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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: TRAIL BLAZERS VS. WARRIORSMay 16, 2019Damian LillardC.J. McCollumOakland, California - Postgame 2 Golden State 114, Portland 111 Q. What was your mindset? DAMIAN LILLARD: Game 1 didn't go as planned but we had a chance going into the fourth quarter and made some adjustments tonight, I mean, 15-point lead at the half. They are a great third quarter team. We weathered that storm and went into the fourth quarter tied and I thought we played a really solid fourth quarter, as well, but they are a shot-making team and they moved the ball well. They are a championship club. You know, down the stretch, you know they are going to make those plays and they are going to give themselves a chance. I mean, it came down to the last possession. So I thought we gave ourselves a chance. We missed some shots. We had some turnovers. Lost the game, but you know, their job was to take care of their home floor, and we've got an opportunity to do the same thing. Q. Damian, you went down pretty hard in a scrum with [Kevon] Looney in the third quarter. Looked like you maybe injured your chest or wrist. How are you feeling and did that affect your game at all? DAMIAN LILLARD: No, it didn't affect my game. When you're out there, you out there. There ain't really no excuse. But I just dove on a loose ball and a big guy dove on top of me. So I mean, it was just impact and that was it. Q. Did it cross your mind that this could be the last time you play a game at Oracle [Arena] in your hometown? DAMIAN LILLARD: Yeah, this is the last season they're going to play in this building. I knew that coming in, this was going to be the last -- I mean, this time, I doubt this will be the last time. You know, we planning on being back here, so that's it. Q. Could you just lead us through the last possession, the last play, the steal? DAMIAN LILLARD: You know, I got the ball. I think they knew we needed a three. I think it was under 10 seconds by the time I got a catch, and a quick two. We didn't have no timeouts left. I don't think that would have done much for us. We knew we were going to go for the three, so I was just trying to get space to get a three up. I know it's a tough position for the referees to be in to make a call at that point in the game. Tried to get a little bit of space the first time. He grabbed my arm and I lost the ball a little bit. I regained it and I was going to shoot it again. He got his hand on the ball. For me as the offensive player, I felt like it was contact. There was a lot of contact. But obviously the ref is not going to decide the game or jump in at that point. You know, so they -- good defensive play. Q. Draymond had four points and three assists on the Warriors final 10 points that weren't free throws. DAMIAN LILLARD: Say what? I can't hear you. Q. Draymond had three points and four assists in the Warriors final 10 points that were not free throws. What makes him a dangerous facilitator when you're out there trying to defend him? DAMIAN LILLARD: He's a smart player and when you have guys like Steph [Curry] and Klay [Thompson] out there running around, we're going to give him a lot of attention and that's what we were doing and he was the guy they were outletting the ball to. He was finding the shooters and finding the lob guy. Tonight, he got to the rim a few times down the stretch and finished. You know, you don't want to give Steph and Klay open looks down the stretch, and that's the play that we want them to make and he took advantage of it. Q. You spent a lot of time in front of Steph tonight and also trying to find Seth [Curry]. What did you see in both of their performances, and do you think they have a little extra for each other in this series? DAMIAN LILLARD: I mean, they're brothers. You know, for me having my own older brother, I know what it's like to go against your brother and what it means. You know, they both know there's going to be conversations about this at some point when this series is over and they're going to play like it. Every time we played them this season, Seth has played great against them and I think it has something to do with playing against his brother. But Seth played really well for us, gave us a lot of scoring off the bench tonight. I thought he guarded Steph well when he guarded him, and Steph is just always on the move, you know, out there running around, coming off screen after screen after screen and just looking to shoot the ball. That's what he does. That's what he is known for. So both guys played well tonight. Q. As a team, you're only able to get one bucket in the last four minutes. What made things so difficult down the stretch for you offensively? C.J. McCOLLUM: I think it's just a make-or-miss league. We got some good looks. I personally had some good looks. I had an open three I missed, and I had a floater I missed late. I had a switch with Draymond; I missed a three-pointer. I think it's just a make-or-miss league. They played good defense, but I can live with the shots I miss every day of the week and I think, you know, offensively we had some pretty good possessions. We just didn't finish them. DAMIAN LILLARD: Same. I thought we -- you know, they were putting a lot of attention on the ball. I thought we got the ball where it needed to go and shots just didn't fall down the stretch. When ours didn't, they got out in transition and made shots. It went their way. Q. Last game, you guys dropped back in the protocols and Steph was hitting pull-up threes and this game you were up higher and Draymond got loose and was able to make plays, kind of in four-on-three. Just for both you guys, what's it like having to pick your poison in that pick-and-roll situation? DAMIAN LILLARD: I mean, it's what you see them do all the time. It's not different than anything they have always done. When they got Draymond with the ball in his hands and Steph and Klay moving around, coming off screens, you got to go to the ball because those guys shoot so well and once Draymond gets it, somebody has to step up and he's great about making the next play. You know, one guy is getting a lot of attention and you've got to find somebody who can get the ball and then make the next play because it's basically four-on-three. He's just really good at it. He's been playing with those guys for years now, and you know, the experience shows. He's really good in those situations, so we just got to I guess do a better job of making sure once he does get the ball, he goes where he want it to go. That's it? Q. Game 1, Rodney Hood had a nice showing. Tonight, Seth Curry and Meyers Leonard. How much do you need those guys to take pressure off both of you as scorers? C.J. McCOLLUM: I think it's very important for those guys to continue to be aggressive. They are going to have opportunities to score and make plays and I think tonight, they all did that, and I think our bench was great and a lot of guys stepped up and was ready to play. Seth hit some big shots for us. He defended well. Meyers came in and made some of the right plays in the middle, hit some shots for us. ET [Evan Turner] was great distributing the ball. Rodney was aggressive again, as always. Even though Zach [Collins] was in foul trouble, he brought great energy. We're going to need that throughout this next series and going forward into next season. Q. Steve Kerr came right out and said, "We stole one tonight. They played better than we did." I want to know if you agree with that assessment, and what you think could turn the series in your favor, given a tough loss? C.J. McCOLLUM: I mean, they stole it, but they earned it down the stretch. They made more plays than us in the last two minutes, last three minutes, but I like our chances going forward. I like the way we came out and competed. We got to bring that same energy at home. Understand that this is the first time in 19 years we've been in the Conference Final. I know they will be excited and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity playing at home and building on what we've done. Being down 0-2, it's not what you would like to see but it's our reality, so now we got to go get some at home. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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