Postgame Quotes - December 15, 2013

(On the end of fourth quarter): “Offensive rebounds were the difference. For the most part, we did a very good job guarding pick-and-rolls. We pretty much took them out of 3-point shooting which is what we talked about before the game. (LaMarcus) Aldridge, we knew he could be a handful down-low. He got 27 (points), 25 shots. We did the job. We just didn’t rebound the ball.”

(On closing games): “Concerning part is that we didn’t finish the game but we had shots in the paint that we missed. I think Brandon (Jennings) had two lay-ups. Andre (Drummond) had a lay-up that he missed. Those shots probably would have for the most part closed out the game. But we didn’t finish those shots and that part is disappointing because we had shots at the rim that we could have made and that we had made up throughout the game up until that point.”

(On losing): “It’s very frustrating, especially when you prepare for an opponent and you know what the player individually does the best in, and all we needed was just one rebound to secure that game. We weren’t able to do that so it is very frustrating.”

(On problems closing games): “If this doesn’t sting, I don’t know what does. When I was in Atlanta and we were young and we were in a lot of ball games, but late down the stretch we couldn’t figure it out and then and later we turned the corner. But those losses that we experienced at that time, they stung a little bit and they were also learning experiences, we sat down as a team, we watched film. We didn’t want to watch it but we saw the reasons why we lost those games and it didn’t do anything but make us better. I think that when we sit down as a team and see what we’re doing wrong in late games because this definitely was a winnable game. The game was pretty much won, but we found a way to not win.”

(On game): "I thought we showed a lot of grit to pull out a win like that. It was not looking good for a long time in the second half. Mo Williams hit a couple shots that kept us afloat and our defense down the stretch and in overtime gave us a chance to win."

(On last play): "It was the same play we ran the last three or four times. Space the court and have shooters in the game. Have him with L.A. (LaMarcus Aldridge) in the ball screen and just make a play whether it is drive to the rim, jump shot, pass, but you have your best players in there making plays."

(On defense): "I thought throughout the game that Detroit came out with a lot of the loose balls. It seems like rebounds and loose balls, they were getting them. I thought we got more than our share at the end. We did not necessarily change anything conceptually. I thought Mo (Mo Williams) and Damian (Lillard) really did and exceptional job on the ball screens up top.”

(On game): “I think once it kind of became a half-court game, when the score got close near the end that benefited us. It was almost like a football game, going down by down.”

(On Damian Lillard’s game-winning shot): “I felt like it was going in. You see him make those shots all the time. That one, he was around the key, nice turnaround to his right; I had a lot of confidence in it.”

(On comeback win): “It’s huge. It says a lot about our character as a team. When you play last night at 8:00, get in here late; bad weather, guys tired, legs heavy, against a good team that’s been waiting, so for us to come in and stick it out and find a way to get a win, that says a lot about us."

(On game-winning shot): “It felt good. I had a lot of shots that I let go tonight that felt good that didn’t fall. When that one went in, I was like ‘thank you.’ I’m happy the shot went in.”