Trail Blazers vs Celtics Sunday, 02/24/13 AT 06:00PM

Postgame Notes And Quotes: Big Win Over Boston

02/24/13

Written by: sarahhecht

Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013 Final Score: Portland 92, Boston 86

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS
“Needless to say, it was good to get a win after our losing streak. More importantly, how we got the win against a good team – a physical game and I thought we got a lot of good performances. Obviously, Wes was big with his shot making and I thought our team defense for the most part was pretty good for most of the night. It was a good way to introduce Eric Maynor.
“And I didn’t know we had this many Celtic fans in Portland. That did surprise me.”

On Lillard’s three point play late after relatively quiet game:
“We’re counting on him. We need him to do those things. He’s done it all year. For the amount of minutes he’s played, he’s not a rookie any more. He’s there to make plays, especially when it counts.”

On importance of Matthews:
“We’re in the game against the Lakers because he’s back and we win this one because he’s back, so not to say we couldn’t have won it without him, but certainly, he’s an instrumental part of what we’ve done to be successful.”

Did you like what you saw from Maynor in his first game?
“I did. His shots didn’t go but I thought he played with a lot of confidence. He was solid defensively. For the first time out there finding his way, it was good having him out there. I liked having him and Damian – they played two guards together so we were able to play them together – I’m looking forward to his progress.”

Did you like what you saw from Claver?
“Definitely. IT might have been his best game. 10 rebounds certainly, he was a plus-14 when he was on the court. He made a lot of good reads. He had a tough defensive assignment with Jeff Green who was coming off a pretty big night.”

JJ HICKSON
“We played great team defense and we were just flying around out there. When we play like that, we’re tough to beat.”

Were you thinking about losing streak?
“Of course it’s in the back of your mind, but you don’t want to put pressure on yourself. We just wanted to win in front of this home crowd. It started on the defensive end.”

On Matthews performance playing hurt:
“He was great for us offensively and defensively. He’s been playing hurt these last couple games, but that’s West. He’s been a warrior for us the whole year and he got it done tonight.”
“You definitely want to play for the guys next to you. Everybody’s got a little bumps and bruises, but he’s got some issues going on. It’s great to see him out there playing and toughing it out.”

“We needed it - especially in the Rose Garden. This crowd comes out and supports us night in, night out and we did a good job playing defense. Hopefully we’ll give them something to talk about.”

On Maynor:
“He fit right in. He ran the plays, he controlled the tempo. It didn’t faze anybody, he fit right in.”

On Claver:
“Vic was huge. He had 10, 11 boards, that was huge in limited minutes. It was definitely huge. He did a great job defensively and he had a couple steals. He was great for us tonight. Everybody pitched in tonight and did their job.”

ERIC MAYNOR
On first game as a Blazer:
“I felt good. It just felt good to get back in the rotation. The fans are great here. Just tried to go out there and play, that’s it. First time was a little, not nervous, but just a new start for me. Hopefully I’ll be better come Wednesday.”

“It felt good. I just want to be on the court, I want to play. Whatever minutes I can get, I’m going to go out there and play hard and try to make my team better.”

On getting the win in first game in Portland:
“It feels good. I was just telling Wes, I like to win. Right now, I’m thinking about trying to get in the playoffs. This is my fourth year and every year I’ve been deep in the playoffs, so I’m going to come in here and do everything I can to help the team out so we can get there.”

POSTGAME NOTES

- Series history … Portland’s win tonight ended a six-game losing streak to the Celtics, and a two-game winless streak against Boston in Portland.

- Double-double machine … JJ Hickson recorded his 30th double-double of the season against Boston, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds … Hickson has tallied 30 double-doubles in a season for the first time in his career, and is one of four NBA players to do so this year (David Lee, Zach Randolph, Nikola Vucevic).

- Consistency … Hickson shot 4-of-8 from the field (50.0%), his 19th consecutive game of shooting 50.0 percent or better from the floor.

- Clutch … After making a 3-pointer with 53.0 seconds remaining, Wesley Matthews improved to 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range this season in games when the score is within 3 points with less than one minute remaining.

- Efficient … Matthews shot 8-of-11 from the field en route to his 24 points … Matthews became the only NBA player to score at least 24 points on no more than 11 field goal attempts twice this season (1/7/13 vs. ORL, 7-11 FG).

- Career night … Victor Claver finished with four points and a career-high 10 rebounds … Claver is the fourth Trail Blazer to record double digits in rebounds this season (Aldridge, Batum, Hickson).

- From downtown … Matthews, who hit five 3-pointers, has now made at least four 3-pointers in 13 games this season, tied for the fourth-most such games in the NBA.

- Sharing the rock … Each Portland starter recorded at least three assists … In his debut with the Trail Blazers, Eric Maynor also tallied three assists, along with two points in 15 minutes.

- Defense … Portland held Boston to 16 assists, the fourth-lowest assist total for the Celtics this season … It is just the 10th time all season that Boston has tallied fewer than 20 assists in a game.