Day is a blessing. You don’t ever want to take that for granted. They are definitely a tough team at home. We have just got to go in there and try to get a win.”

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER GUARD REGGIE JACKSON

On the key to coming back in the third quarter:“Defensive stops. We got some easy transition baskets. The ball was moving and the defense was a little discombobulated. They weren’t sure where the help was coming from. The bigs were doing a great job of setting screens. Nick was doing a great job and Kendrick in particular. I can’t count how many times we play pick and roll but he does a great job of screening my man and allowing me to attack his man down one on one. It all goes off to them. Everybody was getting to their spots and the ball was moving. Their defense was discombobulated and the bigs did a great job of setting screens.”

On how often he relives losses like this:“I don’t. It’s done, can’t do anything about it. We’ve got another one on the 25th on Christmas day and we’re fortunate enough to be one of the few teams to play then. We’ve just got to come out and try and move past this and find a way to get a win.”

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER CENTER KENDRICK PERKINS

On what allowed the Thunder to come back in the third quarter:“Our defensive effort. Everything we do starts on the D end. I thought our guys, we did a great job, for the most part, trapping Lillard starting in the second half and we just scrambled. I thought we got our hands on a lot of deflections, came over a lot of loose balls, but we came up short.”