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Nets-Blazers Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Kenny Atkinson, Brooklyn Nets

On tonight being disappointing:
“Disappointing. You know, games come down to the end like that and go either way. I thought they made the big plays and we shot ourselves in the foot a few times. Turnovers, a couple turnovers there at the end, but good experience for our guys to go against a really good team like that. Good experience for our young guys Jarrett (Allen) and Caris (LeVert), getting their feet wet. We’ll learn from it. Tough loss, really tough loss.”

On how the game got away:
“We couldn’t get the critical stop when we need it. I felt like we bailed them out fouling and we couldn’t stop them. Second half I thought that was the key in general, just tough times stopping their offense.”

On Jarrett Allen earning more minutes:
“Yeah, if he plays well. I thought he gave us good minutes. I think yeah, if he keeps playing well you’ll see his minutes go up.”

On being up six points to then being down two:
“The defensive pressure is always turned up at the end of the game. It wasn’t lack of execution, I thought it was a fast break turnover then I thought we got a rebound and we lost it. There were just kind of frustrating ones. I think we hit the roll guy in the pick and roll and we had it at the rim and they kind of slapped down on us a few times, a couple turnovers that way, too. They’re a strong, experienced team. I thought they took advantage, they used that to their advantage.”

On closing out close games:
“I think that’s the hardest thing to do in the NBA, you know, is to close games. We saw it the other night in Cleveland, play really well for three quarters. There are great players on these other teams that are determined not to let you win and I think that was a little bit the case tonight. They really relied on their experience, but it’s also a positive experience for us. We can look at this, we can say “how can we close out games, what can we do better, how can we execute better, what can we do defensively differently to close out games?” So that’s on all of us, the coaching staff too, not just the players. So that’s a good point, closing games is a next step for us.”

Allen Crabbe, Brooklyn Nets

On tonight’s loss:
“There is nothing we can do about it tonight. The ball didn’t roll our way tonight. Credit to them (Blazers), they made the plays down the stretch they needed to in order to win the game.”

On the Nets’ empty offensive possessions towards the end of the fourth quarter: “They
“They just played good defense. Other than that, the ball didn’t go our way tonight.”

On snapping out of the team’s losing streak:
“We are still trying to figure it out, it’s still early in the season. But at some point I think it will turn the way we want it to go. It’s still early, it’s not like we are getting blown out. We are having chances to win, it’s just about closing it out. I feel like with the experience we have we will turn it around.

Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets

On what could have been done differently offensively down the stretch:
“I think we had a couple of turnovers, a couple of missed shots. Probably we should have gotten to the line and that probably would have helped us out. Free throws are what, the best shots in the game probably? So that probably would have helped us.”

On if they wanted to win for more than a moral victory:
“None of the guys in the locker room play for moral victories, we’re playing to get wins every game. So it was tough to put in that effort and come up short.”

On if he was happy with the shot that he had at the end of the game:
“Oh, of course. That’s why I shot it. I felt like it was a good look. Down two we wanted to shoot a three if I was open and it bounced on the rim a couple of times and it didn’t go in.”

On if the Blazers did anything different defensively down the stretch:
“I think it was more on our end. I think they were physical all game. I think we went in there, they were really active with their hands. A couple of times we went in there and got stripped and weren’t able to get the ball up or get to the line. And conversely, on their end, similar situation and they were able to convert or get to the line. So that’s really the difference in the game in those final minutes.”