Maurice Cheeks on Blazers loss and players needing to click better

On the late and unsuccessful comeback (via NBA.com): "The difference was that the Blazers shot threes. We have talked about it before - they [Trail Blazers] have inside and outside game, but all of their prominent guys shoot threes. And it happened tonight. We had a chance when Brandon [Jennings] got a layup, the ball came out and it was a two point game then. We had a 10 point run when the Blazers were up. They missed some shots they would have normally made, we didn't call a time-out, we had a couple of long rebounds and we just stopped playing."

On Lillard (via NBA.com): "He really had two consecutive bad games. He is a confident shooter and tonight he proved how capable of shooting the ball he was. He outplayed us."

On Jennings' shot selection (via MLIVE): "Yeah, I was OK with the shots. ... I don't think they were, like, forced shots. Sometimes, when you're down, you've got to try to get a quick shot. I liked the way Brandon played."

On three-point defense (via Freep): "Early on, I think, the first half, our three-point defense wasn't as good. But as the game wore on, we got better."

On overall defense (via NBA.com): "I thought in the first half our defense wasn't so bad, but as we progressed we allowed Aldridge to play more by himself. He was able to separate himself and shoot. I am not satisfied with how we are playing defensively now and we need to get better. Every game you have to make some adjustments. But we did talk about what the Blazers do before the game - we knew they like to shoot threes. They are able to spread the floor with different shooters and they do it well. They shot the ball well. For the most part, they also did a nice job of rebounding. We need to block more shots."

On offense (via NBA.com): "We still have guys who need to click together better and get in a rhythm. Stuckey missed a lot. Everything is a work in progress. We need to be better tomorrow."

On what he's learned since Portland (via MLIVE): "Obviously, coming in, my first job, I had to figure things out going in," he said. "I had to learn how to deal with players, deal with situations. Those are things you can't prepare for. Those are things, once you take a job -- your first job -- you kind of learn on the job."