Damian Lillard
Photo: David Zalubowski/Associated Press

The players and head coach of the Utah Jazz reacted to keeping Damian Lillard to just nine points in the season opener.

Lillard had just nine points in the game (4/12 shooting, 1/7 from beyond the arc), along with seven assists, as the Jazz dominated the Blazers on the road (120-100).

“He’s been a guy who’s given us fits — so give credit to Mike [Conley] and Royce [O’Neale], the two guys who guarded him. He missed a lot of shots, but we made it tough for him,” Donovan Mitchell said, via Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune.

“Dame is an amazing player — we had to make sure he didn’t get anything easy. Try to make him uncomfortable, be physical with him. We did a great job as a team making sure he wasn’t able to get into a rhythm,” Rudy Gobert noted.

“He’s entitled to have a night like that. He’s had some big nights against us and sometimes the law of averages catches up to you. I thought we executed pretty well, and you need to have some luck on your side,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder added.