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NBA PLAYOFFS ROUND ONE: TRAIL BLAZERS vs CLIPPERS

April 27, 2016

Terry Stotts

Los Angeles, California: Game Five

Trail Blazers - 108, Clippers - 98

TERRY STOTTS: I think our defense has been probably the most consistent thing. You know, in Game 2 here, the first three quarters were really good and kind of let it get away in the third quarter. Games 3 and 4 were very solid defensively. I thought the way we defended, particularly coming out in the second half, made the difference and first quarter for that matter. Second quarter we didn't defend the way we needed to. But I'd say our offense has been kind of spotty, but our defense over the last four games has been pretty good.

Q. Coach, speaking of defense, you held the Clippers without a field goal for six minutes. What was the talk at halftime to kind of get the team reenergized and back on track?
TERRY STOTTS: We had to play harder. First half, especially second quarter, the Clippers played harder than we did. They got baskets in transition, they got offensive rebounds, they got kick-outs, extra possessions, and they played harder than we did in the second quarter.

I liked the focus and the energy that made the difference. It wasn't about any schemes or anything. It was about just locking in to the task at hand.

Q. Terry, you just touched on this a little bit, but they're down their two biggest guns. In terms of competitive spirit, what did you think of the Clippers tonight?
TERRY STOTTS: I know they're missing two All-Stars and that's a given, but there are a lot of solid pros on that team, a lot of guys that -- guys like Jamal Crawford have been in this league a long time and know how to compete. Like I said, the second quarter, they played harder than we did. DeAndre Jordan was doing what he needed to do. Jeff Green was pushing it. We just -- I don't think it was necessarily a mental letdown on our part, but I think they showed that we need to compete harder because of how hard they were competing.

Q. What enabled your team to put them away in the fourth quarter?
TERRY STOTTS: Again, I thought defensively we were solid, but Dame got it going, hit some shots, got him moving off the ball a little bit. We executed -- I thought three plays in a row we executed pretty well and got some good shots and we were able to separate. But again, we made a nice run, got a lead, and in a minute-and-a-half it evaporated at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter I thought we just kind of sustained our focus defensively, and then again, timely shots.

Q. Talk about the play of Allen Crabbe. He's from Los Angeles.
TERRY STOTTS: You know, Allen, it was good that he got -- kind of got a breakout game in Game 4. He wanted to be part of the party, as well.

I think defensively he's been solid. We rely on his scoring. He made some big shots for us tonight, but the best thing for him right now is that he didn't let the first three games, the fact that he didn't score very much, bother him at the defensive end, and he kept with the process as far as how he's going to get shots, and he never shied away from the moment. But Allen has been a big part of what we've done all season, and I think he showed it again tonight.

Q. With Chris and Blake out, the Clippers are just a completely different team. How did you go about preparing for this game not quite knowing what they were going to do?
TERRY STOTTS: Well, we anticipated that they would be spreading the court a lot. You know, Jeff Green is a spacing 4 man. We expected Paul Pierce to play 4 at some point, not necessarily knowing if he was going to start or not. We expected Jamal and Austin Rivers to have the ball in their hands a lot. So I thought it was basically going to be a lot of spacing basketball, which is what it kind of turned out to be.

Q. Jamal Crawford was 6 for 23. Was he just missing shots or was there anything that you guys were doing to slow him down?
TERRY STOTTS: You know, it's usually a combination of both. I thought we defended him well. We were locked in. We contested a lot of his shots. But with a guy who can score the ball like that, you've got to be a little fortunate that he misses some shots, as well. But I thought we at least made him work for the shots that he got, and then you just hope that he doesn't get on a roll, which he didn't do.

Q. Did Dame ask to start the fourth quarter? How did that decision come about?
TERRY STOTTS: You know, I rode C.J. a little bit longer, and C.J. didn't come out until a minute, a minute 30, minute 40 in the third, so I wanted to give C.J. just a little bit more of a blow because I knew I was going to go the rest of the way with him. Just wanted Dame to play another extra minute or two, just so that C.J. could finish strong.

Q. Luc Mbah a Moute has started the first four games of this series and didn't play tonight. How did that up your ability to run some offense in both halves?
TERRY STOTTS: I don't know. You know, obviously the guys they had on the court were -- they put a very strong offensive lineup to start the game in each half with Pierce at 4 and starting Crawford, so they were trying to put their best offensive players out there. Luc is a terrific defender. We didn't necessarily have a great offensive game, but might as well ask Doc that.

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