Post Quotes: Trail Blazers 106, Magic 99

NATE MCMILLAN

On overall game:
“It was a gut check for our guys again tonight and they came ready to play. They scrapped hard. Orlando is a tough team. We haven’t won here since I’ve been a Blazer and to get this game I really felt like they showed that they really wanted the game tonight.”

On Travis Outlaw’s performance:
“We just got to try different combinations. We went to LaMarcus (Aldridge) and they did a nice job on him. Brandon (Roy) got a little fatigued. Rudy (Fernandez) kind of ran out of gas and we have another option in Travis. He’s the guy down the stretch that we’ve been going to over the years and tonight when the offense stalled he was able to get us a couple of buckets. We got our confidence back.”

On using the small lineup due to foul trouble to Portland’s advantage:
“We felt like we could go to that lineup. LaMarcus (Aldridge) at the five and Travis (Outlaw) at the four and try to spread them out and we could defend…Joel (Przybilla), some games you’re going to need the big fellow and some games we can go to a matchup and force them to matchup against us. That small lineup worked for us tonight. They did a nice job of defending the perimeter. We made some good adjustments in the second half I thought. That’s what it’s all about, being able to make those adjustments and execute it.”

On the fourth quarter performance:
“That has been part of the reason we’ve lost our first couple games, not being able to finish games off. We’ve had leads going into the second half, and tonight, not only did I talk about it but they talked about finishing the game off, winning the third and the fourth quarter and getting stronger going down the stretch. You’ve got to finish games off whether you’re at home or on the road.”

On transition defense from the second quarter on:
“They weren’t getting the layups they were getting the first half. Pick-and-rolls, they ran a lot of drags with the open jump shots and they had big 13, 14 point fast breaks real early in the game. We did a better job. We made buckets and did a better job of containing the ball and it’s still something we’ve got to work on.”


BRANDON ROY

“We stayed together. They didn’t make any big runs, but they made some small runs. We kept holding up like we have been here before. Nobody panicked tonight. We stopped their runs. We just shut down their mini runs. Everybody stepped up tonight. Everybody scored, rebounded, and it was a team effort.”

“We were a little nervous but at the same time Channing did not have one of his best offensive games. He did a great job defensively of keeping Dwight outside the paint. In the second half we made him earn it from the line. He made some in the first half but we stuck with it. He is a big part of what they do. He missed a couple of free throws and it took him out of rhythm. They did not have rhythm in the second half and that was Channing and LeMarcus doing a great job of trying to fight with that monster.”

“It has taken awhile for us to figure out our rotation and I think we are starting to do that. We have a lot of players who come off the bench like Travis and Rudy and they do a great job. Nicolas starts and he is doing a really good job. We have to be ready to play.”

“Our bench is big for us. I tell Travis everyday that a good game needs to be standard for him now and he needs to be good every night. There can’t be any hi-lows. He understands it and he knows we need that. He is doing a great job and he is stroking that ball really well right now. At the same time we need him to be aggressive and get to the basket. Rudy is shooting it well all season long. Rudy is aggressive and takes big shots. He played within himself tonight.”

“Coach has been talking to us about having more of a sense of urgency in the fourth quarter. Tonight we were talking about it and we knew we were playing for something. We were trying to compete for something.”

LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE

“It is tough guarding him (Howard) because he is a tough, physical center. When he gets the ball in the paint, he is pretty tough to guard. Our game plan was to bump him early, try to double team him if he got deep, and I think it worked. He still got his points but in the end we forced other guys to makes shots.”

“They picked one thing tonight against me. They took away my inside game and gave me the outside shot. I guess they felt they could better deal with me taking 18 foot jump shots and not jump hooks.”

“He (Fernandez) is always solid for us. He always makes big plays for us and makes the smaller plays that we need. That is what helps us win games.”

KEITH BOGANS

“They made plays coming down the stretch and we didn’t. We were holding the ball a lot in that fourth quarter. They made some big shots coming down the stretch.”

(On shooters not scoring) “That comes from not moving the ball like we’re supposed to. Coach stresses that a lot. I think it’s something we’re going to have to work on. We’re not going to dwell on it too much. We’ve got to get ready to come back and play on Wednesday.”

“You got to know down the stretch, you got to make plays, make the extra pass, that’s going to be the main thing.”


RASHARD LEWIS

“I don’t think it was necessarily the offense. Obviously not making shots is making it a little tough for us. But our defense, we couldn’t control the pick-and-roll, and they made a lot of 3’s. We weren’t rotating like we should have and they made some 3’s. They pretty much got whatever they wanted tonight.”

“It’s tough. It feels like I can’t get any rhythm, I don’t know what it is. Maybe I have to be a little bit more aggressive early in the game. It feels like I’m just launching 3-pointers all game instead of going to the basket. Maybe get more post-ups, I don’t know. It’s just feels real difficult to get into a rhythm these past few games.”

“The offense wasn’t clicking. Coach said the ball started sticking, we weren’t moving the ball around. The ball wasn’t getting inside, just kind of think that every one was going on their own.”