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Postgame Quotes - February 28, 2017

DETROIT PISTONS HEAD COACH STAN VAN GUNDY:  (On overtime): “Yeah, it was good in the overtime. I thought we defended really well in the overtime and guys really stepped up their intensity. Their shooting percentages were really high, but 24 turnovers tonight for them, I thought we were really active and intense. Those guards are great and they took half of their shots tonight, they are great players and they got it rolling. I thought we did a better job in the overtime, but we were active and got our hands on balls. I thought the lineup that played in the overtime defended really well, (Ish Smith, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Stanley Johnson, Marcus Morris and Andre Drummond).” 

(On Ish Smith and bench): “They got us back in the game and we took him out and got him a little bit of rest then went back with him. He was getting tired, we went then we came back with him. Reggie (Jackson) was playing okay offensively but he was struggling on the defensive end with the quickness of those guys and we felt a little more better having more quickness on the floor.” 

DETROIT PISTONS CENTER ANDRE DRUMMOND:  (On defense in overtime): “We all came out with a mindset, after we missed the shot and it went into overtime, that we needed to be where we needed to be on our pick-and-rolls and everybody needed to close out.  Marcus (Morris) made great recoveries for me when I went out in the blitzes.  Our defense really carried us in that overtime.” 

(On Ish Smith):  “That (providing a spark) is something he does every night.  When he comes off the bench, we know exactly what we are going to get from him.  He’s a spark plug.  He gets our team going.  He’s a high energy guy and when he plays like that it really motivates everybody.” 

DETROIT PISTONS CENTER ARON BAYNES:   (On comebacks this month): “That is not a great habit to keep going with.  It doesn’t work out every time.  It is good when it does.  It shows that when we start playing defense that is when we start looking good and that is what we need to do for a full 48 (minutes) and I think we’ll be in pretty good position.” 

(On defense in overtime):  “All the energy is up.  Everyone was up into their man and was not giving them easy looks.  Everything was contested.  They weren’t getting to the exact spots they wanted to and that’s what we need to do.  We need to go out there and be the aggressor on defense.”

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS: (On tonight’s game): “We had our chances. Obviously the turnovers were a big part of the game. When you have a 17 turnover differential and to be in a position to still win the game is probably a feat in itself. The overtime notwithstanding, obviously they dominated the overtime, but we put ourselves in a position to win in regulation; fought back from a deficit. We’ve been in this situation many times where there are a lot of positives about the game but end up with a lost. Detroit made the plays; a few possessions here but obviously the turnovers, not only their points off the turnovers, but those were opportunities we didn’t get a chance to score.” 

(On covering Marcus Morris): “He’s a good one-on-one player and he has a high release. He’s tall; he has got a high release. The way their team is, it’s difficult to double team because he gets in different areas so you’re kind of stuck playing one-on-one and the thing is, he made his perimeter shots. If he’s making contested perimeter shots, you’ve got to hand it to him. He can get it going like he did tonight.” 

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS C.J. McCOLLUM: (On tough losses this year): “We’ve lost a lot of close games. We lost one in double overtime back at home so we’ve got our fair share of close losses this year in this season.” 

(On turnovers): “I think I had six. Some bad turnovers that I needed to transition; without scoring, it’s just a wasted possession. Overall we’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the ball, making the right decisions, and picking runs and take responsibility; I’m not trying to make anybody look bad.”