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Postgame Quotes: Trail Blazers vs. Thunder - October 29, 2014

HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS“It was good to get the first win under our belt. I was pleased with the way we did it in the second half with defense. The offense caught up, but Oklahoma City was really active. They were after loose balls, offensive rebounds, but I liked the way we hung with it and the defense started to sync with the offense at the end.”

Thoughts on fourth quarter:“I thought it was good. Defensively, we couldn’t have been much better. Nic did a really good job on Westbrook. We rebounded the ball, got out in transition. Obviously, we made threes which we’re going to do. But I think it was all keyed with our defense.”

How reassuring is it that you can make a big run offensively?“It’s nice. You can’t count on it, but to have the ability to put points on the board right away – but like I told the team, it was tied to our defense. We got a rhythm once we got some stops and felt good about ourselves, then the shots seem to have a better chance of going in. There’s not as much pressure on each possession, you’re not playing against half-court defense as much. Like I said, I think we’re capable of doing that but we don’t necessarily count on that every night.

What did you like defensively?“We challenged a lot of shots. After they came up with some offensive rebounds and loose balls, I thought we did a better job of coming up with those. Like I said, I thought Nic did a nice job on Westbrook in the fourth quarter in particular. Obviously with the team shorthanded as they were, he was the key to their offense.”

On Batum’s second half:“He did a little bit of everything. It started with his defense, but he was aggressive on pick and rolls, making plays. We ran some plays with him as a facilitator. Obviously he made some shots. I thought everybody - I don’t know what we shot in the second half, but we shot a better percentage in the second half. Nic was aggressive as a playmaker, whether he’s getting to the basket or making shots.”

On Westrbrook:“He played the way I think we expected him to play. He was very aggressive looking for his shot, he was aggressive going to the basket. He got his shots and he got to the free throw line and that’s his game.”

ROBIN LOPEZOn Westbrook’s play, particularly through first three quarters:“He was attacking. He’s a special player that can really, he can really try to put the game on his shoulders. He was attacking us through three quarters and I think we did a good job of adjusting. I think everybody got a little tired, but we probably made some good adjustments.”

Do you like what Kaman provided coming in?“Oh yeah. That’s huge for us. I think we’ve got a fantastic front court rotation that’s going to pay off for us.”

What do you like about the fire power on this team?“Just about any night we can get it offensively from a lot of different players. At the same time, if our efforts on the defensive end as well, I think that makes us pretty tough.”

What did you like defensively?“The most impressive thing tonight defensively – we had some let downs, we had some mistakes, but we didn’t let that stop us. We recognized that, we got after it and we rectified it.

WESLEY MATTHEWSWas play late in the game what you want?“No question. If we play every quarter like that, we’ll be in good shape all season. It wasn’t the start that we predicted, the start that we expected, but I’m excited and proud of the way that we continued to fight through it. Credit them, they played hard. Russ had a hell of a game. The rest of the guys were coming in and they were making shots, making plays. They outworked us. There’s no secret about that. We can’t allow that to happen for as long as it did.”

What was different in second half defensively?“We just were coming up with the ball. We started coming up with the loose balls, we started contesting, we started getting stops, and that’s our game.”

HEAD COACH SCOTT BROOKS“On how the team played:"I thought our guys played their hearts out...I thought we played hard. That's the only thing I can ask for from the guys is just compete and play hard and play for each other and they did that tonight. We just made too many mistakes at the end of the game."

On Russell Westbrook:"One thing I know about him is that he is going to compete with everything he has and that's how he got his points tonight...Russell is a competitor. Russell plays every possession like it's his last and that's what I love about his game."

RUSSELL WESTBROKK“On taking a moral victory:"We put ourselves in position to win a game but we don't take moral victories around here. We never will. We put ourselves in positions to win games. We know we have enough to win, we just have to find a way to close..."

On playing with only 9 active players:"It going to be a feeling out process for all of us. You have Lance [Thomas] learning three and four. There's going to be a lot of different things going on, but we just have to play our game."

On how he's taking the loss:"I'm just pleased with how long the guys played as well [as they did]. Andre [Roberson] and Perry [Jones]. They made shots for the team. They wanted to win as well, and they had what it takes for us to win the ball game."