POSTGAME SOUND: PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS VS. ORLANDO MAGIC | COACH MOSE, DESMOND, WENDELL & PAOLO

POSTGAME SOUND: PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS VS. ORLANDO MAGIC | COACH MOSE, DESMOND, WENDELL & PAOLO

Coach, uh, just take us through what was going through your head as Desmond takes that final shot. And how happy are you for him after everything he’s done since he’s got here to see that go in? I mean, he was he won three and that was the big one. You know, I think that was great of him to have poise uh for them to pay attention in that timeout to understand exactly how to execute. Um, and that’s who he is. That’s what he’s done. He’s done it many times in his career. uh to be able to hit big shots and step into the moment. And I’m just happy for him for sustaining it, for playing with that level of aggression throughout the game, making the right plays, and then he was rewarded at the end of the game by continue to do the right thing, you know, for 48. What does it say about Paulo that despite those free throws he missed near the stretch, he got that big steal and had the awareness to call the timeout there? He’s I mean, he’s a basketball you he has such a high basketball IQ. He understands moments. So, that was great. He didn’t let that rattle him. Um, and that’s what I told him in the locker room. Just his ability to let that go, move past it, and then be able to get the steal and get the timeout for us to have an opportunity to get a gamewinner. What What can a, you know, maybe we put too much emphasis on kind of the buzzer beaters and and those moments, but what can gutting out a win like this, you know, having the defense step up in the third quarter and kind of holding on at the end, what what can a win like this do for for this team in their conference as they move forward? You know, I think it, you know, there’s some momentum to it, but, you know, I think more than anything, it was the process of everything we we talked about. You know, yesterday you guys heard me snap out about 17 turns for 29 points. You know, you take care of the basketball. You have 13 for 12. So, you’ve given yourself opportunities. Uh you continue to cl crash the glass and you gave yourself chances throughout the game. You may not have shot it well, but we did the right things at the right times and we stuck with the process to get this one done. coach. Um 26% from the three-point line percentage on this game. Your team has not been shooting the ball well. How important it is to fix that because you know you’re always going to play hard on defense. You’re going to be there in the games, but how important is to to hit that shot in a consistent manner? I mean, you know, this league is make or miss in some ways, but I think we’re the looks we’re getting are great. And we did a better job of not turning them down, which I, you know, I like, and then being able to find the right open man. Uh, so our guys have to continue to step into the, you know, step into their shots, trust their process of how they’re getting the shots, and we did share the basketball. Um, I really did like it. We had 26 assists, so our ability to share it. We make a couple more that changes. Coach, memorable finishes. Uh, this is one of those episodes this season that you guys can use for momentum as you go forward and keep working. just talk about how this can help a team come together. Well, it’s already a close-knit group. We had a great film session before, you know, before this game, you know, talking about the things that we need to do, the details we need to focus on, but just you see the support, the love, and I’m sure it’ll show up on social media everywhere. his the the celebration for Dez and what these guys feel about him, what he means to this team, who he is as a young man, uh, and just his toughness, his resiliency, his leadership, all those pieces are, you know, they’re represented and you saw the celebration of our guys, not just because of the win, but because of who Desmond Bane is. Coach, was Desmond the first choice? Was he the draw up? Because Fron was looking left and then went right to make the pass. Yeah, I can’t really give you what that was right now because of, you know, scouting report. we might run it again, but it was I’m glad he got open and he was able to take that shot. Coach, the the flow of the game seemed to slow down a lot for y’all in the third quarter. Is that is that more of what you guys are going for as you kind of wear teams down like you have in the past? And then it kind of creeped up on y’all in the fourth quarter a bit. What was the vibe change at that moment when you realized, oh, it’s not a nine-point game right now. It’s a it’s a two-point game. I mean, just staying the course, understanding every team’s going to make a run within a 48minute game. Just being able to understand what we do in the huddles, our communication, understand the sets we’re running, the matchups we may have. I think that’s what our guys did a great job of communicating. Um, you know, the the referees, you know, there were a lot of whistles, so it slowed the game down. There wasn’t a lot of flow, but at the same time, we were able to sustain their run uh for the most part and then be able to come out with with the win. Thank you. Thank you. First one. first one. Uh yeah. What What does the moment feel like when you hit that and and that your team just tackles you essentially? Just what was that like? It was hard to process it really until like everything kind of slowed down. You know, I mean it was a back and forth game. Um you know down the stretch got got close, got crazy and uh you know it we we needed that one for sure. Dez, take us through that play. You know what were you looking for and how did you feel as the shot left your hands? We we drew it up for Paulo. Um, you know, he had just just scored on the on the one before and, you know, I was I was the uh like the the outlet. You know, Dell set a good screen like he always do and um you know, let it ride. Desmond 045 before that shot. What is going through your mind? Do you reach anything deep into your head into your past experience to really go and execute that type of shot? No, it’s just trusting the work, you I mean, I done put in the time, put in the work. Um, you know, I mean, shots shots are going to go in, some go in, some don’t. Um, you know, but I trust them all. After a few misses out of the open, it looked like you started hunting your mid-range pullup and the the floater getting to the rim, feeding Wendell in the pick and roll. Was that a conscious effort to maybe still stay aggressive scoring, but uh shift from the threes to the drives? Just really trying to take what the defense was giving me. Um, you know, I never really predetermine like whether I’m going to shoot this or do this or do that, but um, you know, just trying to remain aggressive all the way throughout. Dez, you you mentioned how important this this win was. What what can being able to gut a game out like this do for for this group and and kind of building some some confidence and some swagger back with with them? Yeah, I think it it just brings teams together, you know? I mean, I was talking about it out there like you need those moments throughout the season. um you know, close games that you win, close games that you lose. Um they they all they all matter and um you know, lead to something bigger down the road. Wendell, what was sort of your reaction to seeing him hit that shot? I mean, it was his only three-point make of the game. It was a pretty big one. Oh man, it didn’t seem real. Um being out there um when the ball left his his fingertips, it was either we was winning the game or we weren’t. And uh oh, we went to overtime, but um but uh to see it go down um and it was amazing. And you know, it was kind of all a blur. You know, it’s uh just happy for him. Um just happy for this group. What he’s what he was able to do for us tonight got us to win. So um like you said though, it’s it’s something that we can build off of. A lot of camaraderie off of that for sure. Wendale, hard work pays off. just talk about you guys continuing to come together and uh we saw it tonight and it’s one of those special moments in Magic history. Uh oh, what’s the question? I’m sorry. Talk a little bit about just winning that game and just how special it is to be a part of it. Oh, man. It means a lot. I mean, I I’ve been with this this organization, you know, going on four years now. I’ve been through the the lows, the highs of it. Um, but it’s another level we can get to and um, you know, this is a special year for us uh, knowing, you know, adding guys like Desmond, Tai, um, the rookies. Uh, you know, we we we got an expectation that we set, you know, going into training camp. Um, and it’s something that we got to continue to build on both offensively and defensively. So, um, a night like tonight, like I was saying before, can build the camaraderie of this team going into, you know, going to MSG next and then, uh, the the the games going forward. So, you know, it’s something that we can definitely build off of. You know, Paulo was a big reason why y’all got, you know, were were there to begin with, but before before the last couple minutes of the game, but then obviously missing the free throws. Um, what do what do you talk to him in those moments? Do you let him be and kind of just let him get through it or do you do you like pick him up or what what what is the interactions happen? Just keeping him engaged next play mentality like you said like he missed some free throws down the stretch. Uh like we was joking with him. He just wanted to make it interesting for us. So uh but but in all seriousness, we want to um we we you know he he’s not missing them on purpose. You know what I mean? So um you know we expect him you know to make the plays that he made down the stretch. made a big defensive stop to even get us that shot. So, uh, you know, we never look at him as, uh, oh, he lost us a game or anything like that. It’s, you know, Desmond hit the shot. He made it interesting. I think that’s what he wanted tonight. Dez, I know you’re a vet and you’ve hit big shots in in your career before, but when you get traded to a team and you’re joining a new team, are these the type of moments you envision, you know, and helping make a difference for a franchise and help propel them forward? Uh, I mean, yeah. I mean, I just want to be a part of winning. Um, you know, but I think moments like tonight are like the ones that really help you settle in, you know, settle into the new situation and um, you know, head first. Thanks, guys. I’ll be back. Pete, just take us through that final play and and what was going through your head as Desmond made that shot. Yeah. Uh, just knew we had to get a shot up. didn’t have much time and uh I mean when he caught it I knew I knew it had a chance. My angle was kind of funky. I couldn’t really see like if it looked good or not and then obviously it was straight through the net. So great great feeling. Probably the best game winner I’ve seen here in Kia Center. What can that do for this team? It’s just one game but a moment like that early in the season do for this team? Yeah, it just can, you know, ignite us to get some more wins and build on it. Um, obviously it was a hard five game start to finish and uh came out on top. So, you know, looking looking to build on it for sure. You guys had to gut that win out in several ways on both offense and defense. Did it feel tonight like you guys got a little bit closer to to the character that that you know this team has and what you’ve what you guys have built over the last few years? Yeah, I mean, you know, it was just thought our energy was good today. You know, um thought we did a good job of matching their intensity. I think last year playing them um you know they beat us both games and I think their intensity was what caught us off guard. So I think we did a good job of just handling you know their ball pressure, their defensive pressure um and just yeah just weathering the storm and kind of keeping them uh at arms length up until the end and then you know made enough plays to win the game. What stood out to you about Wendell’s performance tonight on both ends? Yeah, I thought he just, you know, manned the paint, you know. I thought he was great, you know, on both sides, um, on the glass, um, making shots, finishing around the hoop, on the on the boards, too, giving us extra opportunities. Um, he’s been playing great. So, uh, yeah, he was big. Pala, when you’re in here with us, you’re pretty even kee, don’t show a ton of emotion, but when you see that shot go in, you ran up, you picked up Bane, fell down, you guys all dog piled. What was that like to to experience that emotion with your team? Oh, it was a it was a rush of excitement for sure, especially for me, you know, him saving my ass like that. Uh yeah, I I didn’t want to make it that exciting. So, was glad that he made that shot and uh you know, saved me, you know, missing those free throws. But, uh yeah, he’s just he’s a big time player. You know, he he just stayed stayed with it the whole game and coach drew up a good play. um gave us multiple options and found Desmond and he knocked it down. Desmond saved y’all, but you also saved the team with your steal with Drew Holiday. Can you take us through that play and you know what what’s going through your head after you’re making, you know, you’re missing these free throws and you got to make this next play. Yeah, just doing whatever I could do to get the ball back. Um you know, they got me on that on that lob. Uh they got me got they got us on that and got me where they where they slipped out and threw it live and finished it. So I knew um you know we just had to be sharp on the next next time with our switching um before the ball was in and then uh you know I just he just put the ball down and I just went for it and soon as I grabbed it, you know, I knew we had timeout so I tried to call a timeout quick as quick as I could. Paulo, um the team has been shown more maturity and even surprises in closing moments uh just like tonight. So from your perspective, what does a win like this say about your uh the team’s progress and maybe chemistry, especially with Desmond Bane’s presence in the mix? Yeah, I think uh guys just did a great job of uh you know being being positive in the huddle uh no matter what happened throughout the game later in the game. Uh we never felt like we weren’t going to win the game. So I just give credit to all the guys just on the bench um guys on the court, guys off the court, you know, just you know reinforcing that, you know, we were going to win the game. We were going to make enough plays to win. Paulo, you guys had that uh great inspire win Friday, frustrating loss on Sunday, now this. What have the last 72 hours felt like for you guys as you try to get over this slow start to the season? Yeah, I would say um you know, up and down, frustrating um with the losses and the um the bad, but you know, that’s why you love the NBA, you know, cuz it gives you an opportunity every other night to go make up for it, get wins. Um, and we were able to do that tonight. We knew it was going to be a tough game and uh, we just did a great job of just weathering the storm. Dez Dez said moments like this, like being able to celebrate on the court, a buzzer beating shot can be really instrumental in kind of bringing a a team together. We we’ve we’ve heard about how close you guys are off the court. But can can having a result like this really kind of help focus and and bring this team together and and see that that you can get you can get the results you want by by trusting the this process or by playing together this way. Yeah, for sure. I mean, that’s what it’s going to take to win games. You know, I don’t think, you know, anyone’s confused on that. You know, we just got to replicate it every night. um one game at a time and uh yeah, clean up on some of the stuff that we did wrong tonight, but obviously take the positives and build on those. But, you know, it’s just one game at a time. You know, it’s a long season and we got to be locked in every night. You got the Knicks on Wednesday. What’s the like first thought that comes to your head when you’re going to New York? Yeah. Um great team. Um great environment, Madison Square Garden, and uh just looking forward to the challenge. you know, it’s going to be another tough game, another game where we got to execute and it’s going to be on the road, so um got to be extra together. Um and yeah, it’s also my birthday, so I’m excited about that. Paula, you had a few leakouts tonight for easy buckets. Was that a conscious effort to counter the offensive rebounding of Portland trying to crash the glass where you would leak out for an outlet or was that just you feeling out the the in the play in the moment? Yeah, I think it’s more of just a feeling out to play kind of in the moment. If if I feel I can I can get a jump on the defense and get out, you know, I do it. But you don’t want to like, you know, fall in love with that. I think um but that’s something that the coaches encourage is if you can test a shot, especially me and Fran, like get out early, get down the court, you know, look for early seal or opportunity, a fast break throw ahead. Um so yeah, had a couple of those tonight. Yes, sir.

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